Accounting Technology articles from July 2004

Accounting Technology archives from July 2004

The pricing game--round two.(Editor's Note)(Editorial)
July 1, 2004... Faced with a claim that it was losing customers, particularly for Lacerte, Intuit issued a vociferous denial earlier this year that it was losing ground anywhere. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] That claim was reported in our electronic...

Are more CPA firms moving into technology consulting, away from consulting, or are the numbers about the same? What is the trend in your area?(Street Talk: Reader Views)
July 1, 2004... In the last year, we purchased the client bases of two Chicago-area CPA firms, both MAS 90 resellers for 10-plus years. Furthermore, our best lead sources by far in the past year have been CPA firms. The culture gap between CPA firms and...

Burgum moves up.(Practice Development News)(Microsoft Business Solutions)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... In a major reorganization, Doug Burgum, who heads Microsoft Business Solutions, now reports to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, while gaining control of a group that manages business partners. Orlando Ayala, senior vice president of the Small...

Citp touted.(Practice Development News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... An effort to promote the American Institute of CPAs' technology credential drew more than 100 applicants at the organization's recent Tech 2004 technology conference in Las Vegas. Supporters hope that the response will help increase the...

BDO Dunwoody spins out tech.(Practice Development News)(BDO Dunwoody Ward Mallette)
July 1, 2004... BDO Dunwoody has sold its BDO Business Technology Solutions, Toronto region, to consulting group Concentrix Technology Solutions. The combined group has offices in Mississauga, Markham, Hamilton, and London, in southern Ontario. Its product...

McGladrey names CIO.(Practice Development News)(RSM McGladrey Inc. appoints Joseph M. Topinka as chief information officer)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... RSM McGladrey has appointed Joseph M. Topinka chief information officer, as the firm elevated the importance of the top technology executive position. A spokesperson said that previously, the highest-ranking position reported to the chief...

Hardy leaves CG.(Practice Development News)(Alan Hardy)(Clifton Gunderson)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Alan Hardy, whose Effective Systems Consulting merged with Clifton Gunderson two years ago, has resumed operating the Best Software business under its original name. ESC will continue to support its Best Software customers in Arizona....

SAP targets CPAs.(Practice Development News)(SAP America Inc.)(Certified public accountants program)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... SAP has begun a CPA Advisor program to enroll accounting professionals who wish to recommend the company's Business One application to small business clients. "We see CPAs as critical to the SMB market. The SMB market doesn't like to make...

Lohmueller honored.(Practice Development News)(Lohmueller Consulting of Raleigh partnerships)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... NetSuite has named Lohmueller Consulting of Raleigh, N.C., owned by Rufus and Judy Lohmueller, as its Partner of the Year. The award was based on the number of new customers retained and revenue generated by Lohmueller's NetSuite operations...

BTS opens division.(Practice Development News)(Business Technology Solutions)(Information Technology Division)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Business Technology Solutions, a software reseller based in Raleigh, N.C., has opened an Information Technology Division, designed to manage the computer software and networking technologies of its clients. Headed by Duane Donders,...

Exact seeks VARs.(Practice Development News)(Exact Software North America)(Value added resellers)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... After two years of reducing the number of resellers handling its product, Exact North America has begun to recruit dealers again. Exact had whittled its channel to about 75 VARs from nearly 200 about two years ago. The company found that...

Sheridan heads Accpac.(Accounting News)(ACCPAC International Inc. appoints Susan Sheridan)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Susan Sheridan, who headed marketing at Accpac International, has taken over leadership of the group as it becomes fully incorporated into Best Software. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sheridan became general manager, taking over from CEO...

Exact buys Treadstone.(Accounting News)(Exact Holding N.V.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Exact Software has acquired the Treadstone Group, a Cincinnati-based accounting software reseller that handles Exact products. Founded in 1990, Treadstone, whose president is Scott Miller, has 150 customers. With the purchase of...

Butler, head leave best.(Accounting News)(David Butler leaves Best Software)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... David Butler, who headed the MAS 90 operations for much of the last eight years, has left Best Software to become CEO of a smaller software company. Butler was CEO of State of the Art, which later became Sage Software, and more recently...

Serenic purchased.(Accounting News)(Serenic Software Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Serenic Software, a Lakewood, Colo.-based company that makes not-for-profit accounting software for the Navision market, is being acquired by Vision HRM Software, based in Edmonton, Alberta. Vision HRM is paying $1.4 million in stock for...

AccountMate spun off.(Accounting News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Best, which acquired the AccountMate line with its purchase of Softline, is spinning off the source code product family to a team led by David Dierke, who was senior vice president of sales with Softline North America. [ILLUSTRATION...

A look at sage's purchases.(Accounting News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... A LOOK AT SAGE'S PURCHASES Acquired Company Year Purchase Price Annual Revenue Accpac 2004 $110M $105M FY 2004 CPASoftware 2002 $5.8M $7.4M FY 2001 Groupo SP (Spain) 2003 $17.4M ...

Show calendar.(Calendar)
July 1, 2004... JULY 11-13 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2004, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto. www.microsoftwwpartnerconference.com JULY 20-21 New York CPA, Business & Technology Show & Conference, Hilton New York Hotel, New...

WK results improve.(Tax & Financial Planning News)(Wolters Kluwer N.V.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Wolters Kluwer says its results for the first quarter improved as the company began to feel the effects of a plan to cut nearly $300 million in costs over the next three years, including an 8 percent staff reduction. The company, which...

ImageOne offers ExacTax help.(Tax & Financial Planning News)(ImageONE Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... ImageOne, a Los Angeles-based company that provides marketing and practice management materials, is offering a line of material to help ExacTax customers, whose tax software was recently acquired by Thomson's Creative Solutions unit. ...

ATX offers CPE.(Tax & Financial Planning News)(CPE package)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... ATX has begun marketing a CPE package that qualifies those taking the courses as Certified Tax Experts, a designation that the company has originated. Preparers qualify by earning 20 hours of credit through the courses, which are available...

CCH launches write-up.(Tax & Financial Planning News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... CCH has entered the write-up business with the addition of ProSystem Write-up to its suite of accounting office applications. Scheduled to ship on August 31, CCH ProSystem Write-Up will integrate with the other elements of the ProSystem fx,...

Intuit sales up.(Tax & Financial Planning News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Intuit posted a 12 percent rise in sales, while earnings fell by 10 percent from a year earlier for its first quarter ended April 30. Revenue reached $713 million for the most recently ended period, while net income dropped to $264 million....

Solution 6 U.S. operations purchased.(Tax & Financial Planning News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Francisco Partners, a private equity fund, has acquired the professional services applications formerly owned by Solution 6, including the CMS.Net line that is sold to law and accounting firms in the United States. The fund, based in Menlo...

SmartPros to go public.(Tax & Financial Planning News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... SmartPros, which markets CPE courses, plans to go public to help generate working capital to erase a $3.6 million working capital deficit, and to retire $623,000 in debt. The company plans an offering of 900,000 units, with each unit...

Intuit's revenue sources.(Tax & Financial Planning News)(Illustration)
July 1, 2004... Intuit's Revenue Sources Vertical Business 3.9% Other Business 6.7% QuickBooks 10.2% Professional Accounting Solutions 11.6% Small Business Products 19.3%...

eLeaders profiting from the Web: companies profit, but e-commerce is still a pioneering effort.(Company Profile)(Editorial)
July 1, 2004... You might say that Woodland Scenics lets train enthusiasts build new worlds. It markets products that include the trees, buildings, and landscapes that enable model railroad buffs to construct towns, villages, and countries of their choosing....

Tax SoftwarePreview 2004: in unity, strength; Integrated tax and accounting suites are gaining momentum.
July 1, 2004... As the tax preparation software market keeps getting smaller, vendors are turning toward integration to improve their chances for attracting and keeping customers. The trend toward integration of tax preparation packages with applications such...

Online payroll spreads: products bear a strong resemblance to each other.(Software Review)
July 1, 2004... For a software vendor, moving a product from the desktop to the World Wide Web can bring as much bad news as good. On the plus side, it shores up waning revenue streams from products that don't change much from year to year, ensuring that...

The power of positive thinking: integrating your point-of-sale register with a back-office accounting package is all about making better business decisions.(Editorial)
July 1, 2004... Imagine entering a new branch location for a local retail chain that you frequent elsewhere. You find whatever you came in for, buy it with a credit card, and while glancing at the receipt, notice it says, "Thanks for shopping at SuperStore,...

Peachtree Payroll Service.(New Products)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... By using the Peachtree Payroll Service, businesses can hand off the responsibility for calculating employee with-holdings; filing and depositing all the required federal, state, and local payroll taxes; and sending out quarterly and annual tax...

Accounting Research Manager.(New Products)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The Internet-based Accounting Research Manager functions as a database of analytical accounting, auditing, and Securities and Exchange Commission information. Updated daily, ARM also includes authoritative and proposed literature from the...

FRx Report Manager.(New Products)(Microsoft Business Solutions)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... FRx Report Manager, an add-on module to Microsoft Business Solutions for Analytics-FRx 6.7, pulls together documents needed to deliver a financial report book to end users across the organization. The software imports FRx reports; Microsoft...

MYOB AccountEdge 2004 Network Edition.(New Products)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The MYOB AccountEdge 2004 Network Edition utilizes Rendezvous, Apple's implementation of zero-configuration networking, to simplify set-up and configuration over a network. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Users can connect to company files...

CaseWare Scenarios.(New Products)(CaseWare International)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... CaseWare Scenarios, a new component of CaseWare's Working Papers, functions as a collaborative analysis tool. Scenarios allows users to display an income statement, a balance sheet, cash flow, specified business drivers, and analytics on a...

BillQuick 2004.(New Products)(BQE Software)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... BillQuick 2004, time and billing software, can exchange data with software programs, including Microsoft Access, Excel, and QuickBooks. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BillQuick accommodates billing based upon criteria such as time and...

Profit Driver.(New Products)(CCH's ProSystem fx Profit Driver)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... CCH's ProSystem fx Profit Driver, based on software marketed by InMatrix, an Australian company, enables firms and corporations to improve their performance, make use of existing data to analyze their business, identify new opportunities, and...

Serenic software: becoming more visible.(Channels)
July 1, 2004... Not-for-profit is the way for Serenic's resellers to profit. But to help them out, the software company is increasing its marketing visibility, and rolling out an enhanced reseller program with increased margins. It may even become more visible...

Internet directory.
July 1, 2004... Practical and Innovative Resources from Accountants World www.AccountantsWorld.com Join the 60,000 strong community of independent accountants. Receive the widest array of free tools, services, training, education and other innovative...

Janice Jovingo: enjoying life on the edge.(Accounting Technologist)
July 1, 2004... For Janice Jovingo, a CPA and director of technology at Moore Stephens Apple in Akron, Ohio, learning about and implementing the latest technologies is a daily challenge. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Our industry is becoming more...

Variety is indeed the spice of life.(Editor's Note)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... We here at CPA Wealth Provider truly believe that. It's why when you pick up a copy of this publication, you are sure to get a wide range of topics and interests. We're not rooted just in one area or on one road. Our aim is to give you as much...

Growing confidence.(Asset Builders)(accounting firms)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... A study of 147 executives conducted by KPMG in London shows that confidence among middle-market accounting firms has grown for a third straight quarter. It notes that attention has now been turned toward mergers and acquisitions plus joint...

Professional Edition available.(Asset Builders)(Immediatech Corporation)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Immediatech says that GoFileRoom Professional Edition is now available for accountants and CPA firms. This is a flexible, self-service alternative that brings the power of the GoFileRoom Enterprise Edition to a package that can be implemented...

Mobile technology.(Asset Builders)(Envision Consulting Group)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Envision Consulting Group has developed a new mobile technology that allows people to access and update accounting software applications remotely and in real-time using pocket PCs. Among its capabilities, this new software would allow...

Industry competitiveness program.(Asset Builders)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Sageworks has granted exclusive rights to MYOB to distribute the company's financial benchmarking Web-based service, ProfitCents, in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia. Profit-Cents converts financial statement data into...

Feedback on vendors.(Asset Builders)(Tiburon Strategic Advisors contract)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... H.D. Vest has been named by Tiburon Strategic Advisors as broker/dealer by 65 percent of survey participants utilizing a broker/dealer or custodian. In fact, the company is named as the CE provider by 68 percent of survey participants, which,...

Unique investment strategy.(Asset Builders)(Principal Financial Group)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The Principal Financial Group has announced a new investment option for investors. Now called the Principal Equity Income Fund, it is changing from investing 100 percent in utilities to investing in a highly diverse portfolio that includes...

Setting new records.(Asset Builders)(Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... As one of America's leading public charities and number 1 public grant-maker, Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, as of December 31, 2003, has reached $4 billion in grants since 1992, with more than 80,000 non-profit organizations helped from coast...

Asset allocation planning.(Tech Tools)(Ibbotson Associate)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Ibbotson Associate's iPlan 1.1, a web-based software used for asset allocation-based investment planning and proposal generation, allows advisors to build a strategic asset allocation recommendation and implement a mix using variable annuities,...

Business performance tools.(Tech Tools)(CCH)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... CCH will offer two new applications for ProSystem fx Office. ProSystem fx Practice Driver enables professionals to analyze their practices, while ProSystem fx Profit Driver makes it possible to analyze their clients' businesses. The tools will...

Simplifying portfolio management.(Wells Fargo Investment Advisors)(H.D. Vest Advisory Services Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... H.D. Vest, together with Wells Fargo Investments, has developed the Trade Management Tool, a portfolio management system that allows advisors the ability to view account, position, and transaction information for their brokerage accounts held...

Financial planning tools.(Tech Tools)(First Financial Software Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... First Financial Software's Fplan Professional Advisor version 12.5, provides users with tools to keep up with changing demographics, particularly clients at or approaching retirement age. It allows users to perform a quick analysis of the...

Core technology platform.(Tech Tools)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Morningstar has introduced Advisor Workstation[SM] Office Edition, a fully integrated Web-based office platform for independent financial advisors that enables them to conduct their daily tasks with a full set of capabilities for investment...

Investor confidence survey.(Practice Growth)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The many scandals and irregularities that have hit corporations, accounting firms, and mutual funds recently, have led to speculation that the financial markets run the risk of losing investor confidence. The CFP Board has surveyed CFP...

Enhanced estate planning tools.(Practice Growth)(Financial Profiles)
July 1, 2004... Financial Profiles has announced the availability of Profiles+[TM] Professional v7.2, with revised and enhanced estate-planning features. The latest enhancements provide advisors the resources to serve clients at any level of expertise. The...

Selling financial services.(Practice Growth)(Book Review)(Brief Review)
July 1, 2004... A new book, 22 Keys to Sales Success: How to Make It Big in Financial Services, has just been published by Bloomberg Press. Written by James Benson and Paul Karasik, the book zeroes in on key issues that are essential for accounting...

Registered investment advisor program.(Practice Growth)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The Principal Financial Group has launched new solutions designed to help independent registered investment advisors deepen their relationships with clients and grow their retirement plan business through customized retirement solutions....

One-stop electronic estate planning library.(Practice Growth)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Professionals who draft estate plans and administer trusts and estates now have a comprehensive one-stop electronic resource for all their research needs. CCH Estate Planning Expert Library integrates trusted, authoritative materials, practice...

All-in-one production document.(Practice Growth)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... DocuLex has announced the release of Professional Capture, the company's new production paper-to-electronic document program developed for high-volume document conversion and management environments. It is introduced as the next generation of...

Automatic online licensing application.(Practice Growth)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Prudential Financial has introduced an automatic, online licensing application for brokers seeking appointment to sell the company's insurance and annuity products. The electronic data collection tool, called Online Confidential Data Sheet, was...

Networking agreement.(Partners)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... AT & T announced that it has reached a multi-year agreement with CCH Inc., a Wolters Kluwer company, to design and implement an integrated networking solution across 13 locations of its Tax and Accounting unit to provide secure access to...

Alliance agreement.(Partners)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... BearingPoint and NCR Corporation have announced an alliance agreement targeting businesses in the financial services area under which the two companies will plan marketing and sales activities with the goal of providing their current and future...

Emerging partnership.(Partners)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Vanguard Solutions Group has a new partner alliance with Emerging Solutions by which the two entities will co-market Vanguard's Graphical Performance Series business intelligence solution to Emerging Solutions' current and prospective...

Evaluation center.(Partners)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Technology Evaluation Centers has formed an alliance with Solutions, publisher of The Accounting Library, to provide organizations in the SMB market with online access to impartial evaluations and comparisons for over 100 leading accounting...

Strategic affiliation.(Partners)(Jorgensen and Company)(New York Marine and General Insurance Company)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Jorgensen and Company has announced a new strategic affiliation for the CPAGold[TM] program for accountants' professional liability insurance program, with New York Marine and General Insurance Company. CPAGold[TM] can provide up to $5 million...

Dynamic bridge.(Partners)(RIA)(Fitek)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... RIA, a Thomson business, and Fitek have announced the deployment of a dynamic bridge linking their two products, GoSystem Tax RS and HedgeTek. The bridge allows users of Fitek's HedgeTek partnership allocation system to utilize RIA's GoSystem...

Partnering with local TPAs.(Partners)(automated recordkeeping program)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The retirement plans services division of OppenheimerFunds Distributor, announced the launch of a new retirement planning platform designed for small to mid-sized companies in the 401(k) marketplace. Record(k)eeper Pro[SM], a fully automated...

New code of conduct.(Regulatory Watch)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The Association of Financial Professionals representing finance professionals at U.S. corporations, and their British and French counterparts, have proposed a new code of conduct for Wall Street credit-rating agencies in order to restore...

Providing greater transparency.(Regulatory Watch)(Financial Accounting Standards Board)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Responding to requests from investors to improve the present accounting standards relating to employee stock compensation in financial statements, The Financial Accounting Standards Board has published an exposure draft, Share-Based Payment on...

Overtime pay regs revised.(Regulatory Watch)(white-collar employees are eligible for overtime)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The Department of Labor has unveiled new overtime rules outlining which white-collar employees are eligible for overtime. It says that any employee earning up to $23,660 annually now has the right to overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours...

Cutting health benefits at 65.(Regulatory Watch)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has approved a new ruling that allows employers to reduce or eliminate health benefits for retirees when they become eligible for Medicare at age 65. The Commission says that such cuts do not violate...

Broker/dealer, affiliate supervision.(Regulatory Watch)(United States. Securities and Exchange Commission)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The SEC has decided to adopt rule amendments and new rules under the SEC Act of 1934 that will establish two separate voluntary regulatory programs for the Commission to supervise broker-dealers and their affiliates on a consolidated basis. One...

Not deemed investment advisors.(Regulatory Watch)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The SEC has proposed a new rule under the Investment Advisors Act that would except thrifts from the Advisors Act when they provide investment advice as part of certain trust department fiduciary services. Under this rule, a thrift institution...

Abusive tax transactions.(Regulatory Watch)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Tax Commissioners of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States have now established a joint task force to increase collaboration and coordinate information about abusive tax transactions by signing a Memorandum of...

Working with broker/dealers.(McNutt Perry & Gentry)
July 1, 2004... It is no surprise to the CPAs today that changes in the business climate and the advent of new technologies have transformed the way many of them conduct their business. However, as Edward Polansky points out, "Instead of simplifying our lives,...

Is this insurance right for you?(Long-Term Care)
July 1, 2004... I decided to buy long-term care insurance because I didn't want my daughter-in-law making choices on what would become of me if I ever get sick and need someone to take care of me." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] --Jerome G., a recent buyer of...

Same-sex marriage ramifications.(Financial Planning Implications)
July 1, 2004... The headlines have been filled recently with the ongoing debate over the legality and recognition of same-sex marriages. In the U.S., the battle in the courts and at the local, state, and federal levels over same-sex marriage rights is likely...

Uncle Sam's hands across the water.(Qualified Intermediary)
July 1, 2004... In the fall of 2000, the Internal Revenue Service and the United States Treasury announced major new regulations that completely revised the withholding and reporting of cross-border payments of U.S. source income. Affecting nearly every major...

What happens after they're wealthy?(Consulting on Philanthropy)
July 1, 2004... Despite the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, most of your wealthier clients will still have to deal with estate taxes. One of the ways that high net worth individuals can reduce their taxable estate is via charitable...