Why It’s Important to Keep Training Your Tax Prep Staff
As a tax prep expert, you know how important continuing education can be. It keeps you on top of the latest tax laws and helps you learn new skills. It allows you to offer more services to your clients so you can grow your business.
If you run a tax prep company, continuing education is not just essential for you, it’s necessary for your entire staff. It’s advisable to have a staff that continues to adapt to the latest tax updates and the needs of your clients. It will also make them feel grateful that you are taking an interest in their professional development.
This article will focus on the benefits of ongoing training and education for your tax team and explain how you can ensure they continue developing their skills.
Why is Ongoing Training Important?
Ongoing training is essential in a tax prep environment. Here are some of the benefits it can provide.
Allows Your Staff to Become Updated on the Latest Tax Laws: Tax laws are changing all the time. If you look through history, you will find countless updates to tax laws with several occurring recently due to the pandemic. Ongoing training ensures that your staff is on top of the latest legislation so they can handle taxes competently.
It Improves Skills: When you study a subject, you learn to do it better and more efficiently. If you offer your staff ongoing training, they will complete taxes confidently, in less time, allowing you to serve more customers and earn more income.
It Allows for Networking Opportunities: Tax training can come in many forms. It can include online and in-house training as well as conferences and networking events. When your staff networks with others, it opens doors for your company helping you forge valuable partnerships and increasing your brand identity.
It Promotes Employee Loyalty: Employees tend to be grateful for an opportunity to train and learn. Providing them with training tools will promote loyalty to your company. It will make them want to stay at your company longer and be more productive while they are there.
It Opens the Doors for Additional Skills: Ongoing training allows your team to branch out. For example, they may decide they want to get into auditing, accounting, or different types of tax representation. This can work against you if they decide to seek new opportunities at another company, but it can work for you if they stay with you and allow you to offer their services to clients.
How to Get Your Staff the Training They Require
If you would like to offer your staff training opportunities, Latino Tax Pro has the services you need. Here are some of the classes and events we have available.
Latino Tax Fest: Latino Tax Fest is an exciting networking event. Agents will be updated on the latest tax laws. California agents can earn their required 20 hours to renew their CTEC without exams. The AFTR exam to complete the AFSP is also included with the ticket. Click here to learn more about the Tax Fest.
20 Hour for California: California law requires anyone who prepares taxes for a fee and is not exempt to register as a tax preparer with the California Tax Education Council (CTEC). Once registered, agents are listed in the IRS Preparer Directory, refreshed for tax season and able to represent clients during examinations of taxes they prepared. The deadline to renew is October 31. Make sure your employees are current on their registrations.
AFSP: The Annual Filing Season Program is a voluntary program that allows tax preparers to achieve a higher level of professionalism. It includes a 6-hour refresher course, 10 hours of federal tax law topics and 2 hours of ethics. Agents that complete the course get listed in the IRS Preparer Directory and have limited representation for during examinations of the taxes they prepared. The deadline to complete the course is Dec. 31.
Corporations and Partnership Class: One way to offer additional services and increase your income as a tax preparer is to get familiar with how to set up corporations and partnerships. You can learn these skills by taking our Corporations and Partnership Class which is available as a webinar and a self-study course in English and Spanish.
As a tax preparer, you can’t afford to be stagnant in educating yourself or your staff. Latino Tax Pro provides resources so you can access ongoing training for you and your team. Contact us today to order the products that are best suited to your needs.
