CPA Firm Management Association (CPAFMA) State Societies

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1 Quick Start Guide

2 Survey Sponsors Supported by: CPA Firm Management Association (CPAFMA) State Societies Premier sponsor AON Insurance Services is the broker and administrator for the AICPA Insurance Programs. AIS will not have access to individual firm data.

3 Getting Started Overview This guide describes how to get started with your survey. View the following pages for illustrated descriptions of how to enter data, invoke powerful comparisons, and run extensive reports. Logging in Enter the URL for your benchmarking platform: Use the unique username and password that were ed to you. Login/Logout of your platform as often as desired, enter your data and save your responses on each page and never lose data. Support Once you have logged in, click on the Support link on the top right corner of your platform to access helpful documentation and contact information.

4 Logging In When you receive your login credentials Note that your username and password are case sensitive. When you login for the first time, you will be prompted to choose a secret question and to change your password. Lost or forgotten passwords are easily reset here. If you have forgotten your username, contact the AICPA PCPS support team at pcps@aicpa.org.

5 Company Setup To manage users of your account, click on Company Setup on the top right of the screen Only administrators within an account can manage users Options Add new users to a firm s account - Enter user information and permission level - Read Only Users. Users who cannot enter or edit data on survey - Write Only Users. Users who can add and edit data on survey, but cannot compare or download reports - Users. Users who can add and edit data on survey as well as compare and download reports - Administrators. Users who can manage users as well as add and edit data, access compare and download reports Delete existing users from an account Update data about existing users in an account

6 Company Setup Example

7 Gateway Page The Gateway Page is the access point for you to navigate through all areas of your survey Tab and menu navigation Data Entry (My Firm) is the tab for answering all of the questions in your survey. Comparison (Compare Firms) is the tab for comparing data on a question-by-question basis. Reports (Reports & Charts) is the tab for downloading dynamic reports containing statistical charts and graphs. Questions Click on the blue question groups to begin entering your data points.

8 Gateway Page

9 Tracking your Progress Track your progress by viewing the number of questions that you have answered for each question group (please note that not all questions may be answerable by all users). It s ok if you don t answer all questions. Track your overall progress by viewing the progress graph at the bottom of the gateway page Your progress statement will indicate the minimum percentage completion required for accessing comparison and reporting. Again, it s ok if you do not reach 100% but do meet the 50% required to access comparisons and reports (when available).

10 Question Organization Questions have been analyzed and organized into major categories Each category has sub-categories called Question Groups Click on any blue question group to get started Categories and questions can be selected and answered in any order Within the major categories, use the convenient tabs to move between the different question groups

11 Answering Questions As you answer the questions in your survey, the data entry box turns GREEN indicating that new data has been provided and must be saved by clicking a Save button on the bottom of every page. When a user clicks the Save button several actions occur behind the scenes. Entries are updated, calculations are performed (or updated) and fields are formatted with commas and/or decimal places (if appropriate).

12 Save Time Use the Copy Prior Year Feature When Answering Questions If you entered data for the year prior, you have the option to copy those answers into the current year on a page-by-page basis. If you are on a page that you'd like to copy the previous year's answers into the current year (e.g., Profile or Demographics Pages), simply click on the link for Copy Prior Year Data. Note that if you've already answered questions for the current year, the previous year's data will not overwrite your current answers. You can still edit and update your answers anytime. The system will tell you how many answers were copied from prior year. Click OK, return to the page, make any changes or adjust your numbers as needed, and BE SURE to click Save at the bottom of the page to Save your answers before moving forward. You can always go back and edit answers, anytime, as needed.

13 Saving your Answers Choose Save to save your answers but stay on the current page Choose Save & Next > to save your answers and proceed to the next area Choose Cancel to abandon your new data

14 Submit your Survey Data When you have answered all of the questions that apply to your firm and are ready to submit your data, click on the *Submit Survey* button (located at the TOP of the Page). Be sure you have reviewed all answers and have reached at least 50% completion before submitting your survey data. Once submitted, you can review your answers, but CANNOT change your answers. If you submit data that you decide needs to be changed, contact for assistance.

15 Accessing Comparisons and Reports and Charts Comparisons and Reports and Charts will become available after the data collection period has ended. After clicking the *Submit Survey* button, you will be able to view your answers, and can see the Comparison and Reports tabs, but will not have access to this information. Participating PCPS and CPA.com members will have free access to Compare Firms tab. Fees may apply to other non-member participants. This information will be communicated when AICPA PCPS/CPA.com releases full results and reporting in the fall, The following slides detail comparison and reports features that will become available.

16 Compare Your Firm to Your Peers (available after Data Collection period has ended) Click the Compare Firms tab or menu bar to access comparison data for all questions As with data entry, select any blue question group to access questions for comparisons On-demand popup charts are available for all numeric and multiple choice questions For numeric metrics, get popup charts by clicking this icon For multiple choice metrics, get popup charts by clicking this icon

17 Line Chart Legend Understanding comparison results For multiple choice questions, view all answer options with their respective percentages - Your answers are shown in blue For numeric questions, view a line chart displaying the 25 th, median and 75 th percentiles - Your answer is shown as a blue arrow above the line

18 Filters Filters have been designed specifically for your platform to allow you to drill down in your data Select any filter or combination of filters to compare your firm to a subset of the database. If your filter selection returns too few firms, you will see this informational message: Your filter settings are not currently active, because not enough firms would be displayed. Anonymity By limiting the number of firms returned, it is impossible for firm identity to be determined and anonymity of data is always protected. If your filters do not return enough firms, simply go back and widen the range of your filters - Select a different filter option or turn off a filter by clicking on the X

19 Using Filters Click Change to activate your selected filters Numeric filters - Click Add to activate the sliders and then use the slide bar to set a numeric range OR enter your number ranges in the boxes Multiple choice filters - Choose from the drop down menus to select filters

20 Reports (available after data collection period has ended) To access reports, click on the Reports & Charts tab from the gateway page Choose from a list of downloadable reports that contain dynamically generated benchmarking charts Filter settings set for comparison will carry over, however, can be easily modified as required All downloadable reports can be used to prepare for meetings, capture historical snapshots or communicate with others

21 Thank you for viewing this Quick Start Guide If you have further questions, please contact the PCPS support team at for assistance 2016 American Institute of CPAs. All rights reserved.