Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey, Author at CPA Trendlines

SURVEY: Tax Software Favorite Keeps Crown

Firm size may matter.

The Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey

UltraTax CS is the tax software most used by firms in our survey, at 24.2 percent of respondents.

MORE: SURVEY: Workflow Is a Problem. So Why Aren’t Firms Buying Solutions? | Zoom, Teams Top Meeting Choices | One in Four Firms Replaces Servers by Schedule | You’re Probably Not Reading This on an iPad | 52% of Firms Look Outside for IT Support
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It topped the choices last year as well … but at 26.7 percent.

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SURVEY: Workflow Is a Problem. So Why Aren’t Firms Buying Solutions?

Buying plans: 16% say maybe and 33% say no.

The Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey

A couple of years ago, the accounting profession was hearing a great deal about workflow. It was going to save us! Some watched with typical caution; others dove in.

Another year, another survey. Respondents cited workflow as a problem this year, but they’re not backing it up with their dollars.

MORE: SURVEY: Zoom, Teams Top Meeting Choices | Are You Using Too Many Monitors? Or Not Enough? | One in Four Firms Replaces Servers by Schedule | You’re Probably Not Reading This on an iPad | 52% of Firms Look Outside for IT Support | Pandemic? What Pandemic? | Today’s Top 3 Problems: Staffing, Workflow and Tech
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CHARTS & GRAPHS

SURVEY: Zoom, Teams Top Meeting Choices

The last couple of years flipped quickly.

The Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey

Zoomed. That’s what the favored videoconferencing application did to the top of its sector, and we all know what it’s called. Behind it, no I in Teams but definitely one in Microsoft, which made a hard push to get its new application acclaimed.

MORE: Are You Using Too Many Monitors? Or Not Enough? | Are You Still Using a Dell PC? | Firms Prefer Dell Servers | Cloud Backup Declining | Firms Battle Disruptions in Communications and Workflows | M&A Looms Large for 30% of Firms
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There’s an interesting question aside from the choices, though.

CHARTS & GRAPHS

SURVEY: Are You Using Too Many Monitors? Or Not Enough?

Half of firms use two. Some use more. A surprising number use just one.

The Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey

What’s the easiest way to see multiple projects at once?

MORE: SURVEY: Are You Still Using a Dell PC? | Firewall Choices, Choices, Choices | SURVEY: Webroot Tops Virus Fighters | Only 19% of Firms Host Email | Pandemic Changed Work for 64%
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Multiple monitors, of course.

CHARTS & GRAPHS

SURVEY: Are You Still Using a Dell PC?

Signs of a decline.

The Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey

No matter how large tablets get, sometimes there’s nothing else like a desktop for displaying columns and columns of data. When that time comes, 49 percent of Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey users turned to Dell. HP was second at 16.8 percent, where it has remained solidly for three years now.

MORE: SURVEY: Firewall Choices, Choices, Choices | One in Four Firms Replaces Servers by Schedule | You’re Probably Not Reading This on an iPad | 52% of Firms Look Outside for IT Support | Pandemic? What Pandemic?
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CHARTS & GRAPHS

SURVEY: Firewall Choices, Choices, Choices

No single brand was favored.

The Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey

When it comes to firewalls, “other” has been a strong contender before, but it has shoved its way to top dog, pulling in 34.2% of responders to The Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey.

MORE: SURVEY: One in Four Firms Replaces Servers by Schedule | You’re Probably Not Reading This on an iPad | 52% of Firms Look Outside for IT Support | Pandemic? What Pandemic? | Today’s Top 3 Problems: Staffing, Workflow and Tech
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Did any of that come from the transition out of Dell into SonicWall/Thoma Bravo? We’d welcome your thoughts in the comments. READ MORE →

CHARTS & GRAPHS

SURVEY: One in Four Firms Replaces Servers by Schedule

More than 40% are less strict.

The Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey

For accounting firms with servers, the hardware is a critical component. That doesn’t mean it is treated with high concern, however.

MORE: SURVEY: Firms Prefer Dell Servers | Webroot Tops Virus Fighters | You’re Probably Not Reading This on an iPad | Cloud Backup Declining | Only 19% of Firms Host Email | 52% of Firms Look Outside for IT Support
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

CHARTS & GRAPHS

SURVEY: Firms Prefer Dell Servers

As in “four times the nearest named competitor.”

The Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey

For some questions, the answers are all over the map. Hardware, not so much, with Dell coming in at 40 percent preference for servers and HP next at 10 percent.

MORE: SURVEY: Webroot Tops Virus Fighters | You’re Probably Not Reading This on an iPad | 52% of Firms Look Outside for IT Support | Pandemic? What Pandemic? | Today’s Top 3 Problems: Staffing, Workflow and Tech
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey

MORE AT STORE.CPATRENDLINES.COM

Randy Johnston, Chairman and CEO, Network Management Group Inc., Brian Tankersley, Principal of Tankersley Consulting, and Leslie Garrett, PhD, CEO of Insight Research Group, are the principal authors of the Annual Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey Report.

Published by CPA Trendlines, available in softcover and in ebook formats, here:

Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey

The report provides easy to understand bar charts and tables featuring three consecutive years of data which highlights trends in the profession. The survey results book also provides tables where survey respondents are segmented by size of firm, making it easy for accounting and tax professionals to benchmark their firm against others of the same size.

Randy Johnston has been an entrepreneur, technologist, and teacher for most of his career. He has helped start and run many businesses and currently owns both Network Management Group Inc. and part of K2 Enterprises. Randy is not afraid to tackle a business management problem or to get his hands dirty answering a low-level technical question. He is best known for his early and on-going expertise in networks, accounting software, paperless, and CPA firm technology. His expertise has grown to touch virtually every technology in the marketplace. He is particularly well known for his Technology Update overview presentation. He helps businesses with strategic technology planning, accounting software selection, document management selection and planning, and business continuity planning.

Brian Tankersley, CPA, CITP, CGMA is a consultant, author, and speaker who specializes in accounting technology issues. Tankersley has spoken in 47 US states, and three Canadian provinces, and writes for major accounting press outlets including CPA Practice Advisor and AccountingWeb. He is also a faculty member for Yaeger CPA Review.

Leslie Garrett, PhD, is the CEO and founder of Insight Research Group, a company dedicated to delivering powerful industry-precise surveys and research data analysis. Leslie serves Edge Marketing, Inc. as a marketing executive and industry analyst with expertise in marketing, public relations, search engine optimization, lead generation, and management. She is instrumental in leading Edge’s corporate consulting and Search Engine Optimization website analytics services, and has experience serving in the accounting and legal industries. Prior to joining Edge, Leslie served as an executive in marketing and management positions in industry and taught marketing and management at the University of Saint Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota and at Saint Cloud State University in Saint Cloud, Minnesota.

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