What Your Client Experiences

Your information request must be approved by your client before it is submitted to the financial institution. Your client is alerted to your request via email and provides approval via a web portal. The procedure below outlines the steps that your clients will perform in this approval process.

Note: There is not a formal option in the CCH iFirm Validate process to reject a request. If a client does not want to provide approval, they can just ignore the request.

  1. The client approver receives an email that indicates that your firm is requesting authorization to request information from their financial institution. ClosedShow me the text of the email that customers receive

    As part of your engagement, <firm name> requires your authorization to request information from your financial institutions. Click the link below to authorize your accountant to request and receive information.

    Do you have any questions or concerns before getting started? Contact <email address for firm staff member making the request> today.

    <Review & Approve Requests button>

    Or copy and paste this link into your browser: <hyperlink to approval page>

    Confidential Notice

    This email and it’s attachments (if any) contain confidential information of the sender. The information is intended only for the use by the direct addressees of the original sender of this email. If you are not an intended recipient of the original sender (or responsible for delivering the message to such person), you are hereby notified that any review, disclosure, copying, distribution or the taking of any action in reliance of the contents of and attachments to this email is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please permanently delete any copies (digital or paper) in your possession.

  2. The client approver clicks the Review & Approve Requests button or copies and pastes the link in the email into a browser.
  3. The client approver logs in and authenticates their identity.
    • ClosedLog in for the first time on a particular browser or device.

      The client approver must complete 2-step verification. The steps include:

      1. Entering their email address when prompted to do so, and then clicking Continue.
      2. Clicking the option to send a code to their email address.
      3. Retrieving the security code from their email.

      Note: The security code expires after 10 minutes.

      1. Entering the security code in the Verify Your Identity window.
      2. Clicking Submit.
    • ClosedLog in for subsequent sessions.


      The client approver will only need to enter their email address to log in for subsequent sessions.


  4. The client approver views the details of the request on the CCH iFirm Validate site's client view. ClosedWhat information appears on this page?

<Client Name>

Welcome <Client Approver Email Address>

Your accountant requests your permission to confirm information at the following financial institutions.

By approving the request, you are permitting your auditor to request and receive financial information about your accounts.

<Table containing the following request information:

  • Financial institution and list of specific reports requested
  • Approve link
  • Status of the request
  • Name of the firm staff member making the request
  • Request date>

  1. Approvers have the option to approve a request with either one of the aggregators CCH iFirm Validate is integrated with – Plaid Inc or Finicity

  2. To Approve with Plaid Inc - In the approval screen, select Approve with Plaid to launch the Plaid window. Plaid is the banking service provider that securely manages and communicates the client's authorization to the financial institution.

    1. If providing authentication for a bank for the very first time:

      1. Click Continue in the Plaid window that opens upon clicking Approve with Plaid.

      2. On the Select your institution page, use the search box to find your bank by typing its name. Click on the bank's name once it appears to proceed.

      3. Enter your credentials when prompted by the application and click Submit.

      4. Review the connected accounts on the subsequent page, once confirmed, click Continue. In the next screen, you will have the option to review the types of financial data that would be shared, once reviewed, click Allow.

      5. The approval is applied automatically on the requests page. The status of the request is updated to Approved and will also update to reflect the name of the bank, date and email address of the approver.

    2. If providing authentication for a bank which was previously approved:

      1. Select Approve with Plaid to launch the Plaid window.

      2. Review the information on the Plaid window, and then click Continue to proceed.

      3. Enter the credentials for that financial institution, and then select Submit. In the next screen you will have the opportunity to review the account numbers and the data you will be sharing. Click Continue on each of the next screens to complete the approval process.

      4. If the application does not prompt for credentials, click Continue.

      5. The approval is applied automatically on the requests page. The status of the request is updated to Approved and will also update to reflect the name of the bank, date and email address of the approver.

  3. To Approve with Finicity - In the approval screen, select Approve with Finicity to launch the Finicity window. Finicity is the banking service provider that securely manages and communicates the client's authorization to the financial institution.

    1. If providing authentication for a bank for the very first time:

      1. Review the information on the Finicity window that opens and click Next.

      2. On the Find Your Bank page, use the search box to find your bank by typing its name. Click on the bank's name once it appears, and then proceed by clicking Next.

      3. Enter credentials when prompted by the application and click Submit.

      4. Review the connected accounts on the subsequent page. Once confirmed, click Submit. The approval is applied automatically on the requests page. The status of the request is updated to Approved, and will also update to reflect the name of the bank, date and your email address.

    2. To Provide authentication for a previously approved bank:

      1. Review the information on the Finicity window, and then click Next to continue with the approval.

      2. Enter the credentials for that financial institution, and then select Submit. The approval is applied automatically on the requests page. The status of the request is updated to Approved, and will also update to reflect the name of the bank, date and your email address.

  4. To Provide a Single Bank Statements to your Auditor – To provide bank statements securely to auditors for financial confirmation, clients should follow these steps:

    1. Log in to the Approver Dashboard. Access the Approver Dashboard and navigate to the Actions section where the auditor has requested statements.

    2. Approve the Request. Click the Approve link in the Actions section. A new window will appear. Proceed by clicking Start Verification.

    3. Select Your Bank. On the Select your bank page, use the search box to find your bank by typing its name. Click on the bank's name once it appears to proceed.

    4. Review Steps and Continue. On the next screen, review the steps provided to supply statements to the auditors. Click Continue to navigate to your bank's login screen.

    5. Log In to Your Bank Account. Log in to your bank account as you would for online banking.

    6. Navigate to Account Statements. Once logged in, navigate to the account for which the auditor has requested statements. Access the statements section, locate the statement for the requested month, then click the Download button.

    7. Download and Submit Statement. After clicking the download button, a pop-up will indicate that the statement has been downloaded. Click the Submit button in the pop-up to complete the process.

      To review the statement before submitting, select the See preview link. If the downloaded statement is incorrect, click the Cancel button in the pop-up or on the preview page to restart the download process without signing out of your bank account.

    8. Secure Storage and Delivery. The downloaded statement will be saved on CCH iFirm Validate’s server and added to the respective project in the auditor's Validate account. The statement will not be shared with the client at any stage, ensuring the integrity of the independent third-party confirmation process.

  5. To Provide Multiple Statements to your Auditor - To provide multiple bank statements securely to auditors for financial confirmation, clients should follow these steps:

    1. Log in to Approver Application. To view the request details, including the bank name, account number, and the months for which statements are needed. Open the approver application by clicking the Review and Approve buttons in the email received from Validate.

    2. Approve the Request. Click the approve link in the request to open the aggregator portal. In the aggregator portal, ​click Start Verification to begin the approval process.

    3. Find Your Bank. Use the search box on the Select your bank page to find your bank by typing its name. Click on the bank's name to proceed.

    4. Review Instructions. Review the steps provided to supply statements to the auditors. Click Continue to proceed to your bank's log in screen.

    5. Log In to Your Bank Account. Log in to your bank account as you normally would for online banking.

    6. Navigate to Statements. Go to the account for which the auditor has requested statements. Access the statements section, locate the required statement, and click the download button.

    7. Submit More Statements. After downloading a statement, you can either complete the submission or download more statements by clicking Submit More. This option is available until you have downloaded 5 statements. Once the limit is reached, the option will be grayed out.

    8. Complete Submission. Once all required statements are downloaded, click Complete Submission. This will close the aggregator portal and return you to the client application, where the request status will change to approved.

Notes:

  • An initial approval is required for all financial institutions. Once complete, CCH iFirm Validate defaults to pre-approving future requests for additional information from that institution.

  • Each future requests to a pre-approved financial institutions will generate a client notification email.

  • The client approver has option to toggle off the pre-approved feature within their dashboard.

  • The downloaded statements are saved on CCH iFirm Validate’s server and added to the respective project in the auditor's Validate account.

  • The statements are not shared with you at any stage, ensuring the integrity of the independent third-party confirmation process.

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