Imaging Science and Services, Inc.

Certain websites are selling fraudulent resale certificates and tax ID numbers for all states

http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=dorutilities&L=1&sid=Ador&U=phony_resale_cert

�

CCH Enhances CorpSystem Sales Tax Office with Exmption Certificate Management Integration with ISSI

ISSI, provider of exemption certificate and document management solutions, announces that Earl Mahoney has been promoted to Director of Business Development for the Western Region. In an effort to build out existing partnerships with consulting firms and have further presence in California for their customer base.

This will allow the TEAMS solution to be demonstrated and implemented through a variety of channels in an effective method. Mahoney has extensive experience in the tax technology space, with over 10 years at Taxware (ADP) and Thomson Tax and Accounting filling his background in account management roles.

”We look forward to reaching new heights with our partners and customers by instituting some of Earl’s skills.” says Larry Powers, Chief Strategy Officer with ISSI. “Earl has been successful in similar environments and will bring a good perspective for our contacts and in expanding our presence.”

Also this month, ISSI has upgraded the TEAMS SaaS offering to include additional reporting features and functionality for their web services components.  Phil Hodge, Managing Principal at ISSI, stated, “In keeping with the tradition of partnering with our customers, we saw the need through feedback and have confidence it will be an accepted industry standard.”

About Imaging Science and Services, Inc. (ISSI):
From exemption certificate collection through audit defense, ISSI reduces the risk and cost of sales and use tax exemption certificate management (ECM) with TEAMS & LineLink™ software. ISSI is headquartered in Hudson, Ohio and has reduced the risk and cost of transaction tax compliance with blended solutions of technology, services and knowledge transfer for hundreds of companies in the manufacturing, telecommunications, utilities, retail, healthcare and financial services industries since 1994.

ISSI is announcing the addition of features that enhance the TEAMS offering, along with the hiring of Larry Powers as Chief Strategy Officer, to lead their business development campaign for 2010. This is part of the new goal by ISSI to eliminate paper tax exemption certificates within five years. 

The new functionality increases ease-of-use for corporations implementing tax exemption certificate compliance solutions, and with the elements for retail/POS, e-commerce, telecommunications, and web services expanded and offered to corporations of all sizes. It also increases the availability of the TEAMS offering across verticals, and streamlines the ability for corporations to respond to audits efficiently and in a secure manner.

“Our goal at ISSI is to work with our customers and partners to make paper a thing of the past, while reducing the amount of time they work to respond to audit and keeping their information safe and sound,” says Phil Hodge, CEO of ISSI, “while carrying forward the quality and customer service that has made us the provider of choice currently.”

Hodge also cited the new position of Chief Strategy Officer at ISSI, filled by Larry Powers, a tax technology veteran who has succeeded both on the software and ERP implementation aspect with customers in energy, telecommunication, sales tax and VAT compliance in his former positions. He has also created solutions for audit defense and helped corporations with leveraging technology for their compliance needs.

“I am pleased to be part of the team and associated with a quality organization that has a 16 year history of success and vision for the future,” stated Powers. “Phil (Hodge) is such a respected person in this industry, it will be a pleasure to represent an organization with such high expectations. One of the key differences I noticed was a genuine concern by ISSI that customers needed alleviation for audit needs and a reduction of audit support tasks.”

One of the focus points for Powers will be to bring fruition for ISSI’s partnerships and expand their e-commerce, retail, and corporate governance solutions into more verticals. ISSI will be exhibiting at the Institute for Professionals in Taxation 34^th Annual Conference in Phoenix later this month to display their offerings and demonstrate the new features.

About Imaging Science and Services, Inc. (ISSI):
From exemption certificate collection through audit defense, ISSI reduces the risk and cost of sales and use tax exemption certificate management (ECM) with TEAMS Express & LineLink™ software. ISSI is headquartered in Hudson, Ohio and has reduced the risk and cost of transaction tax compliance with blended solutions of technology, services and knowledge transfer for hundreds of companies in the manufacturing, telecommunications, utilities, retail, healthcare and financial services industries since 1994.

Reports: Acquiring certificates in a timely fashion is crucial when proactively managing exemption certificate compliance. TEAMS Express and LineLink make it easy to monitor the flow of incoming new and updated exemptions within your exemption certificate processes and minimize risk and exposure. The “Certificate by Date ” Report provides the basis for measuring certificate flow so that you can take appropriate action before trouble occurs. The report documents when new or updated certificates were processed into TEAMS Express. As with all reports, you can specify a variety of criteria for selecting and organizing your data including date range, geographic coverage by state and more. With these metrics in hand, you can identify periods or regions where compliance is lacking. Furthermore, you can use LineLink to match up the reported data with your exempt sales reports for a specified time period and gauge the effectiveness of certificate acquisition at the time of sale. The possibilities are endless.
Using Barcodes: Adding barcodes to certificate requests for expiring exemptions is quick and easy within TEAMS Express. These barcodes automate the receipt of exemption certificates submitted by customers and allow them to be properly captured more quickly for review and indexing as it automatically matches up certificates received with your customer demographic information.
If you have additional questions about these productivity features, please contact Sales for additional information.

Philip C. Hodge, CEO and Founder of ISSI, will be speaking at Fusion 2010 on May 10-11, 2010 on the latest trends and best practices for sales and use tax exemption governance. Fusion 2010, the IAPP Annual Forum and Expo In Collaboration with TAWPI and IARP, is the premier event for A/P and A/R professionals being held in Grapevine, Texas from May 9-13, 2010. Effective corporate governance, risk management and compliance depend upon the continuous collection and proactive management of all required documents including sales and use tax exemptions. Phil will be speaking on “Automating the Use-Tax Exemption Process” and “Sales Tax Exemption Governance” in light of the rapidly changing technology landscape and increasingly aggressive state audit activity. John Schmarr, an expert in State and Local Tax and a lead consultant with ISSI joins Phil on both days. These practical sessions examine real world sales and use tax challenges that companies are facing under today’s trying economic conditions. A/R and A/P professionals will sharpen their knowledge and wits as they learn the latest technology strategies and best practices for protecting themselves from state audit risk and exposure.

State of Washington Replaces Resale Certificate
Effective January 1, 2010, the Washington resale certificate will be replaced with a reseller permit issued by the Washington State Department of Revenue. To remain sales tax exempt beginning next year, a reseller’s permit will need to be obtained as proof of exempt status. Our service team is taking appropriate action on behalf of our TEAMS Express customers to ensure that they stay within compliance.

NY State Repeals Upfront Exemption for QEZEs
The Qualified Empire Zone Enterprises (QEZEs) upfront sales tax exemption has been repealed September 1, 2009 pursuant to chapter 57. According to the New York Department of Taxation and Finance, Form ST-121.6, Qualified Empire Zone Enterprise (QEZE) Exempt Purchase Certificate, is declared invalid and will no longer serve as proof of exemption.

Managing Sales and Use Tax exemption compliance audits is daunting enough during the best of times. Under current economic conditions, it can be perilous. State auditors are stepping up audits in search of additional sales tax revenue. Corporations are downsizing personnel which means fewer resources that are available for handling sales tax exemption certificates and related state sales tax audits. You need a force multiplier.

Outsourcing sales and use tax exemption certificate compliance is one cost-effective method for offloading the burden of certificate collection, management and audit defense. ISSI and TEAMS Express can provide you with the highest levels of compliance at a much lower cost. Delivered securely across the web from our SAS 70 level II certified hosting facility, we can provide you with more options for handling any or all aspects of exemption certificate management.

For less than the cost of a single accountant per year, you can reduce your sales tax audit risk and significantly increase transaction tax exemption compliance with TEAMS Express.