It’s clear that the COVID-19 crisis is rising and, while we here at Metcalf Hodges are not panicking, we do want to be prepared and have a plan in place to minimize potential impacts to our clients and our team.
Currently, we are sanitizing the office every night. The reception area and main conference rooms are also being sanitized throughout the day. We are monitoring the health of all team members and encouraging anyone who feels sick to stay at home. Hand washing stations and sanitizer are available throughout the office.
Thankfully, we are an accounting firm that is fully capable of 100% virtual interaction. As a result, we want to share our plan going forward as the situation progresses. Our team is monitoring the situation daily, considering guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), regulators, and local public health departments. We anticipate that at some point local schools may close in order to contain the spread of the virus. If this occurs, we will use it as our cue to launch into full virtual mode and close our physical location.
If we launch into virtual mode, what will this mean for you?
- First, you can rest assured that our team will continue to work remotely to complete your return as normal.
- All appointments will be telephone or video appointments in place of in-person appointments. The opportunity to engage with our clients face-to-face is a tradition we enjoy and is vital to our firm. However, out of an abundance of caution for our clients and our team members, we will utilize technology to meet with you virtually to minimize any potential exposure.
- Any paper documentation brought to our office by March 6th has already been scanned into our system as part of our normal process. Documents received after March 6th continue to get scanned into our system until we (potentially) launch into virtual mode. This will allow us to continue to access your information and work on your return even if the physical office location is closed.
- We will continue to utilize Sharefile to transfer documents securely with you.
- We will assist you with signing your individual tax returns electronically, so no in-person appointment is necessary.
- Even if the IRS grants an additional extension for the tax filing season, we still plan to continue filing returns by April 15th as we normally would. We will help clients utilize any additional extension on an as needed basis.
We will continue to monitor the local situation and adapt our procedures as necessary. We value your continued trust and partnership with Metcalf Hodges. Please feel free to call or email us if you have any additional questions.