Sectors / Accounting firms
What your firm knows, kept apart from client files
Over the years, accounting firms collect checklists, review notes and close routines. Labs are interested in exactly that internal know-how. Taxpayer data and client files can be left out.
Check my estimateWhat counts
The records that tend to matter
You choose which of these are in. You can always leave any of them out.
Engagement checklists and plans
How staff plan, record and tie out each engagement from start to finish.
Reviewer notes and approvals
What reviewers flag, how preparers answer, and how points get cleared.
Closing procedures
The order a month-end or year-end close actually runs in, and who does what.
Templates and internal guides
The way the firm sets out its standards and methods for its staff.
What firms ask about first: client confidentiality
Strict professional duties govern the sensitive client and taxpayer information accounting firms hold. So the focus begins with the firm's internal know-how, not its client work. Client files and taxpayer data can be kept out entirely, and your tax software or any system holding them can be left out.
What, if anything, belongs in scope is decided with you and your counsel. We do not advise on whether licensing is permitted for your firm.
How it is handled
Everything starts under an NDA. License Your Data prepares a de-identified copy, with names and identifiers replaced by placeholders, including your own staff. Nothing goes out until you approve a sample, and your original records stay in your systems.
Two short questions
Must every system be included?
No. One well-kept system, such as a document store full of templates and checklists, can be enough to start the conversation.
Do we give up our methods?
No. A copy gets licensed, never the practice itself. You are free to hold back any template or folder you consider core.