CCH Tax Talks Discusses How To Ensure Business Continuity When Disruption Hits

When COVID-19 shutdowns were put into place, firms had to adapt to changing legislation at home and with unprecedented speed. In this episode of Tax Talks by Wolters Kluwer, Julie and Martin Lepper, co-founders and principals at Lepper and Company LLC, talk about how they utilized cloud-based tax prep and workflow tools to continue their tax business seamlessly during COVID-19.

Keep reading for highlights from the episode, or listen to the entire discussion on Soundcloud.

Technology Fuels a Smooth Transition to Remote Work

Fire, flood, data breach, or natural disaster. In the past, these were the primary reasons to have a business continuity plan in place. Although every business needs to be prepared for those disruptors, this past year, firms were forced to immediately initiate a continuity plan when COVID-19 shutdowns were put in place. To keep up with normal tax season tasks and handle new and changing legislation and shifting deadlines—all remotely—firms had to rely on technology more than ever. 

Listen to the full episode on Soundcloud

“We always prepare for something to happen during tax season,” says Julie Lepper. “But this was not something that we would have predicted.” What their firm found, however, is that because of the cloud-based CCH Axcess™ technology they had in place, they were able to move people remotely with no interruption. 

“This was a great testament to how our vendors work with us,” she says. “Because we have the right tools and technology in place, it made the transition exceedingly easy for us.”

From home, staff members could use the full suite of CCH Axcess products to access client information and notes, tap into CCH® AnswerConnect for support, and keep on top of project deadlines with the CCH Axcess™ Workstream dashboard.

Making Clients Feel Comforted

While staff kept day-to-day tax work moving, the firm’s principals focused on taking care of clients. “Martin and I have been able to step up our communications with our clients significantly,” Julie explains. “We understand how nervous and uncertain people are, so we wanted to make sure they know we're here for them.”

Martin adds, “You cannot serve your clients if you're not able to operate when they need you the most. You need to make sure that the people, processes, and technology related to the core services being offered in your firm are able to continue functioning in response to disruption and disasters.”

For the Leppers and many other firms that successfully weathered the complexities of the pandemic, a cloud-based platform like CCH Axcess allowed them to easily transition to a 100% remote model without skipping a beat.