Largest locally-owned firm in mid-Michigan is using integrated cloud-based and mobile solutions from Wolters Kluwer to create a better work-life balance for its employees and compete for top talent.

1. Maner Costerisan Key Data:
ll Founded in 1906
ll Headquartered in Lansing, MI
ll More than 80 employees
ll Affiliate of BDO Alliance USA
ll Specializing in nonprofit and government accounting,
individual tax and business services
Maner Costerisan Competes
for Top Talent with Cloud-Based
CCH Axcess™
Largest locally-owned firm in mid-Michigan is using
integrated cloud-based and mobile solutions from
Wolters Kluwer to create a better work-life balance
for its employees and compete for top talent.
For more than 100 years, Maner Costerisan has provided
accounting and tax services to individuals, businesses, nonprofit
organizations and government entities. Over that time, the firm
has grown into the largest locally-owned firm in mid-Michigan,
serving more than 4,000 clients. The firm has kept its competitive
edge in part by improving processes and technology to adapt to
a changing industry.
We have the full tax research library from Wolters Kluwer
and also use CCH®
IntelliConnect®
, CCH®
ProSystem fx®
Practice Management, CCH®
ProSystem fx®
Engagement
for all of our audits, and CCH®
ProSystem fx®
Tax for our tax
preparation and compliance needs. I would say we’re very
much a Wolters Kluwer firm.
James McNeeley
Principal, Maner Costerisan
Currently, the firm is migrating from the CCH®
ProSystem fx®
Suite
to the CCH Axcess cloud-based solution, starting with CCH Axcess™
Document. According to McNeeley, the move to CCH Axcess
Document was not difficult, and the solution was very easy to learn.
The actual switchover was very quick. With the data analysis
tool, they can tell when the data is ready to go. Once our data
was ready, it was effortless. They just ran it through their system,
and it was available to us right away. We did full training sessions
for our staff, which had us running efficiently in no time. If you
had to, though, you could get someone familiar with CCH Axcess
Document with just a few minutes of explanation.
Cloud-based solutions provide employees
with better work-life balance
Today’s professionals want to be able to achieve a lot in their
careers, without neglecting family and home life. McNeeley
explained how their move to CCH Axcess may help them
compete for top employees in an ever tightening labor market
for accounting professionals.
The economy seems like it’s really opened up over the last year
or so. When I talk to the staff, they tell me they’re contacted
by three to four headhunters a week offering them new
opportunities. So anything we can do to improve their lifestyles
helps us compete.
In addition, the firm decided to move to the cloud and help people
have a better work-life balance.
We decided to move to the cloud because we have more and
more people in our firm that are looking for a better work-life
balance. We have a number of nontraditional schedules for
people that want to spend less time in the office yet still do the
work and meet their responsibilities. With remote capabilities,
cloud solutions like CCH Axcess are just a better fit. They’re not
dependent on bandwidth or VPN connections.

2. All trademarks and copyrights are property of their respective owners.
Join us on at CCHGroup.com/Social
© 2015 CCH Incorporated and its affiliates.
All rights reserved.
Common client database reduces
manual data entry and saves time
The firm also sees great value in the common core database
within CCH Axcess. Right now, when the firm adds a new
client, the information must be keyed into six or more software
packages. With CCH Axcess, when client information changes,
administrative staff will be able to simply update the information
once and the change will show up consistently across the firm.
Efficient workflows make work more
productive and enjoyable
Anytime Maner Costerisan can cut down on manual data
entry and paper handling, productivity improves. Both the
CCH ProSystem fx Suite and CCH Axcess are designed to
integrate, creating more efficient workflows within the firm,
saving time and contributing to higher workplace satisfaction
and more time away from the office. Employees appreciate the
ability to work more efficiently on tasks that matter most.
Several years ago, I took on the task of converting our tax
function to a fully paperless system. We implemented
CCH®
ProSystem fx®
Document and CCH®
ProSystem fx®
Scan with AutoFlow Technology. That absolutely made us
more efficient in preparing 1040 returns. Paper comes in
and gets scanned by an admin staff person. Accountants and
partners never handle paper. Everything is on screen now.
Improved efficiency means more time for other firm priorities,
whether that includes finishing more tax returns or focusing
more energy on business development. By automating the tax
workflow, McNeeley reduced the time interns spent helping
on 1040s by 20%, enabling them to take on special projects.
Mobile functionality puts information
at accountants’ fingertips
The functionality of the CCH Axcess app is also pretty cool.
I’m impressed with how easy it is to access most everything.
We host several client lunches and meetings, and we don’t
really know what direction the client will take the conversation.
Sometimes they just want to keep it light and other times
they have real business questions or tax planning issues. It’s
nice that I can pull up a tax return on my phone or tablet
through the app and immediately answer their questions.
Maner Costerisan is moving all of its Wolters Kluwer products
to the cloud. “I am excited about getting CCH ProSystem fx
Tax and CCH ProSystem fx Practice Management on
CCH Axcess,” said McNeeley, noting that CCH Axcess Practice
will get implemented next.
I think it will be a big benefit to our staff to have mobile access
to enter their time. We mandate that staff enter their time daily,
and our audit staff can be out of the office for weeks at a time.
Cloud-based CCH Axcess, with its mobile capability, will let
them log in from the field, and that will be very handy.
Integration between CCH Software and
CCH®
IntelliConnect Browser Search helps
speed up the Tax Prep Process
In preparing over 3,500 tax returns annually, questions will
undoubtedly come up. The professional staff at Maner
Costerisan rely on CCH IntelliConnect and the CCH IntelliConnect
Browser Search feature to streamline the tax preparation
and review process by finding the answers to those questions
as quickly as possible before moving on in the return.
There’s no doubt that questions arise all the time especially
when our staff is preparing an extreme volume of tax returns.
With the integration between CCH Axcess and CCH IntelliConnect
Browser Search, the staff can immediately find an answer
by clicking on CCH IntelliConnect Browser Search from the
CCH Axcess Dashboard. Just like that, they instantly have the
answer and can then continue completing the return.
Additionally, the staff gains a level of confidence by doing
the research themselves and coming up with an answer.
It’s empowering to them and helpful to the firm if they can
figure out what to do or how to treat a particular situation by
using the tools that we’ve provided them with. CCH IntelliConnect
helps us do that.
10/15 2014-0418-1
For More Information
CCHGroup.com/Axcess
800-739-9998