Thomson Reuters | New Alliance between Thomson Reuters and SWATUK

12 Mar 2010

New Alliance between Thomson Reuters and SWATUK

Bringing together the best in compliance procedures and practice management software

Two of the UK’s best known suppliers in the accountancy profession have joined forces to develop a new product that will help accountancy firms communicate more effectively with their clients on routine compliance matters.

SWATUK and Digita from the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters have been tailoring SWATUK’s best-selling Practice Assurance Manual, so that it integrates fully with Digita’s Practice Management software.

The Practice Assurance Manual is a step-by-step compliance guide for implementing best practice systems and procedures, enabling accountancy firms to improve their efficiency and effectiveness in working with their clients. The manual contains masses of standard letter templates, forms, checklists and ideas for best practice. The manual includes general office procedures; incorporated and unincorporated accounts preparation work; all areas of tax; money laundering regulations; and practice management topics; and more.

This new relationship between SWATUK and Digita creates an exciting fusion of software and content that will enable users to get the maximum from their investment in their practice software. Previously, users have bought their content and then had to tailor it to their software, or more likely, simply type the relevant client information onto the appropriate standard letter. The Digita version of the Practice Assurance Manual has imbedded mail merge codes, so that the relevant client data is automatically selected by the system. This is far more than simply dragging in the name and address for a letter. The client’s tax liabilities, assignment principals, and other information are used to automatically populate hundreds of standard letters, forms and checklists.

Mike Sturgess, Managing Director of SWATUK said, “We see our relationship with Digita as being an important step in the way firms operate in the future. Increasingly accountancy firms are looking at ways of working more efficiently and technology is helping us to achieve this. By combining two great products in the form of our Practice Assurance Manual and Digita’s dynamic practice management software, we believe that firms will benefit tremendously from a much more streamlined, intelligent system”.

The Digita version of the manual will be available electronically from SWATUK April 2010 and will be updated at least twice a year, so that the information in the templates remains up to date.

Further details about the manual will be available from the SWATUK website at www.swat.co.uk from April, or by contacting Andy Holton, SWATUK’s Divisional Director of Publications, at andy.holton@swat.co.uk.

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About Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, healthcare and science and media markets, powered by the world's most trusted news organization. With headquarters in New York and major operations in London and Eagan, Minnesota, Thomson Reuters employs more than 50,000 people and operates in over 100 countries. For more information, go to www.thomsonreuters.com.

The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters is the leading provider of technology and information solutions, as well as integrated tax compliance software and services to accounting, tax and corporate finance professionals in accounting firms, corporations, law firms and government. Headquartered in New York, Tax & Accounting has major operations in Dallas, Ann Arbor (Michigan), London, Sydney, and Toronto, and offices in nine countries. For more information, go to http://thomsonreuters.com/products_services/taxacct/.

About SWATUK

SWATUK is one of the most successful, long established accountancy training and consultancy organisations within the UK. It has over 4,000 clients, ranging in size from sole practitioners to top ten practices across the UK.

Founded in 1976, SWATUK has developed an impressive range of products and services that are tailored to meet accountancy firms’ needs. SWATUK helps sole practitioners, multi-partner practices and commercial businesses remain compliant, efficient and profitable. The level of support they offer firms ranges from ad-hoc products and services, through to comprehensive holistic membership packages. Their comprehensive training and webinar programmes, compliance and efficiency based reviews, together with their ancillary support packages of documentation and software, ensure today’s busy accountancy practice stays ahead of the game.

SWATUK has offices in Plymouth (Head office), and London from where it also operates a busy training centre. The company runs over 500 CPD courses, staff and IT workshops across 15 different venues in England and Wales each year. In addition, it is at the forefront of webinar training for accountants running a programme of over 110 online training courses for accountants.