Thomson Reuters UltraTax CS Ensures Compliance, Enhances Efficiency, And Lowers Costs

Thomson Reuters UltraTax CS helps tax firms ensure compliance, streamline operations, and save employees’ time throughout the tax return process. With UltraTax CS’s automation capabilities, firms can eliminate data entry and error, reduce preparation and review times, and take on more clients. Additionally, UltraTax CS can integrate with SurePrep and other Thomson Reuters solutions to deliver added flexibility and efficiency.

Thomson Reuters commissioned Forrester Consulting to interview four representatives and conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study to better understand the benefits, costs, and risks associated with Thomson Reuters Tax Workflow.¹ Interviewees’ organizations deployed Tax Workflow by adopting UltraTax CS or GoSystem Tax RS and complementing them with SurePrep. This abstract will focus on the interviewees’ use of UltraTax CS and its value to their organizations. Among the four interviewees, two used UltraTax CS:

• The business technology manager at a tax firm.
• The tax manager at a tax firm.

Interviewees said that prior to using UltraTax CS, their organizations used legacy tax compliance software with limited automation and workflow capabilities. This left their organizations with a process for completing tax returns that was marked by poor data access, manual entry, and employee inefficiency.

After the investment in UltraTax CS, the interviewees said that employees saved significant time as the software provided automation and seamless data access. UltraTax CS served as a comprehensive tax solution that handled all types of tax returns and improved efficiency and capacity. Key results from the investment include reduced preparation times, error elimination, a more effective review process, and cost savings.

INVESTMENT DRIVERS FOR UltraTax CS

Before deploying UltraTax CS, interviewees’ organizations used legacy software to complete tax returns. The interviewees noted how their organizations struggled with common challenges with these solutions, including:

• Time-consuming manual processes. Interviewees emphasized that a key pain point was their legacy solutions’ inability to quickly import and export data. This made tax preparation an overly manual and time-consuming process for employees.
• Limited capabilities. The existing tools at interviewees’ organizations sometimes lacked the necessary forms and sophistication to seamlessly handle all their different types of tax returns. Interviewees noted the importance of having a comprehensive solution since their firms did work for a broad array of clients across various jurisdictions.
• Desire for more modern and digital-first tools. Investment decisions at interviewees’ organizations were informed by a broad goal for modernization and digitization. The tax manager said: “We needed to modernize and go digital as much as we could. Our research led us to believe that [Thomson Reuters] was the best opportunity for that.”

Key Results for UltraTax CS

The results of the investment for the interviewees’ organizations include:

Reduced preparation time by 85% with the automated transfer of data. Interviewees reported that UltraTax CS saved employee time throughout the tax return process, but particularly emphasized the substantial time savings related to data preparation. The software provided easy access to the necessary data along with automated import and intelligent mapping, which eliminated manual entry and often saved hours of employee time per tax return. At interviewees’ organizations, preparation times were reduced by 85% on average with UltraTax CS’s automated transfer of data.

• Interviewees described the data accessibility and automated import functionality with UltraTax CS as major time-savers. The imports with the correct mapping logic were also automatically created, which further streamlined tax preparation and saved employee time.
• The tax manager added, “Having the data export features [with UltraTax CS] have been the biggest time-savers and the biggest cost reduction for the staff [at my firm].”
• Interviewees said that UltraTax CS served as a smart tool that knew what data to import from source documentation. They said that data was seamlessly imported from a broad array of sources, including 1099 consolidated statements, W-2s, Schedule M forms, trial balances, and white forms.
• The UltraTax CS implementations at interviewees’ organizations were coupled with SurePrep. The interviewee said that the two Thomson Reuters Tax Workflow software programs worked together smoothly to organize data, delegate tasks, and automate the tax return process.
• The tax manager described the value of UltraTax CS combined with SurePrep: “The integration of the [Tax Workflow software] is a huge time savings. SurePrep has the optical character recognition and the ability to export that data directly to UltraTax CS. That’s the biggest time-saver for me during tax preparation and everybody in my firm would probably agree.”
• The business technology manager added: “SurePrep is a superior product. It’s a differentiator. It provides time savings and efficiency.”

Eliminated errors, resulting in a 95% reduction in employee time spent identifying and correcting errors. Interviewees explained that the automatic transfer of data with UltraTax CS had the straightforward benefit of eliminating human error. This greatly reduced the employee time needed to check and correct errors. Among interviewees who could quantify it, the employee time spent identifying and correcting errors was reduced by 95% on average.

• According to interviewees, UltraTax CS automation eliminated the mistakes that would sometimes occur when employees used their legacy software and had to manually input data.
• More broadly, interviewees discussed how UltraTax CS’s increased accuracy ultimately mitigated risk. They noted that inaccuracy could damage client relationships and, in more extreme cases, lead to penalties.

More effective and less time-consuming review process by 50%. Interviewees said that UltraTax CS allowed for seamless access to the relevant data needed to properly review tax returns. At interviewees’ organizations, the tax return review process was 50% faster on average due to UltraTax CS.

• Interviewees said that when using their legacy software or manual methods, such as spreadsheets or paper, employees who reviewed tax returns had to navigate multiple tabs or flip through pages to locate the needed numbers. In contrast, they said that with UltraTax CS, the needed information was highly accessible and easy to use.
• The tax manager said, “A value I get from UltraTax CS is having the needed information right there at my fingertips should I have a question.”

Cost savings from decommissioning legacy solutions. Interviewees said that UltraTax CS had all the forms, calculations, and capabilities their organizations needed. As such, the software served as a comprehensive solution that they used for all types of clients, from corporations to individuals. Since UltraTax CS fulfilled their organizations’ tax preparation needs, their legacy tax solutions became unnecessary and were decommissioned.

• The tax manager explained that UltraTax CS fully met their firm’s needs. They went on to state, “We’ve transitioned to doing everything on [UltraTax CS].”
• The same interviewee elaborated: “One of the biggest draws for me to UltraTax CS is I can do a partnership return and then do the Texas franchise tax return for it, for example. I don’t have to go find some other solution to do that.”

Supported flexibility and agility. Additional benefits interviewees’ organizations realized with UltraTax CS include:

• More time for higher-value work. Interviewees indicated that with the time savings due to UltraTax CS, employees had more time for higher-value advisory work (e.g., focusing on adjustments or identifying additional tax benefits for clients). The tax manager said: “[With UltraTax CS], I have more time to look at a project and not only review but also advise the client as well.”
• Capacity for more clients. The employee time saved with UltraTax CS reduced workload compression at interviewees’ organizations and also allowed them to take on more clients throughout the year.
• Integration capabilities. Interviewees said that UltraTax CS integrated well with SurePrep and their other Thomson Reuters solutions, which provided flexibility and further streamlined their processes.

Appendix A: Endnotes