Now that Tax Day has come and gone, you may be taking some well-deserved time off. But it is important not to let the opportunity for an After-Action Review (AAR) pass you by. This may be the single most important thing you can do to move your firm forward and achieve a better work-life balance all year long.
The process of going through an After-Action Review is an integral part of my “Reassess Your Success” philosophy. It is a crucial tool to help you gather what worked and what didn’t, while all the information still is fresh in your mind, not too long after-tax season is over.
However, I also encourage you not to limit the continuous improvement of your firm and your processes to just tax workflows. An AAR should be conducted after each key period such as during year-end and for 1099 preparation. Doing an AAR regularly supports the effective management and operation of your firm, so you know what is working and what might need to be improved before another busy season.
Let’s consider the common challenges that you find your firm running into. Here are the results of a poll that asked this question of accountants that was conducted by Liscio at the end of last year:
- Clients not responding quickly to staff inquiries
- Missing W-9s from many vendors/clients
- Staff having to look in too many places for data and documents
- Data silos created confusion and inefficiencies
Looking at these types of challenges with an AAR is the logical place to start. Using your busier seasons as a gauge will show what areas you might need to improve on. If you find yourself being stressed or wasting time on the same things year after year you cannot expect to yield different results. Unless you do something about it. I am here to motivate you to do just that.
Consider your After-Action Review as a roadmap for fixing these broken pieces of the process so you avoid wasting more time next year. Here’s how you do it:
- Gather your team together to talk through what worked and what didn’t. Write everything down and go into detail about what exactly made things work smoothly and what areas did not go well.
- Prioritize each item in the previous step. For the things that didn’t work, consider can they be fixed now? Or do they need to wait until later?
- Assign your staff to each area that needs improvement. Make sure there are deadlines and scheduled times to report findings to the rest of the team.
- Once you have come to a solution for each problem, save your After-Action Review plan in a safe place to review before tax season next year. An After-Action Review may seem simple, but it is so important to do this right after tax or a busy season while it is still fresh in everyone’s minds. This should be the last step in your “Busier Season” project.
Now that you have an overview of what an AAR is and how it can benefit you, stay tuned for our next blog where you will get a deeper dive into some key AAR elements.
Like what you're reading?
Subscribe to our FREE newsletter and we'll deliver content like this directly to your inbox.