A compliance calendar that actually holds
Most missed deadlines are not forgotten. They are found too late. Here is how we build a filing calendar a firm can work to.
Deadlines are rarely missed because nobody knew about them. They are missed because the work behind them started too late, and the person who could have started it did not know the file was waiting.
Work backwards from the filing date
A filing date is the end of a chain, not a task. Put the return date in the calendar, then add the date the working papers must be complete, the date the client's records are due in, and the date you chase for them. Those middle dates are the ones that protect the filing.
One calendar, one owner
Every entry needs a named owner and a named reviewer. Where a deadline sits with a client rather than with the firm, that is worth recording too, so the chase is a scheduled task instead of a memory.
Review it weekly, not monthly
A monthly review catches problems once they are already urgent. A short weekly look at the next six weeks gives enough room to move work between people before anything is at risk.
We run this calendar alongside our clients' own systems, with a close calendar agreed in writing at the start of the engagement.