Tax return outsourcing and systems for protecting data

A financial services outsourcing method for facilitating outsourcing tax preparation services for numerous clients, the tax preparation services being outsourced to an outsourcing group abroad, the method comprising:

• loading, onto a host computer system, client specific financial files and corresponding reference materials, the host computer system providing access to information concerning the client specific financial files and corresponding reference materials;
• retaining outsourced personnel to perform the tax preparation services for clients, the outsourced personnel performing tax preparation service projects while located outside the United States;
• providing the outsourced personnel limited access to a predefined set of data associated with a particular client of the clients stored on the host computer system, wherein the outsourced personnel utilize terminals for accessing information on the host computer system, the terminals providing only screenshot image information concerning the client specific financial files and corresponding reference materials pertaining to a given tax return worked on by a given outsourced individual;
• the outsourced personnel performing the tax preparation services;
• a web-based and web-accessible tracking system to log status information regarding the tax preparation services while the tax preparation services are being performed, the status information comprising the tax preparation services having been submitted to the outsourced personnel for processing, significant events that have been performed by the outsourced personnel with respect to the tax preparation services, questions regarding the tax preparation services having been posted to the web-based tracking system, and the tax preparation services having been completed;
• accessing, by a financial firm that facilitated the outsourcing, the tracking system to obtain a status report produced from logging the status information regarding the tax preparation services;
• and
• sending, by the tracking system, an unsolicited notification to the financial firm in response to a status change occurring with the tax preparation services.