CPA Technology Blog

Sage Business Index

Sage periodically publishes a survey which compares how confident businesses feel about the economy by country.  The March results are shown below, or on the Sage site.  Pretty interesting stuff….

Online Editions of CPA Practice Advisor

Many of you know that I’m also the Technical Editor at the CPA Practice Advisor magazine, and my time there (going on two years now) has decreased the quantity of posts which I end up putting over here at the blog.  One of the interesting things that CPATA does is provide a “digital edition”, similar to a PDF version of the publication.  Issues available online in digital format include the following:

• 2011 “40 Under 40” Supplement
• October 2011
• November 2011
• December 2011
• January 2012
• February 2012
• March 2012

The reader works fine with many mobile browsers, or you can download a PDF version of each issue from the website, which will work offline with any PDF reader on your mobile device.

Happy reading, and I’ll have some more to post here soon.

More Tax Haikus

The lovely and talented Kelly Erb (@TaxGirl) has been running a social media promotion where she asks aspiring poets to write haikus about taxes.  This has served as my brain break (in an open Excel sheet) for the last couple of days.  Today’s haiku follow:

 

Why do people quit firms?

Our review points reveal that

We are control freaks.

 

The Pizza man knows

the code to the office door.

Tax season is ON!

 

Dominos, The Hut,

TakeOut Taxi, Steak Out.

Preparer dining.

 

march madness is near

the tournaments will be shown

in the conference room.

 

it begins with a

1099 and ends with

one last extension.

Tax Haikus

Kelly Phillips Erb (aka @TaxGirl) has a blog post over on Forbes where she is challenging users to create haiku about taxes.  I composed a few, and have posted them here for you, the gentle reader of this blog:

 

The cloud is coming

to accounting firms today

Is your firm roadkill?

 

Exhausted Tax Pros

Often collapse with a copy

The Master Tax Guide

 

Quickbooks and Peachtree

Are your tools to organize

Your client's shoebox

 

The hours are long

But the work is rewarding

Thank you, Newt Becker.

 

Cubicles are full

of toiling staff and interns

burning midnight oil

 

Enjoy.

Seeking Some Recommendations…..

I’m working on a few stories and projects right now, and need some input from you, the gentle reader.  Areas of assistance needed are as follows:

1. We need to know about your favorite tablet-based mobile PDF markup tools.  We’ve worked with a few of them – iAnnotate PDF, ez PDF Reader Pro, GoodReader, SignMyPadPro, DocuSign Ink, and many others.  Simple question:  What’s your favorite app, and why?

2. We need to know how you are using the cloud this busy season.  What’s new with your processes this year?  Are you using the Microsoft Office Web apps yet, or have you decided to leave them alone? 

Please let us know.  We can either read your responses or the National Enquirer…. and you know that doesn’t go anywhere good…..

CES Report, Part 2, on Intuit ProLine Site

Part Two of my CES Gadget Report is now available, and covers staying connected, scanners/imaging, and mobile devices/apps.  Some updates for you?

• I’m currently evaluating a Xerox Mobile Scanner, and will take it on the road some over the next few weeks.  Interesting tool, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it performs in my extreme travel environment.
• K2 is updating its SharePoint site (part of the organization’s implementation of Microsoft Office 365), and I’m looking forward to seeing the new portal once the full feature set of Office 365 is implemented.

Happy busy season, folks.

CES Report, Part 1, on Intuit ProLine Site

As I mentioned earlier, I wrote up a long article (approaching a treatise) on what I saw of interest to the accounting profession.  It was my original intent to post it here, but I ended up making a deal to post it on the Intuit ProLine site.  Some notes for you, the gentle reader of the CPA Tech Blog:

• The article has been broken down into 2 posts (nice, bite-sized pieces).  Part 1 is here: http://blog.accountant.intuit.com/from-the-experts/the-ces-2012-gadget-report-part-1
• The UltraBook shown in the article (a Samsung Series 9 with a 13.3” display, a Core i5 processor, 4GB RAM, and a 128GB SSD) is available from The Microsoft Store for $999 (as of when I’m writing this), and includes a $200 voucher for a future purchase from the MS Store (software, mouse, smaller laptop case, etc.).  Although I have been coveting this device, I am also freezing my gadget budget (iPad 3 is just around the corner) and will purchase something similar to this device later in the year.
• I have eval units of a couple of scanners which I saw at the show, and will be blogging about them in the coming weeks. 
• The new second monitors for laptops from Mobile Monitor Technologies will be coming out in the spring (sometime at the end of Q1 or during Q2).  One of the new models (Monitor2Go) will work with mobile devices, and is available for pre-order now.
• I’m still trying to reach some people who I met at the show for some follow-up conversations, and as I learn more about their products, I’ll pass it along to you through this site.

More info here when the second part of the CES Report is posted on the Intuit website.

CPA Practice Advisor’s Thought Leader Symposium Takes On Technologies And Workflow Evolution

The top thought leaders in the public tax and accounting field will come together on February 19-21 at Omni Hotel and Resort in Dallas, Texas, for the second annual CPA Practice Advisor Thought Leader Symposium.

DALLAS – January 30, 2012 – The top thought leaders in the public tax and accounting field will come together on February 19-21 at Omni Hotel and Resort in Dallas, Texas, for the second annual CPA Practice Advisor Thought Leader Symposium. This year’s event is sponsored by Sage, Thomson Reuters,Office Tools Professional and CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business. Additional co-sponsors includeFujitsu and Avalara.

The annual symposium unites the most influential practitioners, consultants, media and other experts who cover the tax and accounting profession, with the top technology vendors, to explore trends and events affecting the profession, as well as to help shape the future of technologies that professionals use. Attendees represent tax and accounting firms of all sizes from across the United States, and include several who have been honored by the American Institute of CPA’s and other professional organizations.

“Public accountants are in the business of making other businesses more efficient and successful, a mission that has never been more critical than in today’s economy,” said CPA Practice Advisor Executive Editor Darren Root, CPA.CITP. “The CPA Practice Advisor’s Thought Leader Symposium connects influencers who have a direct understanding of the needs of practitioners and vendors who create technologies and services. Our goal with the Symposium is to identify and shape the technologies needed to advance the profession in the years to come.” Root is also a practicing accountant and consultant based in Bloomington, Indiana, and holds the AICPA’s Certified Information Technology Professional designation.

Topics to be discussed at the symposium include strategic planning, technology, risk management, performance, micro-computing accounting systems, profitability, organizational growth, emerging technologies, public accounting trends, start-up tips, social media outreach, tax, audit, client services, green accounting, accreditations, measurement, software solutions, and workflow.

In addition to recognizing each of the Top 25 Thought Leaders for 2012, CPA Practice Advisor will name a new inductee into its Accounting Hall of Fame, an honor designed to recognize the ground-breaking achievements of individuals who have significantly contributed to the shaping of technology and workflow practices in the profession.

The Top 25 Thought Leaders for 2012 are: Greg Anton, CPA; L. Gary Boomer, CPA.CITP; Jim Boomer, CPA.CITP; Jim Bourke, CPA.CITP,CFF; David Cieslak, CPA.CITP; Gale Crosley, CPA; Chris Frederiksen, CPA; Michelle Golden, CPF; John Higgins, CPA.CITP; Tom Hood, CPA.CITP; Randy Johnston; Roman Kepczyk, CPA.CITP; Allan Koltin, CPA; Mark Koziel, CPA; Barry Melancon, CPA; James Metzler, CPA; Edi Osborne, Rick Richardson, M. Darren Root, CPA.CITP; Gary Shamis, CPA; Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP; Doug Sleeter; Brian Tankersley, CPA.CITP; Rick Telberg and Jennifer Wilson.

CPA Practice Advisor (www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com) is an independent information source for public tax and accounting professionals, dedicated to providing them with the resources they need to make informed decisions regarding implementing various technologies in their practices. The magazine’s audited circulation of more than 40,000 tax and accounting professionals look to it for its editorial independence and integrity.

CPA Practice Advisor and its digital offerings are published by Cygnus Business Media (www.Cygnus.com), one of America’s top business-to-business media publishers, reaching millions of professionals annually. Cygnus is leading the way in providing targeted content to top decision-makers and organizations. The company’s corporate initiatives and organizational architecture are built with one goal: fully engaging audiences in Aviation, Building & Construction, Public Safety & Security, Agriculture vertical markets and a variety of other industries.

CES 2012 Wrapup

As happens every year, I ran out of caffeine, battery power, or both toward the end of CES 2012.  As such, I’ve been looking through my notes to clean up some of my writing for various sources which will discuss what I saw there. Some of the things which I found very interesting included:

• DocuSign Ink, which is electronic signature service used by millions.
• iTwin’s simple file sharing device, which now supports multiple paired keys to a single shared location.
• Encrypted storage from Imation and Ironkey, as well as the future of authentication.
• Two Factor Authentication from a credit card, with PIN authentication (!)
• Kingston’s WiDrive flash-based file sharing device
• New scanners from Visioneer/Xerox, LG, and Canon to fill niches in the portable scanner market
• Security and filtering tools for smartphones from Absolute Security and NetNanny
• Home automation tools such as the Nest Learning Thermostat and smart garage door openers from providers which can (1) tell you what the condition of the monitored system is (e.g. temperature or whether or not the door is currently open) and (2) change the temperature or close the door from you using a smartphone app.
• Elder care devices from some providers which use your cell phone instead of the Lifecall (“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up”) device, and which will tell you if your senior didn’t take their medicine, as well as if they haven’t checked in when they’re supposed to.

Since I’m selling the stuff I’ve written on this to someone, I’m going to withhold the data from this space, but I’ll post the link (and the content, if the contract permits it) when the story goes live.

CES 2012 Coverage

Your humble editor (@BFTCPA) is at the Venetian in fabulous Las Vegas for the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show.  I’ll be providing coverage of the event for the next three or four days, and will try to filter the content to items that have direct implications for members of the accounting community.  If you have comments, concerns, or thoughts, please share them with me on Twitter (@bftcpa). I’ll try to address them in my posts, which will include more than one post per day in most cases, but the bandwidth is… a little dicey.  140,000 nerds use a LOT of spectrum.

So far, Wired has the best logo for their CES coverage:

Credit: Wired.com

There are a number of things which I expect to cover:

1. There are a wide array of press events today (Sunday) and tomorrow (Monday) where companies will be making announcements.  I’ll be attending some of these, but  don’t expect me to go off the deep end on home theater technology.  The coverage here has and will always be about getting more done with your time.
2. The PepCom Digital Experience! is Monday night, and Steve Ballmer of Microsoft will be presenting a keynote around the same time.  Decisions, decisions….
3. iTwin has a big announcement Tuesday morning, and I’ll be attending that one at The Venetian in late morning, and will be working the floor most of Tuesday.
4. ShowStoppers is Tuesday night, and I’ll be over there with a few thousand of my closest friends and neighbors (including the guys from Mobile Monitor Technologies (mmt2.com)).
5. I’m having dinner with some other accounting tech experts on Wednesday night (@GLafollette, @BGaby, @DCieslak, and others), and it should be very interesting to trade notes with them on what they saw which caught their eye in the two days of the show to that point. (No word from @RHSpencer on whether or not he is going to attend that dinner).
6. I intend to stomp as much of the trade show floor as possible, focusing on things that you’re not going to get from most traditional outlets.

Again, if you have questions or feedback, you can contact me (@BFTCPA) using either a public or a private message on Twitter.