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Tax Season Readiness: Three Levers You Can Still Pull Before January

November 17, 2025

By Donny C. Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA
Inspiration Architect, Center for Accounting Transformation


Tax season pressure typically arrives in two waves:

  1. The operational crunch, and
  2. The human cost.

Many firms over-focus on the first and underestimate the second—until a phishing email or a small process breakdown disrupts both.

The good news: December still offers meaningful time to change your trajectory. With small but targeted improvements in workflow, team well-being, and cyber hygiene, you can enter January with more clarity, fewer surprises, and a more resilient team.

This guide outlines three impactful levers you can still pull before the season starts.

1. Workflow Wins You Can Implement in Days

Map Your Tax Ecosystem

Start with a quick, high-level map of the tools and steps you rely on from January through April:

  • Engagement letters
  • Client onboarding/intake
  • Document exchange
  • OCR/scan
  • Tax prep
  • E-signature
  • E-file
  • Payments
  • Analytics

Anywhere staff re-key information, you likely have friction—and increased error risk.

Quick Automations That Reduce Touches

These changes usually require configuration, not a full implementation:

  • Client intake → organizer: Auto-generate organizers, use required fields, and schedule missing-item reminders.
  • Document normalization: Use OCR rules to auto-rename and route common forms; push anomalies to a triage queue.
  • E-signature + payments: Bundle documents (EL, 8879, invoice) into one packet with an automated payment link.
  • Status transparency: Build a kanban board with stages visible to the entire team.

Scheduling & Load Leveling

  • Block three meeting-free prep mornings each week.
  • Set intake gates: items arriving after 2 p.m. roll to the next day unless urgent.
  • Assign a daily triage lead to clear blockers and communicate client updates.

Metrics That Matter

Only track data that helps you make same-week decisions:

  • Cycle time by return category
  • Organizer completion rate
  • Rework rate at review
  • Portal adoption
  • “Days stuck” in each workflow stage

Everything else can wait until after April.

2. Resilience Is a System—Not a Slogan

Research from Dr. Katelynn Hopson highlights state hope—a short-term, event-specific mindset that rises or falls during stress. It centers on:

  1. Goals: Clear definitions of success
  2. Pathways: Realistic ways to reach them
  3. Agency: The belief and motivation to follow those pathways

Higher state hope corresponds with lower burnout and lower turnover intention. Leaders can influence all three components.

How to Build Resilience During Tax Season

  • Create meaningful team goals. Include experience-based goals such as
    • “<10% rework,”
    • “24-hour client response,”
    • “No weekend emails after 6 p.m. except critical.”
  • Hold weekly 15-minute ‘pathways’ huddles. Ask what’s next, what’s in the way, and what support is needed.
  • Build agency. Celebrate progress, publish weekly wins, and protect focus time.
  • Encourage peer support. Let employees choose a check-in partner they genuinely connect with.
  • Acknowledge whole-person needs. Make flexibility visible—especially for caregivers or volunteers.

A Simple Leader Script

“Here are our goals for January–April. Here’s how we’ll achieve them. Here’s how we’ll support each other when we get stuck. If your workload or life situation changes, tell us early and we’ll adjust together.”

3. Cyber Hygiene: Minimum Viable Hardening Before Peak Season

Tax season increases cyber risk: higher volumes, more sensitive data, and more fatigue-driven mistakes. A lightweight December security sprint can prevent costly downtime.

Your December Cyber Checklist

  • Enable MFA everywhere—no exceptions.
  • Patch all devices; verify endpoint protection is active.
  • Improve email defenses: phishing filters, external sender banners, and disabled legacy protocols.
  • Deploy a password manager with a short demonstration.
  • Require secure file exchange only—no email attachments.
  • Use least-privilege access for client folders; auto-expire elevated permissions post-season.
  • Run two short drills:
    • Phish-spotting (review real examples)
    • Lost laptop (steps, contacts, remote wipe)

A One-Page Starter Plan

This Week

  • Publish your tax stack map and kanban board.
  • Enable organizer reminders and standardized e-sign packets.
  • Schedule weekly pathways huddles.
  • Turn on MFA and verify patch status.

Next Week

  • Launch intake gates and triage lead rotation.
  • Roll out the password manager and run a phish-spotting drill.
  • Block three prep mornings through April 15.

Week Three

  • Review cycle-time and rework data; remove one low-value step.
  • Run the lost-laptop drill and confirm least-privilege access.
  • Survey the team: Which goal, pathway, or support would help you most this month?

Final Thoughts

Tax season success isn’t about luck—it’s about systems that support people, workflows built for clarity, and protections that withstand pressure. When your tools, team, and security posture align, you reduce surprises, increase throughput, and help your team reach April tired but healthy.

Find out more at The Center for Accounting Transformation