AICPA Tax Division annual CD.

Each year, members of the AICPA Tax Division's Member Tax Practice Improvement Committee help compile information for a CD-ROM (CD) that contains a wide variety of useful information for tax practitioners. The CD can be a quick resource for numerous items tax advisers use in managing their practices. Many practitioners--even those who may use the CD regularly to obtain copies of checklists, organizers, etc.--are likely not familiar with the array of information it contains.

Background

The CD began several years ago as an additional way to distribute the annual Tax Practice Guides and Checklists. However, over the years, the CD has evolved to include other items. For 2003, the CD is divided into three main sections: Checklists and Practice Guides, The Tax Adviser Archives and Other Tax Section Materials.

Checklists and Practice Guides: This section contains organizers that can be printed for use in preparing different types of returns, including those for estate tax, gift tax, tax-exempt organizations, individuals, fiduciaries, partnerships, corporations and qualified retirement plans. The organizers can be given to clients to guide them in gathering needed information to complete a return. These organizers are available in both Adobe Acrobat[TM] and Word[TM] formats; the latter allows for customizing the organizers and/or emailing them directly to a client.

Several samples of practice management forms are available on the CD, such as a new client welcome letter, tax permanent-file contents, engagement letters, carryforward schedules, transmittal letters and filing instructions. These are also available in both Adobe Acrobat[TM] and Word[TM] formats.

This section also includes tax form preparation guides, on topics such as employee use of company vehicles, comparison of business entities, generation-skipping transfer tax, S corporation shareholder basis schedule, passive activity checklist and Sec. 704(b) practice guide. These guides contain worksheets, checklists, tables and other important information.

The last segment in this section contains preparation and review checklists. Tax advisers can customize items on these checklists to meet their specific practice needs. The checklists are easy to edit and customize when opened in Word[TM] format. There are checklists for a variety of returns, including estate tax, gift tax, exempt organizations, individual, fiduciary, partnership, S and C corporations and employee benefit plans.

There are also a number of miscellaneous practice guides on the CD; topics include:

* Oil and gas practice guide.

* IRS examination guide.

* State and Local Tax Technical Resource Panel (TRP) practice guides.

* S Corporation Taxation TRP practice guides.

* Confidentiality privileges for taxpayer communications.

Additionally, several new practice guides will address many of the issues practitioners face; these new guides include: (1) practice management; (2) managing busy-season product flow and quality control; (3) accrual-to-cash planning; (4) conversion to paperless filing; (5) tax planning for divorce; (6) electronic filing; and (7) community property tax planning issues.

All of the information listed above will also be available online at www.cpa2biz.com/ResourceCenter s/Tax/AICPA+Tax+Section/default .htm. Tax Section members will be informed how to obtain password-secured access to these valuable products as the items become available.

The Tax Adviser Archives: New on the CD this year is archived editions of The Tax Adviser; the full text is available for the January 2003 December 2003 issues. This is a bonus for AICPA Tax Division members that will allow them to print any item from an issue in a more legible format than simply photocopying. This is a more professional way to send an article to a client or referral source who might have an interest in a particular topic and an excellent way to reference past issues without having to store hard copies. In the future, the Tax Division hopes to include more than one year of issues, so that practitioners have greater access to older articles.

Other Tax Section Materials: The final section includes articles, reports and tables on topics such as (1) simple employee plans and simple plan law changes; (2) rate and withholding changes caused by the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003; (3) practice guide on total compensation packages; (4) e-commerce tax brochure; (5) Internet taxation for exempt organizations; (6) designing benefit plans to attract and retain employees; and (7) IRA law changes.

This edition of the CD contains the following new items:

* New laws offering relief to terrorist attack victims.

* Significant recent developments in estate planning.

* Difficult questions on private foundations.

* Sec. 401(k) practice plan guide.

Conclusion

Overall, the new CD contains a wide variety of useful information. It is an excellent source for forms, checklists, preparation guides and research. It contains guidance on many items tax advisers encounter at various times during the year, all in one convenient place. Exhibit 1 on p. 752 presents an adapted version of the CD's "Frequently Asked Questions." FROM ANN MOORE PUCKETT, CPA, BKD LLP, BOWLING GREEN, KY

Exhibit 1: Tax Practice Guides and Checklists CD--frequently
asked questions

Getting started               Tax Practice Guides and Checklists is
                              not a software program: there is no need
                              to install/copy entire contents onto a
                              hard drive. This CD is a storage
                              medium--all PDF files can be accessed
                              directly off the CD (saving hard-drive
                              storage space).

System requirements

RAM                           Windows 95-16MB with nothing running;
                              32MB if running mail applications, word
                              processors, etc.

                              Windows 98/XP/2000--32MB minimum
                              required; 64MB recommended.

To use auto-run feature       Windows 95/98/XP/2000 operating system;
                              if Adobe Acrobat 4.0 has never been run
                              on the PC, accept the license agreement
                              that will "pop up" on first
                              installation. Adobe Acrobat Reader
                              is free.

To view PDF files             Acrobat Reader 4.0 has already been
                              installed on disk; if an error message
                              is encountered when attempting to print
                              PDF files, the user might need to
                              uninstall earlier versions of Acrobat
                              Reader that were installed on the PC.

To access Word files          Word 97 or higher or an alternative word
                              processor is needed to read such files;
                              Word files are accessed by opening Word
                              and then opening files stored on the
                              CD while it is in the CD drive. (All
                              Word files are stored in a folder called
                              "Word" located at the CD root
                              directory.)

Potential error messages/questions/troubleshooting

Due to the various configurations of PCs in operation, a user may
encounter some error messages.

Auto-run feature              Even if the Windows 95/98 operating
                              system is installed on a PC, same
                              computers have a virus protection option
                              selected to prevent auto-run of CDs. If
                              a user installs the CD and is not
                              automatically taken to the opening
                              screen, do the following:
                              * Exit or minimize Acrobat Reader.
                              * Go to My Computer.
                              * Right-click on the CD drive that
                                contains the disk (it may have a
                                PDF icon).
                              * OPEN or EXPLORE (do not Auto-Play) the
                                CD to find the PDF files.
                              * Click on PDF files from there.

Printing questions/problems   When printing a PDF file, an error
                              message appears, such as "ACORD32 caused
                              a page fault in module Acord32.exe."

                              Uninstall Acrobat Reader Version 3.0 or
                              whichever earlier version is running on
                              the PC. There is a conflict between the
                              different versions.

                              Can all files be printed at once?

                              No, files must be printed one at a time.

                              The printing is poor--words running
                              together (e.g., no word or letter
                              spacing); strange formatting problems.

                              The system may be trying to process too
                              much data of one time. Close other open
                              programs and re-boot the computer. Or,
                              the particular file is too large for the
                              printer memory; print it out in
                              sections. (for example, for a 20-page
                              file, print out the first 10 pages, then
                              the remaining pages.)

Windows 3.1                   Can a user access files on the CD with
                              a Windows 3.1 operating system?

                              Yes, if the Adobe Acrobat Reader is
                              installed on the PC. The latest version
                              for Windows 3.1 can be downloaded free
                              from www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/-
                              readstep.html. Check the box to include
                              the search plug-in. The latest version
                              of Acrobat for Windows 3.1 is Version
                              3.01. The auto-run feature will not
                              function on Windows 3.1 PCs. Use the
                              Windows File Manager to run the
                              START.PDF file on the CO, or Program
                              Manager to run Acrobat, then select the
                              START.PDF file on the CD.

Network installation          Can the CD be installed on a company's
                              network?

                              Yes, but the CD was not designed for
                              this purpose; the network administrator
                              would have to be versed in installing
                              such program files on the network. Do
                              not install the "autorun.inf" file on
                              the network and, in the Acros folder,
                              only install the "Help" file on the
                              network. Acrobat Reader 4.0 would also
                              have to be installed on users' desktops.

For problems accessing files on the CD, please call the AICPA's Member
Satisfaction Team at [phone] or email [e-mail] and
place "Tax Practice Guides and Checklists" in the subject header.

Editor's note: Mr. Holub is the former chair of the AICPA Tax Division's Tax Practice Management Committee. Mr. Muirhead is the Chair of the AICPA Tax Division's Member Tax Practice Improvement Committee; Ms. Puckett is a member of that Committee.

For more information about this column, contact Mr. Holub at [phone] or [e-mail], Mr. Muirhead at [phone] or [e-mail] or Ms. Puckett at [phone] or [e-mail].

Co-Editors:

Steven F. Holub, CPA

Aidman, Piser & Co. Tampa, FL

T. Chris Muirhead, CPA

Porter, Muirhead, Cornia & Howard Casper, WY