Tax consultancy firms are now used to the occasional client approaching them with questions about documentation. In most cases, this concerns compliance with the Preparation of procedural documentation. It is not uncommon, however, for process mapping to lay the foundations for optimisation, for example in the area of digitalisation. But what about the tax consultancy itself? Is it worthwhile for them to document their own processes in order to draw lessons and identify areas for improvement? There is also the question of whether the documentation should be produced in-house or by an external service provider. In an interview with Paul Liese, Hendrik Gertz, a tax adviser and co-owner of a firm, talks about his experiences with documentation.

Hendrik Gertz is a co-owner of the firm Gertz Steuerberatungsgesellschaft mbH in Wilster near Itzehoe, Schleswig-Holstein. Together with his brother, he is the third generation to run the business. He has been working as a tax adviser since 1999. In early 2022, hsp began documenting the firm’s initial processes. Even during the initial recording of the financial accounting data, it became apparent that staff members had each developed and been using their own process workflows. This led to lengthy discussions about how a standardised process should be designed for the future.

Hendrik has already learnt just how important documentation is when, some time ago, an employee left the firm. That employee’s knowledge had been documented and remained available to the firm even after they had left. When it comes to choosing the right software, Hendrik believes that the processes are key. These determine which software is used. This is particularly true for agile projects, which are also time-critical, this is where process documentation really comes into its own. At present, the Property Tax Reform among the best examples.

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Recording and visualising processes

How can processes be visualised? To demonstrate this, Paul opens the website bpmn.io in his web browser. This service is a free, web-based platform on which processes can be recorded and visualised. Clicking on „Try online“ opens the workspace. You start with a circle representing the start of the process. Clicking on the circle opens a context menu offering several options for the next step in the diagram.

When it comes to property tax, Hendrik identifies the first step in the process as informing clients about the property tax reform. Hendrik describes the feedback rate as low. The majority of clients were already aware that the property tax reform was on the horizon. The next step in the process is therefore a ‘gateway’ – a fork in the road with several options. The gateway is as follows: waiting for the client’s decision. Depending on the decision they make, a specific path will be taken as the process progresses. These paths now need to be defined individually.

Step by step towards process visualisation

One possibility is that the client does not get in touch. There may be various reasons for this. They might be dealing with the matter themselves or have instructed another firm. Hendrik points out that, should problems arise, it is entirely possible that this client might, after a while, end up opting for the second option after all: they do get in touch. The first step in this process is to collect the correspondence from the tax office. This is scanned and filed in the firm’s document management system (DMS). A „property tax“ task is created, followed by the dispatch of the engagement and fee agreement, after which the firm awaits the signatures.

Another checkpoint is required at this stage, as the client may lose interest at this point or decide otherwise. If the client decides to continue the collaboration, the documents are returned to us, signed by them. In the next step of the process, the client and the project are set up in the software, preferably in Opti.Tax Land Tax. The software then begins collecting data.

Import and preparation of process documentation in Opti.Tax

It is possible to import the process visualisation from bpmn.io into Opti.Tax. To do this, save the process you have just created to your own storage device. In Opti.Tax, within a process documentation, the saved file can be selected via the menu option „Project -> Import process from BPMN file …“. The process is displayed in Opti.Tax from top to bottom. Unlike on the website, in Opti.Tax you can now click on each individual process step and add a more detailed description. This makes it possible to define each step precisely, for example by including clear instructions for staff. At the same time, the software also generates the entire process as a live reporting document. This document contains the complete process documentation in text form.

Recording processes isn’t particularly difficult. Optimisations are also easy to integrate. It is far more difficult to put new process workflows into practice in the day-to-day running of a law firm. How does a firm’s management get all staff to adhere to standardised procedures? Paul notes that it certainly helps to involve the team in designing the processes. Furthermore, the firm’s own processes should not be thrown out of the window for the sake of clients. After all, at the end of the day, clients end up paying the price in terms of reduced quality and higher costs for unnecessary special favours that may seem attractive in the short term. And frustrated staff not only work more slowly and less reliably, they are also more likely to resign or take sick leave.

Conclusion: Process documentation creates added value, but also involves extra work

In summary, it can be said that a tax consultancy should first document the current situation and then define the target state in collaboration with the team. Subsequently, care must be taken to ensure that the defined processes are adhered to. However, the processes are not set in stone forever. If weaknesses are identified during the implementation of the target state, efforts should be made collectively to optimise them. On the subject of process visualisation and modelling, there is a E-learning course, which can be booked via hsp.community.