My preparer says a workpaper index is optional, but I keep losing time finding support. Is building one worth it?
Every time a bank, accountant, or internal reviewer asks about related-party flows, we end up re-opening the same folders and recreating the same explanations. That makes me think the file may technically exist but still be failing as a working compliance system. The tax return got filed, yet the process around it still feels fragile.
I am trying to decide whether a workpaper index is just extra neatness or whether it is actually the missing piece between raw records and a defensible Form 5472 file. If it saves repeat effort and makes future disputes easier, I would rather build it now than keep paying the same confusion tax every quarter.
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