RIA OnPoint

OnPoint is Research Institute of America's CD-ROM research system. Its search mechanism is the Folio Infobase from the Folio Corporation, and is used by the AICPA in the Audit Program Generator.

The OnPoint service includes--Federal Tax Coordinator--for analysis United States Tax Reporter--for explanations

Internal Revenue Code Federal tax regulations Committee reports Digests of decisions and rulings IRS rulings, releases and publications Tax court cases--current year American Federal Tax Reports--for other court cases Weekly newsletter Archive Federal Tax Handbook Elections & compliance RIA tax rate and other tables Tax treaties Tax court rules Circular 230 Tax calendars--Pub 509 Estate/gift interrelated computations--Pub 904

Searching

OnPoint offers alternative ways to search the CD-ROM files by--

* full text word including Boolean logic,

* table of contents,

* topical index, and

* go to paragraph.

OnPoint can search any one of the above documents singly, or all of the documents at once.

The full-text word search actually takes place as you enter the text. As each word is entered, Infobase responds with the number of items found. As you refine the entry, OnPoint builds a tree showing how many times each item appears alone, and then in combination with each other. Pressing the Enter key after you have reduced the number of items found brings up the paragraphs, etc. containing the word(s) in the search. Each time the word(s) in the text search appears it is highlighted. By using the Tab key, you can jump to each occurrence. Code sections, regulations, etc. references also appear and can be accessed immediately by tabbing to the desired one and pressing the Enter key. Pressing the plus/minus keys toggles back and forth between text, code, etc., thereby providing a convenient way to continue to review the material selected without having to redo the search.

The OnPoint search history system allows you to store searches for future use. The search history system can be operated manually or automatically. The automatic feature can be invoked by opening up the history menu and selecting "autosave." Once activated, autosave keeps a running record of every query executed. The searches saved appear in a history window that is directly beneath the window into which queries are entered. A "Copy to query" option in the history menu executes the saved query.

Online Service

RIA offers an online link into LEXIS/NEXIS services. This link provides the text of all of the items cited in the CD-ROM including court cases, historical revenue ruling and procedures, private letter ruling, and technical advice memoranda. In addition, you can--

* retrieve other federal or state materials,

* keep up-to-date with news, and

* word search the entire LEXIS/NEXIS services.

Whenever OnPoint cites a document that is available from the online link, the online link can be entered directly by pressing the Enter key, provided that you are a subscriber to the service. Any of the items accessed on the online service can be printed out.

Price. A one-year subscription to RIA OnPoint is $1145. Additional enhancements can be added. For example, the New York and California modules can be added for $225 each. The OnLine Link function, which provides direct access to LEXIS/NEXIS, costs $25. LEXIS/NEXIS bills the subscribers directly for its services.

System Requirements, IBM or compatible with at least an 80286 processor, 640 KB of memory, hard disk drive, CD-ROM drive and Microsoft extensions, and DOS 3.1 or higher.

CCH Access

CCH Access system is now available in a Windows version. The Windows version presents the user with an icon toolbar, as well as the familiar pull-down menus. One of the major advantages of this new interface is the availability of the Windows printer drivers. On the other hand, the Windows version takes longer to find data than does the DOS version. On average, research time for a given topic was about five percent longer. Considering the time saving potential provided by the CD-ROMs, this is not much of a penalty to pay for being able to operate in the Windows environment.

CCH SmartTax

CCH SmartTax is an extended version of CCH Access. It not only includes the CCH Federal Tax Service, but allows the user to have CCH add additional services, such as IRS reference and tax compliance materials on the same CD-ROM. For example, you might want to include revenue rulings and procedures, Federal tax forms, and selected IRS publications. Users also have the option of adding New York and California.

CCH SmartTax is available for DOS or Windows. The CCH EXTEND service, which allows you to connect with CCH's on-line tax library, is also available.

Price. A one-year subscription to the CCH Federal Tax Reporter is $1480. Because of the flexibility of the options available in the CCH SmartTax system, you should contact your CCH representative for pricing. There is a one-time charge of $150 for the Windows software.

System Requirements. IBM or compatible with at least an 80386 processor for Windows, otherwise 80286, hard disk drive, CD-ROM drive and Microsoft extensions, 640 KB of memory (4 MB with Windows), DOS 3.1 or higher, and Windows 3.1, if needed.

CCH Tax Assistant

CCH Tax Assistant is CCH's new interactive tax accounting software designed to do the following:

* Perform tax research, tax planning, and related computations.

* Create tax research, audit trail, and compliance documentation (laser forms approved for filing with the IRS).

* Create client correspondence.

Tax Assistant is, in effect, an intelligence-based tax planning tool.

Each module within the Tax Assistant covers a specific subject, and contains checklists, numeric computations where appropriate, pinpoint access to the relevant material in the CCH ACCESS standard Federal Tax Reporter, and automated creation of research documentation.

If you are not familiar with a subject, the Tax Assistant provides checklists of issues and requirements. These are called "Question and Answer Sessions." These sessions raise each relevant question one by one, and provide help as you go along. You are given explanations covering the issues raised by each question, and if you have CCH Access CD-ROM, you can also jump out to the relevant authoritative materials in the CCH standard Federal Tax Reporter if you need more in-depth research on an issue (this is achieved by pressing the F9 key). Having CCH Access CD-ROM also allows you to save documents from CD-ROM and the Online Extend service and have them automatically assembled into your research documentation. Tax Assistant can also function without the CCH Access CD-ROM.

In the Q&A sessions of the software, you are not asked questions that are eliminated by your answers, so you have to research and deal only with relevant issues. The Q&A sessions also help you learn about the subject as you work through the issues. You can try alternative answers to see what questions are asked or are eliminated with your alternative answers. Don't be afraid to try some "what-if" scenarios. You can always change your answers back when you want to produce the various research reports.

If you are already familiar with the area of law in which you are researching, and you want to focus on a particular narrow issue, the Tax Assistant allows you to choose the particular issue and zero in on the full text material on CD-ROM and On-line, and then automatically generate a report based on your findings.

I tested the S corporations version of the Tax Assistant by working through the tutorial that came with it. I did not encounter any problems and rather enjoyed the exercise. The questions asked were quite comprehensive, and the linkages to the Access CD-ROM provided an extensive amount of research material, some of which I incorporated into the client letter that was prepared. By using the what-if capability, I uncovered a number of tax traps to avoid.

Price. A one-year subscription for each module of CCH Tax Assistant is $495 (there are currently three versions; S Corporations, Business Deductions, and Federal Elections).

System Requirements. IBM or compatible with at least an 80286 processor, 640 KB of memory, hard disk drive, and DOS 3.1 or higher.

Paul D. Warner, PhD, LLM, CPA, is a professor of accounting at Hofstra University and the editor of The CPA & the Computer column.