by: rick telberg
sept. 25, 2000 (smartpros) ? as tax season approaches, tax professionals are being faced more than ever with a decision about the internet: is it a threat or an opportunity?
to jan bray, executive vice president of the national association of enrolled agents, it is both.
“it’s an opportunity to reach out to clients,” she said. for example, the fact that the web condenses distances means that tax practitioners can still serve their united states clients relocating out of town or across the globe. and it is an untapped tool in attracting new and expectant immigrants as new clients, she notes.
bray is part of a new progressive thinking at the naea. for instance, at its annual conference in washington, the group moved to broaden its membership by allowing a new class of “associate” members of non-licensed tax practitioners.
“we’re trying to elevate the whole practice of tax,” said bray, “and to expand the horizons of our membership.”
the naea, based in gaithersburg, md., represents 10,300 enrolled agents, which are tax practitioners, largely former irs employees.
the new associate members would be subject to the same code of ethics and educational requirements as regular members. but many other details for the category have yet to be worked out.
“we believe all tax preparers should be regulated in some way,” bray said.
in another development, the naea leadership added a new wrinkle to the group’s dues structure, creating a corporate category.
the move allows large corporations to pay for the dues of their ea employees, and conceivably, associate ea employees. it is estimated that h&r block alone has up to 6,000 enrolled agents on its payroll.
but for tax people, the internet remains the single largest question. bray notes that from 1979 to 1998, 70 million people were born. they grew up with electronic change at the heart of their lives. they are accustomed to short product lives, which means that they don’t expect everything to be perfect the first time — a different way of thinking for detail-oriented tax professionals. and these people are entering the workforce and they have taxes to pay.
tax preparers are hardly preparers anymore. “the software does most of the work,” bray notes. instead, they are first and foremost financial advisors to their clients.
“clients expect their financial advisors to protect their money and to find ways to increase it,” bray said.
and it’s as true for all financial professionals as it is for enrolled agents.