Topic: IT

New Client Service Opportunities with Mobile Tech

The top apps accountants need to know. by Sandi Smith Leyva Mobile accounting has definitely arrived. A great first question to ask clients that are asking for mobile accounting is to just double-check to see if they have already downloaded their bank apps. If not, that may be something you can help them get set up. But don’t just think about the core accounting system.  Get them hooked up with their bank, credit card accounts, PayPal, payroll, and any other peripheral support that has an app, like timesheets, field services, and project management.  When you do, they will be ecstatic at your resourcefulness and you will be their latest mobile genius. There are some great new apps that extend core [...]

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Business Clients Tell Accountants: Evolve or Die

Is your accountant ahead of the curve on technology, or behind?  Clients find accountants’ tech skills lacking. By Rick Telberg CPA Trendlines As small and medium-sized businesses move increasingly online and adopt technologically integrated accounting systems, many tax and accounting firms will need to evolve or face extinction, according to a new survey obtained by CPA Trendlines.

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Workflow Solutions Vendor XCM Leverages Research Analysis from CPA Trendlines

Workflow at Tipping Point; XCM Solutions Prepares to Meet Demand Mike Sabbatis Joins XCM Solutions’ Board to Aid in Execution of Aggressive Growth Strategy Braintree, Mass. – March 25, 2013 – XCM Solutions, LLC, the leading provider of cloud-based workflow management software for the accounting profession, today announced the appointment of Mike Sabbatis to the XCM Solutions Board of Directors. Recognized best for his leadership in delivering innovative solutions to the accounting industry, Sabbatis will help the Company in the execution of an aggressive growth strategy, as it prepares to meet the growing demand for workflow management software among accounting professionals. The market for workflow management software is reaching critical mass as firms of all sizes look to technology to [...]

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The Newest Top Ten Tech Trends in Tax and Accounting

Beyond paperless: CPA firms launch a new arms race for cloud and mobile technologies. by Rick Telberg CPA Trendlines Research Leading CPA firms have clearly broken the going-paperless barrier and are adopting cloud and mobile technologies at a record pace, according to new data obtained by CPA Trendlines Research. Indeed, the question for practitioners is no longer “have you gone paperless yet?” or even “how paperless have you gone?” It is now “how much of your workflows have you moved to the cloud and made mobile and accessible everywhere and any time?” And the rest of the firms are asking themselves, “can I catch up?” The trend is, of course, a daily challenge for the profession, which CPA Trendlines covers [...]

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What Your Liability Policy Probably Doesn’t Cover

Insurance company beats accountant in court over lost client data. How to make sure it doesn’t happen to you. CPA Trendlines Research In yet another warning to firms about safeguarding client databases, insurance policies won’t necessarily protect you if the data gets lost or stolen, according to a CPA Trendlines reading of a new legal case. The highly influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh has ruled that Nationwide Insurance Co. has no duty to defend or indemnify an accountant who lost sensitive personal information from client files. Here’s the case, analysis and comment:

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Three Strategies to Improve Buy-In for Change

Feeling the frustration? by Dustin Hostetler Flowtivity How many times has your CPA firm implemented a process change or new technology, only to find out on the back-end after implementation, that only a fraction of the firm is following the new process or using all the features? RELATED: The Coming Storm in Staff Turnover (VIDEO) If you answered something along the lines of “all the time” don’t worry, you are not alone. Obtaining the much needed buy-in for process and technology improvements within firms is a concern I hear regularly.

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Hackers Show How to Break into Major Accounting Software Systems

The hacker transfers receivables credit balances to payables in GP Dynamics (from the white paper) PRO members: Get the details in an instant download. by Rick Telberg When finance and accounting professionals worry about computer security, they may think about stolen laptops, purloined passwords, or lost backup drives. But few worry about hacker attacks against their accounting system software, the kind of attacks that could bring down an entire business or even up-end part of the global accounting system. Well, start worrying. A pair of computer science security experts has unveiled new research that shows just how easy it might be to crack into such commonly used software systems as SAP, Oracle, or even QuickBooks, Sage or Microsoft’s Dynamics. Get [...]

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CPA Trendlines Analysis: 40% of Firms Going to the Cloud

New data and analysis cited in CCH cloud technology report. Accounting, tax and audit leaders are using cloud computing to improve speed, agility and collaboration, while also increasing productivity and profits, according to a new report on technology trends. Nearly 40 percent of accounting and tax firms plan to migrate some systems to the cloud within the next 12 to 18 months, and about one-third plan to do so this year, according to market research and consulting firm Bay Street Group, which publishes CPA Trendlines. As recently as two years ago, the adoption rate was in the single digits. “The environment is changing rapidly,” CEO Rick Telberg points out. The research is cited in the latest edition of Partners Magazine, [...]

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How Apple Is Changing Your Business

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Cloud & Mobile Technologies Drive Change in Tax and Accounting

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Cloud and mobile top the list of emerging technologies transforming the tax and accounting profession, according to a new CCH survey. “We’re now at a point where all the benefits that have been talked about from emerging technologies are here – firms using these technologies today are seeing tremendous benefits in productivity and the value they can deliver to clients,” says Kevin Robert, president and CEO for Wolters Kluwer Tax and Accounting, which runs CCH. Complete conference coverage: Cloud & Mobile Technologies Drive Change in Tax and Accounting  |  How Apple Is Changing Your Business  |  10 Ideas to Keep Your Firm Moving Forward  | According to professionals surveyed, [...]

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The Accountants’ First Look at Microsoft Surface

And the plethora of new tablets.  by Randy Johnston  Network Management Group  Microsoft Surface has shipped, and I was one of the lucky people to get one of the very first units. We are going to see many new tablets released this fall including the iPad Mini, which I have on order ($634.99), as well as the new iPad4 and replacements for the Google nexus7 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 that I own, like and use. The tablet operating systems, usability and applications improve daily. I am the most productive on a tablet with a keyboard, but that may not be true for you. My skin type requires touching a screen multiple times for the touch to be recognized. For example, it is normal [...]

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Revenues on the Rebound for Most U.S. CPAs

Billing rates and partner incomes gaining strongly. Most CPA firms are reporting some measure of revenue growth, according to one widely followed survey obtained by CPA Trendlines. “And while the profession has yet to rebound to pre-recession levels,” the authors say, “it is steadily gaining momentum.” Furthermore, the smallest firms appear to be the biggest winners, with 33% growth in net client fees per professional and per partner. The report includes data and trends on: Increase in net fees Fees per partner Net remaining per partner Average partner billing rates Average partner compensation Utilization rates Paid time-off Firm technology Online technology

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How to Make an Extra $72,000 by Working Smarter

If you own or manage a small CPA firm, you can’t ignore effective workflow management.  If you do, you are losing money, clients, and your sanity. Here’s one CPA’s story. By Frank Stitely, CPA, CVA Stitely and Karstetter  Every year around March 25th, the following telephone conversation happens in small CPA firms, probably yours as well.  You or one of your staff picks up the telephone to hear, “I’m calling to check on the status of my tax returns.  I dropped them off in February and haven’t heard from you since.”

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Start Your Next Tax Season in the Cloud [VIDEO]

Robert Chandler, president and CEO of Cloud 9 Real Time, a cloud service provider, says accountants should think first about going to the cloud with their tax prep applications.

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Tech Advances Drive Higher Expectations for Corporate Tax Departments

Companies see new savings in better tax planning. Corporate tax executives have increasingly broadened their role beyond just compliance, to taking a more proactive role in managing risk and contributing to decisions that influence strategy, according to a new study.

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CCH Opens Platform to Connect 3rd-Party Apps

  New partner program with other software vendors supports immediate integrations. via CCH Wolters Kluwer Tax and accounting professionals now have a new way of working, integrating applications from different sources on CCH’s new “Open” Integration Platform, sharing common data and streamlining workflows easily between systems. Applications available for integration include those created by CCH, and other applications by third-party providers – and even applications developed within a firm or corporation.  

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Gabrielle Luoma: Building a NextGen CPA Firm

[CLICK TO PLAY] A Great Time to Be in the CPA Business…

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