Filing season readiness is built long before the first return is assembled. For firms supporting partnership and corporate clients, the quality of the final product depends almost entirely on the groundwork laid in the weeks before season opens.
The Pre-Season Checklist
A structured pre-season checklist for partnership and corporate filings reduces review cycles and avoids late-stage surprises. Here is the framework Marcken Solutions applies across engagements.
1. Confirm Engagement Scope and Timeline
Before any workpaper is opened, confirm the precise scope — which entities, which forms, which schedules — and agree on milestone dates. A shared timeline with the client’s internal team prevents the most common source of delays: missing information arriving after fieldwork has started.
2. Standardise the Workpaper Package
Every engagement should open with a standardised workpaper template. For 1065 partnerships: partner capital accounts, Schedule K item rollforwards, and a prior-year carryforward summary. For 1120S: beginning balances, shareholder basis schedules, and prior AAA/OAA/PTI balances. For 1120: E&P summaries, deferred tax rollforwards, and any Section 382 limitation tracking.
3. Request Prior-Year Files Early
Request prior-year returns, workpapers, and any relevant IRS correspondence at least three weeks before fieldwork is scheduled to begin. Late receipt of prior-year files is the most preventable cause of compressed review timelines.
4. Set Up a Review Protocol
Establish who reviews what and in what order. For complex partnerships: a first-pass workpaper review before Schedule K is assembled, then a second review of the K against the financial statements, then a final sign-off review of the assembled return.
5. Confirm Software and Data Imports
Confirm that trial balances will be delivered in the correct format for your tax software — whether CCH Axcess, UltraTax, or ProSystem fx. A data import that arrives in a format requiring manual re-keying adds hours to every engagement.
Preparation done properly at season start compresses the review cycle, reduces errors, and allows your team to maintain quality even under deadline pressure. Speak with our team about dependable preparation support for your next filing season.