cpas demand more wifi, better software integration.<\/i><\/p>\n
by rick telberg<\/b>
\nat large <\/i><\/p>\n
there’s no doubt that accountants and finance managers are among the most mobile business professionals, and they figure to be big buyers of additional mobile technologies. but they’re not the happiest campers along the cyber trail.<\/p>\n
just ask them. we did. and we got an earful.<\/p>\n
so, ask accountants their preferences in mobile technologies and you may find, as we are discovering, widespread dissatisfaction with the connectivity available in home offices and on the road, and a crying need for better integration between mobile and all the other tech tools out there. some also fret that they cannot manage all the important data their mobile devices are collecting for them.to be sure, cell phones are the #1 mobile device, owned by 92 percent of respondents. (we wonder: what are the other eight percent using?) meanwhile, 73 percent own laptops and 39 percent use pdas.<\/p>\n
they own, but they moan.<\/p>\n
robbie paul, a sole practitioner in el paso, texas, has had the good fortune of accumulating a nice volume of business contact information on his mobile devices. now he wants “one calendar\/contact list” that integrates with each device to download and update contact information so “the cell phone, e-mail, all of them would be updated from one source.”<\/p>\n
many finance professionals lodged the age-old complaint that laptops are too clunky and should be available in smaller lightweight packages, while many older practitioners complain the laptops and other devices are too small for their age-weakened eyes and their creaking bones.<\/p>\n
patricia christopher, an accountant who works in education near the new jersey shore, doesn’t want a better mousetrap; she wants a better mouse for laptops. “my hands are getting old, but i don’t want to be bothered with an external attachment. i’d like a more conventional mouse that snaps in place,” she says.<\/p>\n
one senior staffer with a mid-sized firm wishes for a “large print version” of pdas and cell phones. “i really have a difficult time in the car, reading such small print as the caller id,” he says. depending on where he lives, he may also have trouble reading the fine print on the traffic citation he gets for using his cell while driving.<\/p>\n
among those who want mobile tech to go smaller is bruce hirst, a sole practitioner in redding, calif., who would like “a small computer, able to run all desktop programs, eight- to 10-inch screen, two to three pounds.” and like almost half of those, ahem, “weighing” in, he wants longer battery life on his mobile tools.<\/p>\n
size does not matter nearly as much as connectivity. roger lovejoy, a senior executive in business and industry in richmond, va., wants better internet access for cell phones. “wifi or internet cards are intermittent, expensive and cumbersome when out of the office. let’s get the cell phone to take up the slack,” he suggests.<\/p>\n
cheaper and better connectivity is being demanded by accountants in all segments of the profession. edwin czopek, a senior executive in the nonprofit sector in westchester, ill., wants broadband networks in all hotels; steve morris, a columbus, ohio, sole practitioner suggests that cities make wifi available as a utility. and matt evans, from business and industry in omaha, neb., merely requests “cheap and fast internet connectivity anywhere.”<\/p>\n
despite the connectivity woes, 43 percent of accountants we’ve contacted so far plan to buy pda devices in the next year, 36 percent will buy laptops and 26 percent plan to buy new mobile phones. it’s tough keeping up.<\/p>\n
but, while they buy these new-fangled gadgets, there’s an underlying fear about learning how to use them. one sole practitioner says that retailers and vendors should provide a hands-on lesson for 30 to 60 minutes when an item is purchased.<\/p>\n
[first published by the aicpa]<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"