Trial Balance and Engagement software solutions represent the first two building blocks in a successful client engagement.The trial balance is at the core of double-entry bookkeeping, providing an assessment of whether the general ledger is in balance by making a tally of the debits and credits. Engagement workpaper and process software has come more recently, combining workflow processing, document management, reporting, collaboration and other underpinnings of the engagement process into a more streamlined package. The two are often used in tandem, and are sometimes even provided in the same software.

Budgeting software, once a distinct category of software in its own right, is quickly being subsumed by a Business Process Management orientation that takes a more holistic approach to management of budgeting, forecasting, cash flow and planning. Having moved away from simple spreadsheets over the past decade, budgeting has taken root online as a web-based application, operating either as an independent module or as an integrated package.

During the holidays, any accounting firm worth working for is taking a short break to celebrate its employees, its clients, the adventures of the year and the joys of friends and family. But after the celebration are over and firms will begin to ramp up for the tax and early audit seasons that begin in January. And sometime before those seasons begin, there are a few checklist items that will help them to be smoother.