(CONTRIBUTED / iNFOnews.ca)

Normally, accountants would be breathing a sigh of relief following the grind of tax season through April. The workload typically lightens up, to a degree, in May.

These are not normal times, however, and Clark, Robinson Chartered Professional Accountants in Vernon are still as busy as ever in the present — albeit in a different sense.

“It has definitely been different in so many ways,” said Tatiana Jakab, CPA, CGA, one of the three partners of the firm that Art Clark started more than 40 years ago. There are currently eight additional CPAs employed by Clark, Robinson CPAs and 12 support staff of bookkeepers and administrators.

“We’re used to working hard and long hours during tax time,” she continued, “but now we are working for longer — stretching out over more months. We’re still working on the personal returns that otherwise would have been done in April.”

That is the result of deadline extensions issued by Canada Revenue Agency and the Canadian government in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). The new deadline for filing personal tax returns — traditionally due April 30 — is now looming on June 1, while people with proprietorships have until June 15 as per usual. The other extension is for those owing on their 2019 personal tax returns, with that payment deadline pushed back to August 31.

“There have been a lot of changes coming from the government,” said Marianne Grant, CPA, CGA, another partner of the firm. “There are also a lot of different announcements about relief measures and assistance measures — lots of different programs out there.”

Those programs include CERB (Canada Emergency Response Benefit), CEWS (Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy) and CEBA (Canada Emergency Business Account), among others.

“We can help with determining whether or not you qualify, then help with the application as well — beyond just doing the calculations. In some cases, we can get applications submitted on your behalf,” said Grant, noting there are two different wage subsidy programs available with varying stipulations and maximum amounts of funding. “We can help with all that and assist with tracking down any information that they might need to apply.”

Both Grant and Jakab were quick to point out that it hasn’t been all doom and gloom. They are also seeing and hearing their share of success stories as of late.

“Depending on the industry, some clients are struggling, but other clients are finding a niche,” said Grant. “There is one client who has retooled to be able to manufacture medical supplies. It’s nice to have a good news story once in a while.”

“It’s nice to hear it,” echoed Jakab. “Some businesses have definitely seen a drop in revenue, but others are managing or even thriving.”

For better or worse, everyone has been impacted by COVID and Clark, Robinson CPAs is no exception. Some aspects have become more challenging, while others are almost more convenient now. Like most, they are missing the human interaction above all else.

“COVID certainly made it harder for us to communicate. We love seeing our clients and meeting with them to discuss what we are reporting on financial statements and why,” said Jakab. “That has definitely been hard on us and the clients too — especially the older generation, who for the last twenty or thirty years have been able to communicate with us in person rather than over the phone or electronically.”

As of now, Clark, Robinson’s office doors remain open, although there are no face-to-face meetings happening in the present. Clients can drop off any necessary documentation. The rest of the process, for the most part, is done electronically — and the government is even accepting electronic signatures amid these strange times.

“That’s the biggest change right now — how information is coming to us and going out to the clients,” said Grant. “There are technical and technological issues with that, and some of it is demographic. For some clients, the digital transmission of information is easy, but for some of them it’s not possible at all. They don’t even have a computer or a smartphone.”

To which Jakab chimed in: “The younger clientele definitely prefer everything in electronic format and they provide everything in the same manner, so that is easier to work with on our end.”

Take the good with the bad and try to make the best of it — that is all anyone can do nowadays. That is the approach for Clark, Robinson, which has had to adjust their work schedule and working conditions to implement physical distancing.

“It’s certainly pushing us, too,” said Jakab. “We have been working towards a more digital landscape.”

The hope, of course, is that it’ll be back to business as usual for 2021 — when the next tax season rolls around — but Grant wasn’t about to make any predictions on the future or what will come next.

“I don’t know how good your crystal ball is, but mine’s not,” she said with a laugh. “Hopefully in the not-too-distant future we can at least get back to a point where we can meet with some clients again. We’ve got a big boardroom, so we can be six feet apart. The clients are missing it and we are missing it too.”

Clark, Robinson CPA’s, located at 3109 32nd Avenue in Vernon, is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. They can be reached by phone at 250-545-7264 or by email at info@clarkrobinson.com. Consultations can also be booked online through their website at clarkrobinson.com.

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