Accounting Technology articles from July 2006

Accounting Technology archives from July 2006

Changing the Margin Game?(accounting software market has been dominated by the pursuit of product margins)
July 1, 2006... Throughout its history, the accounting software market has been dominated by the pursuit of product margins. It's a basic formula: The greater the margin, the more money is left for expenses, and hopefully, for the bottom line. But margins...

Going International.
July 1, 2006... The hands across the sea in business are increasingly the hands of software resellers. That's the subject of "Going International," which looks at the need some resellers see for expanding their businesses outside of the United States and...

Need Insights?
July 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...

Can you describe the most serious incident you or a client has had with data security?
July 1, 2006... Security considerations reach beyond just technology. A few years ago, someone from our building stole a signed check that was sitting on our bookkeeper's desk. They proceeded to have checks made at a national office supply retail outlet along...

IRS Laptop Lost.
July 1, 2006... A laptop containing personal information on 291 Internal Revenue Service employees and job applicants was lost last month. The IRS said that the employee checked the laptop as luggage while traveling on a commercial flight. The computer...

Show Calendar.(Calendar)
July 1, 2006... July 11-13 Microsoft Worldwide Reseller Conference, Boston. www.microsoft. com/partner/events/wwpartnerconference July 18-19 New York CPA Society Business & Technology Show & Conference. Hilton New York Hotel, New York, N.Y. ...

Accounting Technology August's Coming Attractions.
July 1, 2006... SERVING THE PUBLIC SECTOR What are the skills necessary for serving the technology needs of governmental organizations? LOW-COST SOFTWARE CONSULTING It's part technology; part accounting and it's a growing business for accounting...

Practice Development News.(Kogun acquired Specialists in Customer Software)(Forepoint and Conifer Creek Consulting mergered)(ePartners Inc. has cut 20 employees)
July 1, 2006... VK SELLS TECH UNIT Virchow Krause Technology Solutions has been sold to two of its managers, who will operate the company under the name Business Technology Solutions. BTS is now owned by president Steve Krueger and vice president Joe...

Accounting News.
July 1, 2006... SAGE PRE-TAX UP Pre-tax profits for Sage Ltd., the parent to Sage Software, were $198.4 million for the first half ended March 31, up 19 percent, as revenue rose 18 percent to $795.5 million. Sage Software itself reported that its...

Tax & Financial Planning News.(Intuit's net income fell)(Net income for Morningstar reached $13.4 million for the first quarter)(Creative Solutions Inc. acquired Dunphy Systems)
July 1, 2006... CSI BUYS DUNPHY Thomson's Creative Solutions operation has acquired the tax software business of Dunphy Systems, the last software vendor that produced versions of its product only for the vanishing MS-DOS platform. Dunphy served about...

Going Global: A number of Factors are pulling resellers into other countries.(Queue Associates)
July 1, 2006... There was a point at which the London office of Microsoft probably wouldn't have known what Solomon is. That was even after Queue Associates, a New York-based Microsoft reseller, opened its office in England earlier this year "If you...

SystemLink-An Old Hand.(plans to expand their business and support clients in other countries)
July 1, 2006... While resellers are learning how to operate in other countries, SystemLink, an Accpac reseller, has a decade of experience that produces both clients and new staff. The motivation was a familiar one. "It came about as a need to support...

The InterDyn Approach.(plans to expand its products international market)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Not everyone thinks that opening an office overseas is a great idea. InterDyn, a consortium of Microsoft GP resellers, has chosen to extend its reach via affiliation, not ownership. In fact, that's the whole approach for InterDyn, whose...

The Lure: Smart compensation plans can keep staff in a tight market.
July 1, 2006... When Chip Cargas launched InterDyn Cargas in 1988 in a small bedroom corner with a Macintosh, dot matrix printer, desk, phone, and answering machine, he had a dream-to build a team-oriented place to work where employees shared in the financial...

REDW: Making Pay Pay for IT Staff.
July 1, 2006... About two years ago, REDW, the largest locally owned CPA firm in New Mexico, faced softening sales and lackluster revenues that threatened the viability of the firm's technology department, one of its newest lines of business. With the...

Points to Help a Compensation Plan Pay Off.(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Quality employees are growing increasingly difficult to attract and retain. As a result, firms must recognize that compensation is about much more than money. Industry sources have offered several tips that may prove helpful: * Tie...

Software That Puts It All Together: Practice management applications assemble key functions.(CCH fx Practice Management)(Creative Solutions Practice CS)(CPAMIS)(Firmworks)(ImagineTime)(Office Tools Pro)(Time Matters 7.0)(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2006... Not too long ago, a CPA firm might have purchased a package to track due dates for client tasks. If might have also invested in an application to track staff schedules and engagements. Each piece of information in its own database, making the...

A Bundle of Tax Software: A changing smorgasbord of bundles awaits software buyers.
July 1, 2006... Once upon a time, a score of tax software vendors raced to add forms and features to their software. It's been a few years since there were that many companies selling tax applications. As the remaining vendors have filled in their product...

Almost the Last of DOS.(Creative Solutions Inc. acquired Dunphy Systems)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... This year marked a milestone as Creative Solutions acquired Dunphy Systems, an Ohio-based company. Dunphy was notable for one reason: It was the last remaining company in the tax market - indeed one of the few in any professional market -...

To the Web.(Internet-based tax preparation software is growing rapidly)
July 1, 2006... While Internet-based tax preparation is not yet the norm, the use of Web-based tools is growing rapidly. On the consumer side, Intuit's TurboTax for the Web had 50 percent growth in the last season, compared to a 4 percent increase in...

Tax Software Vendors.
July 1, 2006... ATX/Kleinrock Caribou, Maine (800) 944-8883 www.atxinc.com CCH Torrance, Calif. (800) 344-3734 www.prosystemfx.com Creative Solutions Dexter, Mich. (800) 968- 8900 www.creativesolutions.thomson.com ...

Building A Compelling Web Page: A good design is more than just pretty pictures.
July 1, 2006... When Pensacola, Fla.-based Saltmarsh Cleaveland & Gund changed its brand and its logo to give the firm a more modern feel, the 11-partner firm decided it was time to update its Web site. The four-office, $9 million firm launched a new site...

Microsoft Goes Live on the Web.
July 1, 2006... Microsoft has launched a new service built specifically for small businesses that includes a hosted Web site and site tools as part of its emerging Office Live services. "This is really for businesses with 10 of fewer employees that don't...

New Products.
July 1, 2006... EVEREST ON-DEMAND Everest On-Demand, an online version of Everest Advanced, contains the functions available in the desktop version, including accounting, inventory management, customer relation management, ecommerce, and...

Unitime: Back in the Reseller Hunt.(Unitime Systems Inc. launches new product 'Unitime on Demand' software)
July 1, 2006... Unitime Systems' reseller program was once much larger. There were twice resellers as many before the company, which markets time-and-attendance products, split its program into reselling and referring components. But earlier this year,...

Advertisers' Index 7/2006.
July 1, 2006... Advertiser Ad Appears on page ADP Small Business Services 5 Blackbaud 45 CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business C4 EFTPS ...

Clark: A Quality Act for Act.(Susan Clark, Cornerstone Solutions)(Company overview)
July 1, 2006... Try this trivia question? What is Act consultant Susan Clark? The answer? Reseller, consultant, and trainer. That describes Susan Clark, president of Cornerstone Solutions, veteran Act Certified Consultant, Premier Trainer, and one of Act's...

Editor's Note: Advice is Cheap...or is It?
July 1, 2006... In what seems like another lifetime, I went to high school with Bill Cosby. Yep. Central High School of Philadelphia, the oldest public high school in the country (1836) and at the time, an all-male bastion that required an entrance examination...

Revolutionary Variable Annuity Restructuring.(Raymond James Financial Inc.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Raymond James Financial has announced an unprecedented move to require the restructuring of variable annuities offered through financial advisors at the firm's broker/dealer subsidiaries. Effective this August, Raymond James will require all...

Working with Buyers and Sellers.(Business Transitions LLC has online news magazine 'The Practice Transitions Journal')(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Business Transitions, LLC out of Portland, Oregon, has an online news magazine, called "The Practice Transitions Journal," which is published 365 days a year, combining real-time information from industry experts, experienced buyers, sellers,...

Uncomplicating Financial Planning Services.
July 1, 2006... Vanguard has introduced its new Vanguard Financial Planning Services that it says has streamlined its suite of financial planning offerings into a single service to better serve clients seeking retirement, college planning, and other investment...

Wealth Management Division Launched.(McConnell Jones Lanier & Murphy has launched MJLM Wealth Solutions division and partners with ING Financial Partners)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... McConnell Jones Lanier & Murphy has launched a new division called MJLM Wealth Solutions that provides financial, wealth management, and consultation services such as financial planning, retirement planning, college funding, investments,...

Simpler Life for Retirement Plan Sponsors.
July 1, 2006... The online version of Form 5500, an annual report of employee benefit plans required of plan sponsors by Federal law, is now available to retirement plan clients of the Principal Financial Group. According to Susie Thomann, vice president and...

Single Alignment Formed.(Sterling Financial Corporation aligned all three companies aligned Church Capital Management, Bainbridge Securities and Sterling Financial Trust a single entity)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The three affiliate companies of Sterling Financial Corporation (Church Capital Management, Bainbridge Securities, and Sterling Financial Trust) that service customers with wealth management, investment, trust, and securities brokerage...

Targeting Financial Services Firms.(Cartesis and Parson Consulting signed a global agreement to provide software solutions to financial firms)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Cartesis, business performance management software specialist, has announced a global agreement with Parson Consulting, a financial management consultancy, to provide best practice software solutions to financial services firms. In the...

Deploying Web-Based Planning System.
July 1, 2006... Financial Profiles has signed a multi-year license agreement with Johnson Bank, a financial services company, to deploy its Web-based version, Profiles+(tm) Professional, on a company wide basis in California as well as to branches in Wisconsin...

Merger Completed.
July 1, 2006... Lincoln National Corp. has completed its merger with Jefferson-Pilot Corporation and the new company will operate under the brand name Lincoln Financial Group. The merged entity will provide a broad range of financial and insurance products and...

SAS Teams with RSM.(RSM McGladrey Inc., SAS North America)
July 1, 2006... Software giant SAS is teaming up with RSM McGladrey to target mid-market businesses with a variety of product offerings. The two companies will offer business processing consulting and SAS Financial Intelligence software in a package designed...

Enterprise Data Consolidation.(Securian Financial Services contracts with Albridge Solutions )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Albridge Solutions and Securian Financial Services have agreed to provide Securian's financial advisors with a consolidated view of key client data and access to comprehensive on- demand reporting capabilities through Albridge Wealth reporting....

Platinum Partner Program.(Foundation Source)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Foundation Source, a provider of support services for private foundations, has formed the Foundation Source Platinum Partner Program for financial advisors, attorneys, and CPAs who incorporate philanthropy and private foundations as integral...

Retirement Record-Keeping Unit Being Sold.(Wachovia is buying Ameriprise Financial)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Wachovia is buying the retirement record-keeping business of financial planning company Ameriprise Financial. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition will bring Wachovia's retirement services unit to more than two million...

Recruiting Pros.
July 1, 2006... As independent RIAs attract more interest-and more assets-from affluent investors, they are bolstering their own ranks by also attracting experienced wire-house and institutional advisors, says a new industry research produced by Schwab...

Billion Dollar Fee Cut.(Securities and Exchange Commission reduced fees on securities transactions and registrations )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The SEC says that fees on securities transactions and registrations will be reduced by $1 billion in the fiscal year starting October 1 of this year. The SEC sets such fees according to the Investor and Capital Markets Fee Relief Act. "This is...

Independence Rules Overturned...Again.(Securities and Exchange Commission violated the Administrative Procedures Act examine the potential costs to the mutual fund industry )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... In a 3-0 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has again voided SEC regulations mandating that a mutual fund board chairman and three quarters of the fund directors have no direct ties to the manager of the fund. The...

Trading Futures on Debt Securities.(Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have jointly proposed rules that will permit trading of futures on debt indexes. The intention is to create a new class of tradable derivatives contracts. According to SEC chairman...

Need for Clear Annuities Standard.(Insurance Marketplace Standards Association's Brian Atchison)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Consumers, companies, and sales professionals deserve better, more efficient regulation that reflects dynamic product changes and increasing consumer expectations, not the disorganized and inconsistent patchwork of laws and regulations that...

Preliminary Views Document on Derivatives.(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has issued a preliminary views document that intends to improve the accounting and financial reporting of derivatives by state and local governments. The proposal would require that the fair value of...

Protecting Senior Investors.(Securities and Exchange Commission and North American Securities Administrators Association have announced a joint national initiative)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The SEC and the North American Securities Administrators Association have announced a joint national initiative designed to protect seniors from investment fraud and sales of unsuitable securities. The initiative, which builds upon the success...

Continuing Ed Credits for CFPs.(Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards contracts with Internal Revenue Service)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The IRS has reached an agreement with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards to give continuing education credits at the agency's nationwide tax forums being held this summer. This represents the first year that the IRS has...

Evaluating Combined Financial Conditions.
July 1, 2006... Sageworks has released Sageworks Analyst-Global Analysis, the first product on the market that analyzes the combined financial condition of a business and its owners in one integrated platform. Sageworks says that the product was developed...

Increasing Wallet Share.(StarTrek has launches process management services 'StarTrek Financial Intelligent Enterprises')(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... StarTrek, provider of BPO services for outsourced customer interactions, has unveiled its first, comprehensive suite of complex process management services for the financial industries called StarTrek Financial Intelligent Enterprises. The...

Integrated Web Tool.(CUSO Financial Services launched financial planning tool 'Forecaster')(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Working with Financial Profiles, CUSO Financial Services has launched a Web-based, integrated financial planning tool known as Forecaster that will be made available to its investment advisory representatives nationwide. The tool is modular by...

Managing Client Relationships.(NorthStar released its new software NorthStar 4.0)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... NorthStar has released its version 4.0 that is comprised of five solutions and empowers financial advisors and their teams with full lifecycle advisory capabilities to acquire, implement, and manage client assets in a holistic and compliant...

Financial Goals Via the Web.(First Command Financial Planning Inc. )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... First Command Financial Planning has launched OnTrack, a Web-based portal designed to help clients plot their financial paths and compare their actual behaviors to the personal goals they pursue through their family financial plans. According...

Model for Retirement Income Planning.
July 1, 2006... Still River Retirement Planning Software has released two new versions of RetirementWorks II, the retirement income and distribution planning package introduced last year. One version uses Monte Carlo analysis to test financial plans under...

Helping College Financial Planners.
July 1, 2006... Think Ahead, developer of college financial planning tools, has launched its College Aid Calculator software application that helps professional college planners improve services to parents while reducing overall costs. (c) 2006 Accounting...

Baby Boomers Shift Concerns.
July 1, 2006... More Baby Boomers are worried about gas prices and uninsured medical costs than about retirement and other long-term expenses, says a new poll conducted by Harris Interactive for the AICPA. The results show that 51 percent of Americans age 45...

Choosing Financial Planners.
July 1, 2006... Paladin Registry, a company that provides free education, matching, and documentation services to investors who rely on financial planners to achieve their goals, has issued guidelines for selecting financial planners. It says the objective is...

Warning About Cashing Out 401(k).(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... NASD has issued an Investor Alert, warning investors that cashing out of even a modest amount of their 401(k) assets can have a potentially devastating impact on their retirement savings. A recent study indicates that 45 percent of employees...

Making Money and Keeping It.(J.K. Lasser's New Rules for Estate and Tax Planning)(The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Rich)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Two new books from the pen of Stewart Welch deserve a close look. One is J.K. Lasser's New Rules for Estate and Tax Planning, the revised and updated edition, from Wiley; the other is The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Rich, the third...

CountDown to America's Retirement.(Retirement Solutions Inc. launched integrated marketing program to help the industry meet the consumer's financial retirement needs)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Retirement Solutions, a retirement-focused financial services consulting organization, has launched an integrated marketing program that it says is designed to help financial services companies bridge the "advisor-to-consumer communications...

Tackling Problems.(HD Vest Financial Services appointed Dawn Willis )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... H.D. Vest has created a new position within its Advisor support department that focuses on identifying top producers' best practices and sharing them with other Advisors and helping Advisors leverage available tools and technology to reduce...

Conserving Client Portfolios.(Financial Planning Association Press released its newest book ' Conserving Client Portfolios During Retirement' by Bill Bengen)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... FPA Press, the publishing arm of the Financial Planning Association, released its newest book, Conserving Client Portfolios During Retirement, by Bill Bengen. It explores the author's research on the topic of retirement withdrawals, including...

Retirement a Women's Issue.(American Association of Retired Persons's Women's Leadership Circle)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... In a keynote address to AARP's launch of the Women's Leadership Circle, New York Life Insurance Company's executive vice president, Ted Mathas, said that financial planning for retirement is, by definition, a women's issue. "The numbers don't...

Wealth of Financial Information.(Pennsylvania Office of Financial Education launches new website)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The Pennsylvania Office of Financial Education's new Web site, www.moneysbestfriend.com, provides financial assistance about personal budgeting, loan information, and banking options. It covers an array of topics such as banking, budgeting,...

Organizing Estates.
July 1, 2006... Straightline Solutions has announced the availability of a Windows software program, "Where's My Estate? Easy Organizer." The program offers a solution to two fundamental questions: Can you afford the risk of your estate losing money due to...

Advising The Advisors: The Guru.(Jack P. Friedman, he is an Eminent Member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors )(Biography)
July 1, 2006... Jack P. Friedman is a real estate economist in Dallas, Texas. He has enough degrees to qualify for a charter membership in an alphabet soup association. They include CPA, ABV, MBA, Ph.D., MAI, CRE, and ASA. And to top matters, he is an Eminent...

The 1 Percent Option.
July 1, 2006... What type of mortgage do you have? What type of mortgage do the vast majority of your clients have? The standard answer is a 15 or 30 year fixed mortgage. This article was created to explain how the unique and useable 1 percent cash flow arm...

Ongoing Planning Relationships.
July 1, 2006... We all know that your clients' definition of financial planning is skewed by each person's experience and perceptions. If your client has a financial planner at an insurance agency, they think all planners are insurance people. If your client...

Real Estate Within an IRA.(Individual Retirement Account)
July 1, 2006... It was a client who first brought it to CPA Mike Merrell's attention that real estate could be purchased using monies from a retirement plan. The client and his wife had found a property that they wanted to purchase and they desperately wanted...

4th Annual Financial Planning Awards Call for Nominations.
July 1, 2006... Nominations are now open for CPA Wealth Provider's Third Annual Financial Planning Awards in the following categories: CPA/Financial Planning Firms Broker/Dealers Financial Planning Software Vendors Winners are those firms or...

Last Year's Winners.
July 1, 2006... CPA/Financial Planning Firms Clifton Gunderson Financial Services (Madison, Wisc.) Keats, Connelly and Associates (Phoenix, Ariz.) Smart Financial Advisors (Devon, Penn.) Vitale, Caturano & Company (Boston, Mass.) ...