What is 'paperless'?

• Position: Brief Article

Many businesses claim to be "paperless." However, the definition of paperless seems to vary. Keeping final copies of audits and tax returns in electronic format does not constitute a paperless office. In a truly digital environment, every process in the office is paperless, not just the audits and tax returns. Paper in the office should only be in the form of temporary files: paper to be scanned, paper to be returned to clients, and paper to be shredded.

Firms that have implemented truly paperless offices have:

* Converted all audits, reviews, and compilations to digital format.

* Converted all tax returns and tax return backup to digital format.

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