Here is a Way to Stay Up-to-Date on Tax & Not Lose Time

Posted by Traci WheelercloseAuthor: Traci Wheeler Name: Traci Wheeler
Email: traci@redmoonsolutions.com
Site: http://blog.redmoonsolutions.com
About: Traci is a member of the executive leadership team and leads our sales and marketing efforts at Red Moon Solutions. She has over ten years of software business experience serving small and large clients in a variety of industries.See Authors Posts (120) on Feb 15, 2012 | 0 comments

Today’s tax professionals are extremely busy.  There is barely enough time in the day to get all of the work done much less read corporate tax articles and opinions and stay abreast of the latest tax law changes.  I understand how difficult that can be.  My own e-mail inbox is filled with articles, blogs and newsletters I always have good intentions of coming back to read when I have some “free time”.  Inevitably, most of those articles sit in my inbox for a couple of weeks and then finally get deleted as I try to keep the number of e-mails to a manageable level.

Because the articles I am deleting typically don’t impact my job, this kind of management of information is okay.  However, when tax professionals are working hard and need to stay abreast of the latest tax developments, it is paramount that they hear what is going on.

One of the easiest ways to do this, in my opinion, is through the use of podcasts.  These short informative audio clips can be downloaded and listened to at your convenience.  What else are you going to do in your car on the way to and from work?   Or, you can download them to an iPod and listen to them while you are exercising or eating lunch at your desk or relaxing in your favorite chair in the evening.  I have found this form of delivery to be the easiest way to stay informed with an already hectic schedule.

So, with that being said, below are some podcasts that I have found covering different areas of tax that will help get tax professionals started:

1. Tax Foundation’s Tax Policy Podcast – this podcast series, with updates published every Thursday, discusses the latest tax policy issues at Federal, state and local levels.
2. KPMG has a couple of good tax-related podcasts for tax professionals :

• KPMG’s This Week in State Tax – weekly state tax updates from KPMG’s State and Local Tax practice.
• KPMG’s Transfer Pricing Matters – Global Developments – this podcast series, periodically published, helps tax professionals stay on top of the latest transfer pricing trends and developments.

3. Ernst & Young ITS Washington Dispatch – this monthly podcast series shares the latest developments in US international tax news.
4. Also, a number of the state CPA societies publish a weekly Federal tax update podcast.  Generally, all of these sites are accessing the same podcast, so you just need to pick one site, and you will get the same information posted on the others.  There may be a fee associated with listening to these on some sites, or you may have to be a member, so look for a site where these podcasts are free.  I have included one below:

• Washington Society of CPAs – Free Federal Tax podcasts on federal tax legislation, court cases and other developments

5. Even the IRS, who has not been known for being on the cutting edge of things, has jumped on the podcast bandwagon.  Don’t let them leave you in the dust.

Do you listen to tax podcasts to stay on top of tax policy or updates?  Are there podcasts you like that aren’t included in the list above?  Please share your comments and thoughts below.  I would love to hear from you.