A tax return review that checks every figure against the page

Situation

A staff reviewer read each client's tax return page by page and copied the key figures into notes. The reviewer also entered adjusted gross income in the CRM, calculated the effective tax rate and checked charitable distributions from IRAs against the firm's records. Each review ended with an email to the advisor listing observations and follow-ups.

Solution

The review tool reads the return and sets out the key figures for the reviewer. Clicking a figure shows where it appears on the return.

The tool lists planning observations, such as capital loss carryforwards, back-door Roth contributions, charitable distributions from IRAs and underpayment penalties. It also drafts the email to the advisor, and adjusted gross income is entered in the CRM when the reviewer approves it.

Design decisions

The first versions located each figure by its position on the page. Every tax software package lays out a return a little differently, so each new layout meant teaching the tool where the figures were. Jeff Hunt changed the tool to read returns with AI, which handles new layouts and scanned returns.

Every figure the AI reads must appear word for word on the page, or the tool flags it for the reviewer. The planning observations are fixed rules, so the same return always produces the same observations. Before the reviewer received the tool, it was tested on past returns with known answers. The email remains a draft, and the reviewer decides what to send.

Outcome

The reviewer can begin each review from a full set of figures, each linked to its place on the return. The planning observations and the email to the advisor are already drafted, so the review consists of checking and approving.