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Nearly one-third of 712 tax professionals at a recent Thomson Tax & Accounting user conference responded to a survey gauging their most pressing concerns. The majority said e-filing is their greatest challenge -- particularly with regard to international, federal, and state returns as well as handling of consolidated returns, partnerships, and paperless processing.

"It's no surprise that e-filing continues to be a top concern for most tax departments," said Brian Peccarelli, executive vice president and general manager of Corporate Software & Services at Thomson Tax & Accounting. "Many companies that successfully e-filed in 2006 still consider meeting the next e-filing deadline to be a major goal for 2007. Switching from filing stacks of paper returns to a completely different methodology, where entering just one electronic field incorrectly could trigger the IRS to reject the entire return, is understandably a major undertaking."

The second most pressing challenge mentioned was incorporating accounting requirements of FASB Interpretation No. 48 (FIN 48) regarding FAS 109. FIN 48 was issued by FASB to clarify the gray areas in reporting tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return.

"Exactly how these requirements will affect financial reporting is something accounting professionals are grappling with today," said Steven Mendelsohn, senior vice president of Income Tax within Corporate Software & Services at Thomson Tax & Accounting. "Finding ways to ease the guesswork of FIN 48 compliance would be a welcome relief for many."

Mendelsohn added that tax professionals who seek training on e-filing readiness and FIN 48, and also start the reporting process well in advance of deadlines, greatly increase their chances of a smooth transition to e-filing and successful FIN 48 compliance.

"In tax and accounting, there is a world of difference between being prepared and unprepared," Mendelsohn said. "And in today's environment of increased governmental scrutiny into corporate finances with tougher consequences for non-compliance, a small investment in training and advance planning can ward off many hurdles associated with a last-minute scramble."

Survey respondents were current users of Thomson Tax & Accounting's InSource product line.