The 7-Step Technology Audit

This has been a brief — very brief — overview of a technology audit. As for learning how to conduct the audit, the easiest way is to conduct one on your own accounting firm. Just don’t be surprised to learn that your own company isn’t in as good a shape as you thought.

-- Reality Check --

Internet Site of the Month:

The Accountants & Auditors page at: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos001.htm.

This summary from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics makes for a fun read, but also has some interesting information for the firm’s strategic plan, including average salary information and hiring trends.

-- Dave's Hit's & Misses --

Symantec. I have stayed away from Symantec for the past few years, while they largely abandoned the small user in the quest for mega-corporate accounts. And while their software became increasingly bloated, slowing or blocking a host of other programs. But I am happy to announce that the current version addresses this problem, bringing the Norton Internet Security suite back to the forefront for personal and small business computers.

Scareware on the Mac. For decades, Mac computers have enjoyed a blissful existence outside of the mainstream. With a market share that has never really topped 13%, the Mac simply wasn’t prevalent enough for hackers and scammers to attack it. But with the growing visibility of the company and its iPad/iPhone products, that is changing. The latest assault is with scareware, the “you may have a virus and need to pay us to scan your operating system” scam that has plagued the PC world for years. Even the Mac isn’t safe anymore…

USB 3.0. It’s the newest, hottest flavor of the Universal Serial Bus, but it is slow in catching on. Though it has been in the marketplace for a year and a half now, neither manufacturers nor consumers seem particularly interested in making USB devices faster. What may trigger some movement in the area are the power reductions available, which could permit more USB devices to be used simultaneously.

eBooks. At the New York Book Fair, one of the publishing industry’s biggest tradeshows, the news was all about electronic publishing. As well it should have been, now that sales of eBooks outpace sales of the paper-bound counterparts. Don’t want to spend the bucks for a reader? Amazon.com, for one, has a free PC version of its Kindle reader software.

“Unlimited” Data Plans. Calling a data plan for a cell phone “unlimited” is a ruse that for once has me wishing the federal government would interject itself into the marketplace. While the three biggest cellular services finally abandoned this outright fraud, many of the smaller cellular vendors are still making the “unlimited” claim. The catch? Use more data than they want to pay for, and they will simply close your account. Where is the Federal trade Commission when you need them?

"Reality Check" is a compendium of ideas, products, rants and raves from the viewpoint of the author. Feel free to disagree, or to share your ideas by sending them to dave.mcclure@cpapracticeadvisor.com.