Internet-based commercial tax research tools.

• Author: Zollars, Edward K.

Editor's note: Mr. Maida and Mr. Brown are members of the AICPA Tax Division's Tax Technology Committee. Edward K. Zollars, CPA, is with Henricks, Martin, Thomas & Zollars, Ltd., Phoenix.

If you would like additional information about this article, contact Mr. Maida at (609) 882-6874 or ncmcpa@prodigy.net or Mr. Brown at (703) 848-2502 or sbrownva@erols.com. Mr. Zollars can be reached at ed@hmtzcpas.com.

Over the past ten years, tax research products have changed dramatically, from walls full of books and the clerical chore of filing updates to CD-ROMs updated with monthly replacements. Now, publishers are exploring a new territory by offering research services on the Internet, which threaten to make CDs obsolete just as most firms were getting used to them. This article highlights Web-based tax research products, concentrating on the major on-line commercial publishers (see also Karlin, "Technology-Based Tax Research" 30 The Tax Adviser 124 (February 1999)).

Advantages and Disadvantages of On-line Access

A primary advantage of on-line research services is the ability it gives users to access a tax research library from many locations, when there is a compatible browser and a connection to the Internet, such as a client's office, a home office or even a hotel room.

For some firms, Internet-maintained databases may eliminate the problem of sharing CD-ROMs over a network, which can lead practitioners to borrowing CDs for their PCs from their firm's central library. This can create availability problems when several practitioners need the same research publications or different publications that happen to be on the same CD. If a firm can provide Internet access at the practitioner's desktop, switching to an Internet service solves this.

On-line databases are easier to keep up to date than CDs; as soon as a service provider approves a change, it can be quickly incorporated into an on-line database. Most CDs are updated only on a monthly basis (due to the lag time involved in releasing an update to manufacturing and in shipping it out to customers).

The biggest disadvantage of Internet-based research can be summed up in one word: speed. This is especially true when considering one of the major advantages of Internet technology--the ability to access information from anywhere. Internet speed is always dependent on the slowest link in the chain from a client's PC to a provider's server. No matter what type of connection there is at an office, on the road it is virtually certain to be a dial-up connection. A CD-based service, on the other hand, allows immediate access to a database.

Finally, using most on-line services is different enough from CDs to present a number of training issues. If nothing else, users will have to get used to working with a Web browser, as well as being trained in remote access methods to use on the road.

RIA Checkpoint (http://checkpoint.riag.com)

Research Institute of America's (RIA) Checkpoint comprises several databases, including the Federal Tax Coordinator 2d and the United States Tax Reporter, as well as a full library of source documents and specialized services, such as estate planning and employee benefits.

Checkpoint offers several search methods for locating documents. A database-driven...