many accounting professionals are still grappling with mobile devices, social media and cloud computing. but the next big things are already being hyped and debated.
and even though they will take years to move into the practical realm for practitioners, it’s time to at least learn the buzz words and understand the concepts because these technologies have the potential for as much change and disruption as we’ve seen in the things we are still trying to understand during the current century. read more →
randy johnston, president, network management group, inc., leslie garrett, phd, ceo of insight research group announce the release of the 4th annual accounting firm operations and technology (afot) survey results and survey book.
the 4th annual afot survey results book features the past three years of survey data, trend lines, thought-leadership from accounting channel leaders and consultative insight. “i continue to be amazed that i learn something from every version of our survey. the 4th annual accounting firm operations and technology survey provided insights about cpa firm strategies that i have not seen anywhere else. it is clear that this measure of technologies in use in the practice of accounting provides leading indicators of changes to come in the profession and the technologies used to solve client and firm problems. my only hope is that more and more firms would participate to benefit from the receiving the results for free as a benefit of participating,” said johnston.
“we designed our survey results book to clearly display survey results and trend lines, making it easier to glance at the data and quickly assess the information or opt to dive deeper into the state of many facets of the profession. we also segment and present the data by size of firm to aid partners, shareholders, owners and it professionals working in tax, accounting, and bookkeeping firms benchmark their operation,” said garrett.
key facts about the accounting firm operations and technology survey:
although there are many good surveys, there is not another independent survey that has this level of complete information about the technology u.s. tax, accounting, and bookkeeping professionals are using in their practices.
the intent of this survey is to discover valid, factual actionable information and to deliver a resource that provides trend lines and consultative content based on precise results of multiple years of data gathered using this survey instrument
multiple years of data presented in an understandable way using charts and tables that reveal trends as they are developing.
if everything in your world runs in a browser, then any computer will work, and you can be done reading this blog post. however, if you have any desktop solutions that you need to run remotely, you will need a hosted option for that application. you can host applications privately or publicly. read more →
nothing could be further from the truth, as it would be normal for a staff tax preparer to have as many as 12 applications open at once. very few things are as important to your firm’s effectiveness and efficiency as the reliability and effectiveness of your technology. read more →
while subscription-based software has significant advantages, it also has some significant risks that need to be considered, including contingency planning, data backup, and data extraction and export when ending the relationship.
firms should have a clear plan for how they will operate if the cloud service is down for a day or more, including having enough data offline to permit manual preparation of payroll, invoices and other time-sensitive transactions. read more →
we know that 56 percent of firms have email hosted outside the office. while all firms have the option to either run a solution in-house or to have a third party handle this obligation, the firms who use hosted email could also utilize add-in services for this task. read more →
we are seeing a high level of dissatisfaction among most firms with their software, and more firms have been changing software in the last three years than all of the switching we have seen in the previous three decades combined.
we are concerned that many firms are signing long-term contracts for desktop solutions at the same time that some software is migrating to being hosted online. read more →
while many people believe that computer hardware is a commodity, the quality of the hardware and the way you deploy the devices can make a significant difference in how well your firm works.
we will discuss here four issues associated with computer hardware: replacement cycles, the brand of the pc you purchase, monitor trends and scanner software.
tips for minimizing the damage, especially from “upgrades” you weren’t expecting.
key findings
thirty-two percent use windows server 2012, and 24 percent use windows server 2008, which is an 8 percent decrease in the use of windows server 2008 over prior year results.
sixty percent are using windows 7 (64-bit) as their primary desktop operating system, 17 percent are using windows 8 and 12 percent are using windows 10, which is used most commonly among solo practitioners (27 percent).
there are issues surrounding your choice of an operating system that may be surprising to those who have not been following the it trade press, including the following: read more →
over the last 25 years, managing technology has become an increasingly important part of managing a firm. today’s staff members have video meetings with clients and team members around the world without the other party knowing whether they are wearing a suit in the office or wearing slippers in their living room.
just as it is not a good use of an entrepreneur’s time to try to learn the tax law, buy software and prepare all of their own tax returns, it is not a good use of a practitioner’s time to work on it issues. given the value of an accountant’s time performing client work, it makes little, if any sense to manage it yourself. read more →
workflow issues and process management rank as a top concerns for all segments, and practitioners have a new wave of workflow automation tools in early 2016, including karbon, pascal workflow, and scalus, which have just emerged from beta testing, while other new products such as intapp have entered the accounting profession after focusing in other professional markets.
if everything in your world runs in a browser, then any computer will work, and you can be done reading this blog post. however, if you have any desktop solutions that you need to run remotely, you will need a hosted option for that application. you can host applications privately or publicly. read more →
expect more drudgery to be automated.
plus 11 related key findings.
