To our valued clients,
On March 11, the World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic. As a result of this, many businesses, including schools, entertainment venues, and restaurants, are closing their doors temporarily.
While we technically remain open during this busy time of year, we are severely limiting the number of staff within our physical offices at this time. The majority of our workforce will move to a telework environment effective immediately until April 15, 2020, at the earliest.
In an effort to practice social distancing as much as possible, we ask that you refrain from visiting our office at this time. In addition, we are suspending on-site client visits for all our personnel during this time frame, and your contact at HRC will reach out to you directly if this impacts an existing on-site visit. We will continue to monitor the nationwide situation and follow the recommendations of the CDC and/or other qualified officials.
We will be working during this time. Based on information provided by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), we anticipate an extension of the April 15th tax filing deadline. We also anticipate an extension of certain audit deadlines from the Federal government, to include the Data Collection Form as it relates to Single Audits. We will update you when we have official notification from government agencies related to any extensions of deadlines.
To continue your tax and audit work, we are implementing the following:
Electronic options – Both our tax and audit portals are available on our website, www.trustHRC.com. These are expected to allow seamless correspondence with your tax preparer and audit personnel in a secure fashion. Our tax software additionally allows for electronic filing of your tax return, and as an added bonus, if you e-file your federal return, you can often begin tracking your refund as soon as 24 hours after the IRS accepts your return. If you do not have access to a scanner, there are a number of free or low-priced apps for both Apple and Android phones that your tax preparer or auditor can recommend.
Paper options – While our office will not be open to visitors, we will still be checking our mail daily. In addition, we will have a drop box at our front door if you choose to drop your documents off to us. A phone number will be provided for you to call to ensure that there are personnel available onsite to retrieve your documents once you have left. For your safety and our own, we will not be meeting with you face-to-face.
CALL US! We will still have our front desk coordinator answering the phones, relaying your messages to us so that we can call you back, and troubleshooting any new processes, if necessary. We’re here for you and with you and remain committed to providing you the means and resources needed to continue your business during this time.
Our top priority is the health and safety of our staff, clients, and community. We pray that these measures are effective in contributing to the wellbeing of our great city. Know that we are committed to keeping each of our staff fully employed with their benefits during this time, and we rely on you, our valued clients, to be understanding in these new processes.
Take care of yourselves, and each other.
Jessica Sayles