The Technology Used by High-Tech CPAs

Abstract

Except for two areas--spreadsheet and tax preparation software--most CPAs have been relatively slow to use computer technology. But that's changing. These days, with productivity the byword of business survival and technology the proven tool to increase it, accountants are playing catch up, acquiring the latest hardware and software technology to work better, faster and more efficiently. But which technology best serves the profession's needs? What combination of the vast array of available hardware and software best performs the jobs most CPAs need to do? While some recent surveys polled the general accounting audience to determine what technology most CPAs use, the Journal of Accountancy turned instead to a small group of experts--accountants who specialize in adapting technology to their firms' or organizations' needs. We figured these pros did extensive testing before settling on their technology tools and readers would want to know their decisions. To get these data, the Journal surveyed accountants who attended recent high-tech professional conferences. One was the American Institute of CPAs microcomputer conference in Boston in June 1993; another was the AICPA software users conference in New Orleans last October; and the third was the Accountants Computer Users Technical Exchange (ACUTE) meeting in San Diego, also held last October. A total of 143 accountants completed questionnaires, 84% from public accounting firms and 16% from corporate or not-for-profit organizations. While the survey numbers were small and certainly didn't represent a scientific sampling, we still believed it was valuable to share the results with readers. However, because the sample was too small, in many cases we did not quantify the results for fear it would be misleading to do so. This was especially relevant when we polled CPAs on the brands of professional software they used. In such cases, instead of listing the percentage of returns we listed the products mentioned by respondents in alphabetical order. WHO DOES WINDOWS? The survey found that 60% of the responding CPAs were using Windows. By comparison, a 1990 AICPA survey of computer usage by a broad cross-section of CPAs estimated Window usage at only 5%. However, a significant number of respondents to the more recent survey still didn't use the graphical environment exclusively; most still ran some DOS applications, either under Windows or independently, because in many cases there still weren't Windows-based application programs that adequately replaced some old, tried-and-true DOS programs. A statistic that was even more meaningful than the 60% figure was the percentage of CPAs who ran Windows on their office networks. Running Windows on a network suggests a much greater commitment to the graphical environment than running it as a stand-alone system. The latest survey revealed that 35% of the public accounting firms and 43% of CPAs in commerce and industry ran Windows on networks. Although the 1990 survey did not ask that question, it's safe to speculate that just a few years ago hardly any CPAs ran Windows on networks because the hardware and software just weren't up to it. What's behind the rapid swing to Windows? Survey respondents said they had switched from DOS because Windows was so much easier to learn and use and because it was more powerful. They cited such factors as Windows' ability to switch between multiple programs easily and its cut-and-paste leature, in which data from one application could be cut or copied and pasted into another. In subsequent interviews, we discovered that even most of those CPAs who remained loyal to DOS conceded reluctantly that the program-switching and cut-and-paste features were valuable assets they wanted; they simply believed not enough professional Windows products were yet available (for more on Windows, see "Opening Windows for CPAs," by Robert L. McCullar, Jr., JofA, Dec. …