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It's almost always a memory issue. Have you installed other software recently? Have you looked at Task Manager to see what's running that you don't really need running? Go into services and changed unneeded software to Manual from Automatic. Look for things like Adobe update or QuickBooks update, QuickBooks backup or even QuickBooks itself. The new Edge browser has a quick start setting that keeps it running in memory, called startup boost. I discovered this because after recent Edge updates, my Startup monitor program notified me that Edge was trying to make something run at startup.

Another big memory hog are full blown Security Suites like Norton

Hey Rita german pinks are good and hard to grow. I like black cherry also. In response I would file. Goodwill goes a long way here.

IMHO, problems tend to arise when CPA Firms are providing multiple services to clients i.e., Auditing, Consulting and Tax Planning/Preparation, because conflicts of interest develop which can result in bad decisions being made.

Actually Microsoft "Patch Tuesday" was two weeks ago. Hey, eventually I got it right.

I would absolutely prepare and charge for this tax return.

I like the way you said that. Filing is goodwill. None of us are getting rich off this tax return. Nobody is taking advantage. Clients assume they should file. They are required to in this case, but even when not required, my clients want to file. Ok, ok, there's always that one who doesn't. You know the one - she was mad at you because she missed EIP2: "You told me I didn't have to file..."

https://web.archive.org/web/20131105052937/http://www.mlin.net/StartupMonitor.shtml

What a message to send to their clients. Wonder how they will "spin" this one. Totally agree about having all eggs on one basket leads to cracked eggs...

This makes me really angry, because aside from the potential harm to the public, the programs and monitoring that came about because of previous ethical violations actually costs me a lot of money in peer review fees and annual enrollment fee into the program that administers those reviews.

One of my favorite clients brought in a German Pink tomato for me one year, cradling it like a baby. I thought I might have to wrench it out of his hands.

Around here we call it “Hillbilly Estate Planning”. Why pay a lawyer $1,000 to do it right when all you need to do is follow the recommendations of some random stranger on the internet? (But then, from time-to-time we’ve also seen lawyers some up with some pretty quirky arrangements as well, often involving trusts)

Too long, I guess. When we built on my office addition, we put a basement under it which makes a fine, safe storage room. However, I make external backups every single year so could always reprint the return if I had too. But, that doesn't cover the notes, forms attached, etc; so I am thinking of starting to burn more since we have an outside wood burner. On the other hand, there have been a few instances when we have had to dig way back. As you said, sometimes they leave and come back several years later. I just had one last year that hadn't been here for 9 years because I fired her. She came back asking nicely and so far all is well. I am going to say seven to 10 years because I have the room and I can just see so many of you throwing up your hands in horror. That's what happens when you started out with pencils, erasers and printed forms and a copy machine.

Yes, you need to file. I had a client with a 1099 B with an even trade; no gain and no loss. They called him on it because they only had a record of the sale; no record of the basis. And, we had filed a return because of other issues but they billed him for tax on the total sales price of the stock exchange that my assistant failed to report.

Maybe they can pay Rita in tomatoes...

Come on, Rita. What's wrong with you. A nice, elderly couple...fixed income...probably have a garden in their back yard that they tend to. Let them be.

Used to - in the old days when I had a very attentive and organized office assistant - we would just write down each name as it came in/dropped off. And I would occasionally look at the book and say "crap (or something to that affect) I forgot about that guy - I better get him done/extended". We would go back on that same paper and mark when it was done. And then mark when it was picked up. Too cumbersome for the current feeble-minded staff. And as a result, one client was not put on extension, and one person's stuff never got off the front desk. Not end-of-world stuff here, but definitely client-losing stuff. So I'm trying to consider another method.

"Ernst & Young, one of the top accounting firms in the world, is being fined $100 million by federal regulators after admitting its employees cheated on their ethics exams. For years, the firm's auditors had cheated to pass key exams that are needed for certified public accountant licenses, the Securities and Exchange Commission found. Ernst & Young also had internal reports about the cheating but didn't disclose the wrongdoing to regulators during the investigation. "It's simply outrageous that the very professionals responsible for catching cheating by clients cheated on ethics exams of all things," Gurbir S. Grewal, director of the SEC's Enforcement Division, said in a release." After Enron, Worldcom and Global Crossings should we be surprised. The pressure on partners in large CPA Firms to obtain and keep clients apparently creates a corrosive atmosphere

Here's the spin: "Because it's their job to hold others accountable, Ernst & Young — one of the "big four" accounting firms — says it holds itself to a high standard of ethics. In fact, the firm's entire global code of conduct is based on an "ethical" framework. "At EY, nothing is more important than our integrity and our ethics. These core values are at the forefront of everything we do," Brendan Mullin, a spokesperson for Ernst & Young, said in an email to NPR. "Our response to this unacceptable past behavior has been thorough, extensive, and effective." Many of the employees interviewed during the federal investigation said they knew cheating was a violation of the company's code of conduct but did it anyway because of work commitments or the fact that they couldn't pass training exams after multiple tries."