Tax Guru-Ker$tetter Letter

Thursday, September 12, 2002

Checking Your Own Work

Working pretty much independently, there is nobody to check my work for errors; so I have had to devise various methods to do that on my own. With tax returns, I will generally put the file down for a day & then pick it up later with fresh eyes as if I were reviewing someone else's work. It's amazing & a little scary how many small and sometime large errors I catch that way, especially on returns that were done very very late at night.

I have also developed a number of check figures with QuickBooks and Lacerte to make sure everything balances properly and nothing slips through the cracks. When adding up long lists of numbers, I always add from the top down and then again from the bottom up with a good old fashioned paper tape adding machine until I come out with the same total both ways.

KMK

- posted by Kerry M. Kerstetter, MBA~CPA~ATP~ATA @ 9/12/2002 08:56:00 PM Send this post: