Blog Archives
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"Speed of Sound" is Almost Too Slow
By M. Darren Root, CPA.CITP; Executive Editor - Monday August 17, 2009I’ve blogged about how technology has the ability to transform our firms and businesses in ways that are almost super-human. Validating my thoughts is a new article on WSJ.com that talks about how companies are using technology to connect to customers in speedier ways: “Technology is transforming innovation at its core, allowing companies to test new ideas at speeds—and prices—that were unimaginable even a decade ago. They can stick features on Web sites and tell within hours how customers respond. They can see results from in-store promotions, or efforts to boost process productivity, almost as quickly.” I understand Fortune 500 firms have the means and money to do this, but why can’t CPA firms also use technology to more... -
Is it worth upgrading to Adobe Acrobat Standard 9.0?
By John D. Anderson, CPA.CITP, CIA, MCP, MSA - Wednesday August 12, 2009This latest version while not a singular upgrade that you should run right out and buy is one of those upgrades which makes sense if the firm is still using Adobe Acrobat Standard 6.x, 7.x, or 8.x. All three of these previous versions suffer from some type of programming problem which cause issues for the end user. This is especially true in accounting applications which integrating with other software such as Thomson Reuters Engagement CS or Intuit QuickBooks. Additionally, several of these versions had serious security vulnerabilities which if not patched in that specific version are definitely fixed in version 9.0. Note: Version 9 along with previous versions does have several security vulnerabilities including two which are... -
Now that Windows 7 is released should our Firm Upgrade?
By John D. Anderson, CPA.CITP, CIA, MCP, MSA - Wednesday August 12, 2009Microsoft Windows 7 is here! Three years after the release of Windows Vista, we have the first major upgrade of the operating system from Microsoft. The first week of August Microsoft released to manufacturing the final code in Windows 7. At the same time, it made available to certain customers downloadable copies of Windows 7. These downloadable copies are available to some Microsoft Partners, Microsoft Software Assurance subscribers, and TechNet subscribers. For those who do not fit these categories it will be about two months before Windows 7 reaches stores either on a new computer or as a boxed product. Windows 7 is important because it is actually what Windows Vista should have been. Microsoft has taken Windows Vista and... -
Save Money With Cloud Computing
By M. Darren Root, CPA.CITP; Executive Editor - Monday August 10, 2009I’ve written a few blog entries about cloud computing – hoping to make an impact on CPAs and accountants reading these entries who can understand how this outsourced technology infrastructure model is secure and efficient. I ran across an article this morning on MSN that talks about the costs associated with cloud computing through this quote: "We know how much it takes to keep servers up and running, and we didn't want to have to do that," says Sean Reed, vice president of Mojo Interactive, an online marketing and lead-generation provider in Orlando, Florida. Four years ago, Mojo migrated its entire sales operation to Salesforce.com, an online provider of customer relationship management services. "Up to that point, each of our sales... -
The Spirit Of Accounting
By Dave McClure, Contributing Writer/Columnist - Friday August 7, 2009Of all of the professions in this world, few donate as much time to charities and non-profits as accountants. They serve on boards of directors, as treasurers, and as volunteers. They are highly sought after because of their familiarity with standards, with audit procedures, and with internal controls necessary to make non-profits strong and effective in their pursuit of their missions. I know this, even though I must confess I am not a CPA. For all of the years I have spent in and around the accounting profession, I am a geek, not a green-shade guy. Nonetheless, I spend an amazing amount of time working with causes of every kind and description. And everywhere I turn there are accountants in service. That is how I know that the... -
Stay Tuned for a Stronger Microsoft
By M. Darren Root, CPA.CITP; Executive Editor - Tuesday July 28, 2009You would have to living on the side of a mountain not to hear about Microsoft and the problems its endured over the last several years: declining revenues, slow-to-market product growth and the shortcomings of Windows Vista are just a few of the issues. I believe things are about to change – for the better. This fall will see the debut of Windows 7, and although experts tell us it’s really only a bandage to fix Vista’s problems, it’s still expected to be huge in terms of business and consumer buy-in. What I like even better – and the rationalization for my opinions – is the way Microsoft will capture the Web-enabled market through Office 2010. explains how this off-the-shelf software is getting a cloud computing-like... -
Bing? (Yawn)
By Isaac M. O'Bannon, Editor - Thursday July 23, 2009Fellow CPATechViews blogger Dave McClure recently wrote about Google’s new foray into the land of operating systems (See: Killing Microsoft: www.cpatechviews.com/2009/07/killing-microsoft). He also notes Microsoft’s latest entry in the search engine field with Bing.com. Just as I don’t think Microsoft has much to worry about (yet) from a Google cloud-based operation system, I also don’t think Google really has anything to fear from Microsoft’s latest search strategy. Bing isn’t Microsoft’s first attempt at a mainstream search engine, of course. It debuted its first serious system in 1998 with MSN Search, which offered traditional indexing, web crawling and search results from various partners, including Inktomi, Looksmart and... -
Should you Give Employees Access to Facebook, Twitter?
By Scott Cytron, ABC; President, Cytron and Co. - Thursday July 16, 2009When I talk with clients and present to groups about social media, one of the most often-asked questions I get it whether an organization ought to give its employees access to social media while they are at work. Firms, companies and organizations of all kinds and sizes are concerned that their staff is going to waste time on Facebook, Twitter and other social media rather than concentrate on work. No doubt, this is a subject for debate. The rule of thumb I use is to first, ask several questions: Do you have Millennial and Gen-Y employees? This would be anyone age 22-30ish. Do you trust your employees, and do they feel they trust you - as their employer? Are they already using the Internet for their daily tasks? Do they have... -
Harry Potter and the Vast Opportunities in a CPA Firm
By M. Darren Root, CPA.CITP; Executive Editor - Tuesday July 14, 2009As we brace ourselves for yet another Harry Potter movie, I think Harry and his friends would want to cast a spell on today’s CPA firm – to enable partners to see the vast opportunities right in front of our eyes. Although my pop-culture allusion may be a bit lame, there’s nothing mystical about determining your strengths and building on your competencies. Now is a great time to do just that – over the summer when we’re between important filing deadlines and taking some much-deserved vacations – to think about what we can achieve and what we want to accomplish. If all of this sounds like another enchantment spell, then you need to think differently about your business. When I reach CPAs and their staffs during the Next... -
Killing Microsoft
By Dave McClure, Contributing Writer/Columnist - Wednesday July 8, 2009There is an old Japanese proverb that says, "If you sit by the river long enough, you will see the body of your enemy float by." Don't expect Microsoft to exhibit that kind of patience, now that Google has issued a direct challenge to the MS supremecy in PC operating systems. Vowing to offer a new system based on its Chrome web browser, Google unabashedly says it is going to war with the intention of killing Microsoft. I wish them luck. It isn't just that we've seen this before (McIntosh, WordPerfect, Unix, Ubuntu, etc.). There's also the question of what motivates the two companies to excel. Microsoft wants to sell products to people that will bring them back to buy more products. Google appears to want to sell products that...
