Accounting Technology articles from January 2006

Accounting Technology archives from January 2006

Planners: Let's Do Tax.
January 1, 2006... The fact that the financial planning firm had fairly recently started a sister tax preparation company should have caught my eye much earlier. The firm, like many other financial planning organizations, works with a number of other...

The State of CPA Programs.(accounting services and technology)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Sometimes it's difficult to measure the effectiveness of CPA programs. How well do they work? Associate Editor Carly Lombardo takes a look at the programs that software vendors have established to enlist accountants in influencing...

Need Insights?
January 1, 2006... Editor Robert Scott also writes "Consulting Insights," a free, twice-monthly electronic newsletter that addresses issues concerning the consulting and reselling market. It's insight with an attitude. If you want to subscribe, put the following...

2006 Show Calendar.(conferences for software industry)(Calendar)
January 1, 2006... February 10-11 Synchronics 2006 CounterPoint User Conference. Marriott Hotel/Cook Convention Center, Memphis, Tenn. www.synchronics.com/news/cuc.htm March 2-7 AccountMate Synergy 2006 Reseller Conference. Embassy Suites,...

Coming in March.(Accounting services and their management)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Life on the Web In the last year, many tax and accounting firms started seeing the Web as a real tool. How has the shift from hype to reality affected them? Cutting Your Risks Risk management is one of the hottest practice areas...

What is the biggest problem you or your clients face in disaster planning and why?
January 1, 2006... Our Florida clients proved the potentially devastating tendency of smaller companies to depend on untrained staff for maintenance and back-ups. One client depended on a sales person with a "knack for computers" to perform system maintenance and...

Practice Development News.(Columbus IT Partner A/S's revenue and acquisition of 2Increase)(Exact Software acquired Inspired Solutions)
January 1, 2006... COLUMBUS IT RESULTS UP Columbus IT Partner, a Microsoft reseller based in Copenhagen, reported revenue of $69.6 million for the quarter ended March 30, up from $65.4 million a year earlier, while the company cut its loss to $1.7 million...

AICPA Names Top Ten Technologies.(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... The American Institute of CPAs has named information security as the No. 1 technology issue of 2006. Coming in at No. 2 was a new issue, assurance and compliance applications, including SOX 404 and ERM. The other eight issues are ...

Accounting News.(SAP AG contracts with small businesses)(Sage Software Inc. (Irvine, California)'s profits)(Blackbaud Inc. recalls its Financial Edge accounting software )
January 1, 2006... SAP EYES SMALL BUSINESS SAP, which broke into the mid-market in the last three years with its Business One software, is forming a team to explore products for very small companies. Late in 2005, the German company began advertising for...

Tax & Financial Planning.
January 1, 2006... WK EBITDA DIPS EBIDTA for Wolters Kluwer's Tax, Accounting & Legal Division, which includes the operations of CCH, dropped by 20.6 percent for the third quarter ended September 30. The Dutch company attributed the drop in EBITDA to $27...

CPA Programs: Steering Business Your Way: CPA programs allow both resellers and CPA firms to expand their businesses.
January 1, 2006... Forming strategic alliances with CPA firms helps Judy Thornell grow her firm's customer base. Thornell, president and CEO of Las Vegas-based Baytek, started focusing on these alliances in 2000, and now works with more than 300 accountants...

Resellers Take a D-I-Y Approach.(Lisa Kianoff and her organization providing services for Certified public accountants)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... While Sage Software has its Sage Accountants Network to pair reselling and accounting firms, Lisa Kianoff's organization has established its own Kianoff Alliance Partnership. "The program helps give some structure to our relationship with...

Vendor Offerings for CPAs.(Intuit Inc., Microsoft Corp. Business Solutions Div. and Netsuite Development Corp. offering services for Certified public accountants)
January 1, 2006... Intuit QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program Participants: 30,000 Cost: $449, initial member; $399, annual renewal Intuit ProConnection Participants: 70,000 Cost: Free Microsoft Business Solutions Microsoft...

Making the Relationship Work.(accounting services and their Value added resellers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... No alliance is ever easy. It takes hard work and direction, but it can really pay off. "Forming alliances with CPA firms means a pursuit of common business interests, and you can leverage knowledge, skills, expertise, and customers," says...

Time to Advertise: Resellers and CPA firms are using a variety of print, radio and online ads to build name recognition and attract customers.
January 1, 2006... Imagine spending $15,000 and making $150,000-that's just what Mark Fantasia did when he advertised his firm's service via a local radio station. "We just wanted name recognition, and we got a whole lot more," says Fantasia, vice president...

Advertising Tactics.
January 1, 2006... "Our customers want to reach small businesses and have been asking us for the tools to do so," says Leslie Merson, group product manager of accountant relations for Mountain View, Calif.-based Intuit. "We have begun by providing...

Grant Thornton: The Name of the Rose.(and its advertising )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Grant Thornton's print and television advertising features the image of a bespectacled, bald accountant (an actor). But the catch is the red rose between his teeth. Grant Thornton wants to get across three messages: the firm has resources...

The Challenge of Financial Planning: Pay attention to security, identity theft, and pension problems.(AdvisorPlatform 4.0)(Money Tree Software's Total Planning System software)(NaviPlan's Naviplan 10.0 software)
January 1, 2006... Three serious challenges are coming to the financial planning industry, and while none of them reflect poorly on the otherwise excellent software and ASP offerings, they portend serious problems that financial planners will have to manage in...

Untangling Wireless: Going wireless is no longer cool - it's necessary. Find out how to stay connected ... without wires.(UHY Advisors chooses wireless technology )
January 1, 2006... Given the opportunity to choose networks for the major offices of UHY Advisors, Matt Camden picked wireless. "We think this will allow us to dismantle our IP Frame network at UHY and rely solely on various broadband Internet solutions to...

A Wireless Glossary: Beyond Wi-Fi.(Glossary)
January 1, 2006... Wi-Fi, short for wireless fidelity, has become one of the most popular terms in discussing wireless local area networking. But there are a lot more technologies and terms to do with. More are coming. If users feel confused by all the terms,...

Johnston: Picking Your Way through the Cell Mine Field.(Randy Johnston )
January 1, 2006... There are a lot of changes going on in cellular technology that affect both businesses and consumers. Randy Johnston of K2 Enterprises, gives some advice for buyers who are trying to determine what to buy as wireless devices that handle...

Which works better for YOU?(Accounting software resellers )
January 1, 2006... Less filling or great taste? A breath mint or a candy mint? To sell one product line or handle more? Accounting software resellers may not worry about the first two faux controversies. But that last question is very important to their...

Andersen: Fewer Products Equals More Hours.(Bruce Andersen)(BTA Consulting and Training using Quickbooks from Intuit Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Handling software products from more than one vendor reduces the amount of time a VAR has to devote to any one product, says Bruce Andersen, owner of BTA Consulting and Training. And in a business where firms are selling time, that can...

Vabulas: Sometimes, You Can't Win.(IBIS Ltd. contracts with Microsoft Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... With $10 million a year in revenue, I.B.I.S. is one of Microsoft's top accounting software VARs. It was a finalist for Microsoft's Global ERP and CRM awards for 2003 and was the MBS Outstanding Partner of the Year for 2001 and 2003. It got...

New Products.
January 1, 2006... NETSUITE NetSuite's new tax engine and corresponding financial reporting capabilities let users configure the application for local and international financial reporting standards and local tax requirements for compliance in any country....

NetSuite Refocuses Channel.(Netsuite Development Corp.'s channel program leadership)
January 1, 2006... In 2005, NetSuite passed on having its annual reseller conference, a get-together it has had every spring for three years. This year, the online software company is working to regain momentum with its VAR program. One of the reasons for...

Advertisers' Index January-February 2006.(Illustration)
January 1, 2006... Ad Appears Advertiser on page CCH Incorporated C4, 15 Creative Solutions C2 Intercompany New York 11 First Research 29 Fuji ...

Joe Rotella: Usability Is His Forte.(corporate director of Delphia Consulting)
January 1, 2006... When visitors show up at the Columbus, Ohio, offices of Delphia Consulting, they get more than just a parking space. They get a reserved parking space with their name on it. That's because Joe Rotella is relentless in cultivating a good...

Editor's Note: Achieving the Goal.
January 1, 2006... Where there is a will there is a way,' is an old and true saying. But Samuel Smiles, the Scottish author in the early nineteenth century, said it best: "He who resolves upon doing a thing, by that very resolution often scales the barriers to...

Asset Builders.(T. Rowe Price Group Inc.'s new services for investment advisors)(Financial Planning Association launched new service)(hedge funds and their management)
January 1, 2006... PLATFORM WITH MANAGED ACCOUNTS T. Rowe Price has expanded the advice portion of its personal finance platform by adding the Financial Engines Personal Asset Manager program, thereby now offering a full suite of advisory services. Designed...

Partners.
January 1, 2006... GOING BEYOND THE STATE Brady Ware, the financial consulting and accounting firm that started in Richmond, Va. some 50 years ago, has expanded its reach by merging with Shaw & Shaw, a CPA and financial consulting firm based in Columbus,...

Practice Growth.(Financial Planning Association collaborate with Financial Life Planning Institute)(AARP Services Inc.'s AARP Financialm with new services)(vocational guidance book for Mutual fund managers)
January 1, 2006... FPA IN STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIP The Financial Planning Association and the Financial Life Planning Institute have entered into a strategic relationship focused on developing services and tools to help financial planners implement the...

Tech Tools.
January 1, 2006... PLANNING OPTIONS Palo Alto Software's Business Plan Pro 2006 and Business Plan Pro 2006 Premier include new features such as new financial options, including detailed exit strategy and financial risks and contingencies. Business Plan Pro...

Regulatory Watch.
January 1, 2006... GLOBAL FP BENCHMARK The final draft of the International Standard for Personal Financial Planning (number 22222) has been approved by a majority vote and is being prepared for publication. The objective of the standard is to achieve and...

3rd Annual Achievement.
January 1, 2006... In this issue, CPA Wealth Provider presents the third annual financial planning awards, honoring CPA/financial planning firms, broker/dealers, and financial planning software vendors, as well as providing special Awards of Excellence to those...

Looking Ahead.(Bomadio Financial Services, F and D Advisors, and Strategic Wealth Management Group were awarded)
January 1, 2006... The following firms received honorable mentions and were cited for sustained growth and initiative. BONADIO FINANCIAL SERVICES Pittsford, N.Y. The company has developed a program called Operation 1040 that has produced a...

Looking Ahead.
January 1, 2006... The following firms received honorable mentions and were cited for their own innovative ways. FINANCIAL SERVICES INTERNATIONAL CORP. Seattle, Wash. The company has developed a Business Planning Group, which consists of a team of...

The Boomers are Giving.
January 1, 2006... Ever since Bill Clinton, the first baby boomer president, was elected, more and more attention has been focused on what this generation will do next. They've been hippies, they've been entrepreneurs, and now they are on the path to being the...

Speculating Versus Investing.
January 1, 2006... There are two times in a man's life when he should not speculate: when he can't afford it, and when he can. - Mark Twain, Following the Equator When it comes to investing, we need to distinguish between two very different types of...

Succession Project Unveiled.(reports on family-owned businesses)
January 1, 2006... The leading advisor to the wealthy on financial, tax, and business issues, Saffrey Champness, chartered accountants, reports out of London that it has unveiled insights into one of the last great taboos: what the wealthy really think as they...

What's Your Number? Is it Too Low?
January 1, 2006... Conventional wisdom does not a healthy or wealthy retirement make. Most financial-planning literature about saving for your retirement says that you will need approximately 75 percent of your income in the last year on the job for those sunset...

Is the New Roth 401(k) Right For You?
January 1, 2006... According to the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, you will need approximately 70 percent of your current income to maintain your same standard of living when you retire. If you make $50,000 per year now,...

Going Back to Work.(american retirees surveyed to know why they need to work again)
January 1, 2006... In what is touted to be the largest and perhaps most comprehensive study of those Americans who retired and then went back to work, Putnam Investments has unearthed some significant changes in what was thought of as a traditional retirement...

How to Get into Financial Planning.
January 1, 2006... The AICPA is putting dollars and energy behind getting more CPAs into financial planning and the same holds true for the Financial Planning Association and the CFP Board of Standards. How big is the financial planning market for CPAs today?...