At HeimLantz CPAs & Advisors the health and safety of our employees and our clients is of paramount importance. For this reason, we are taking specific precautions to protect our staff and visitors during the current outbreak of Coronavirus. With confirmed cases reported in our immediate geography, we are considering the potential impact and how we can best protect our clients and staff.
According to the most recent information from the CDC, for most people, the immediate risk of being exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19 is low. However, we want you to feel comfortable working with our firm during this important and critical time of year. Below, we’ve outlined how we are working to minimize potential risk as we work towards April 15th together.
Electronic options – To protect both our staff and our clients against virus spread, we are recommending that where possible, we conduct information sharing using electronic options. While having your tax advisor face-to-face can certainly alleviate stress around this time of year, we can accomplish much with telephone and electronic sharing. To provide us with documents, you can send items through our Portal, available on our website. Alternatively, you can request we send you a link to securely upload documents to us via ShareFile. Additionally, we urge you to take advantage of the option to e-sign and receive e-delivery of your tax returns this year. With the e-delivery of your returns your CPA is available to review and discuss the returns and your questions with you via phone, video conference, screen sharing, etc. As an added bonus, if you e-file your federal return, you often can begin tracking your refund as soon as 24 hours after the IRS accepts your tax return.
Remote considerations – Because we are taking the spread of this virus so seriously, we are working on a plan of action in the event that our physical office needs to close. Should this occur, we want to assure you that we will take steps to minimize the disruption to our work as we move to a completely virtual environment. We are making the appropriate adjustments to ensure that each of our staff members are able to work remotely for as long as they may need to.
Rest assured, we are monitoring this developing situation closely. If any major changes occur, such as the need for an office closure, we will update you immediately with details. Thank you for your patience and trust in HeimLantz during these unusual circumstances. If you have any questions or further concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at (410) 841-5575.