The Tech Gap

Ilene Lawrence is Elected CSEA President

Ms. Irene Lawrence, EA, of Palo Alto has been elected 28th President of the California Society of Enrolled Agents (CSEA), the nation’s largest statewide association of Enrolled Agents. Enrolled Agents are tax professionals licensed by the federal government to represent taxpayers and assist them with tax planning and the preparation of tax returns.

Ms. Lawrence joined the Society in 1988; she has served in several offices of the East Bay Chapter of the Society and on the state level, including First Vice President, Secretary, and five years as Chair of the Ethics & Professional Conduct Committee. She is currently a member of the Mission Chapter of the Society.

Ms. Lawrence was elected in Reno, Nevada, at the Society's Annual Meeting.

gll

The CPA Technology Advisor is also printed as The CSEA Technology Advisor and The NSA Technology Advisor.

The Singing CPA is Hit at Otherwise Lackluster NY Society Show

On Monday and Tuesday, July 17th and 18th I spent a week at the NY Society Business and Technology Show. The dates are right and, thanks to the theory of relativity, so is the "week". Attendance was maybe half of prior years --- and those that DID attend voted with their feet pretty overwhelmingly by choosing NOT to sit in the reconfigured CPE classes. My count on Tuesday afternoon showed fewer than 150 attendees [total] in the two scheduled CPE classes. Just to give you an idea of how bleak the program was --- Steven Zelin, The Singing CPA, was the defacto "hit" of the conference. I visited with Zelin and discovered that he considers himself a serious artist AND a serious CPA. Consequently [remember, the show was REALLY slow] I agreed to blog about him if he'd send me a sample song that I could freely distribute to my readers. He did, and I am.

I visited his website and was pretty amused ----to paraphrase the late Senator Lloyd Bentsen --- "Steven, I know Arlo Guthrie and you're no Arlo Guthrie. And you're certainly not Bob Dylan!". That said, here's the MP3 ---- and if you don't like it, don't blame me. If the NY Society had offered better CPE I'd have covered that instead!!

MP3 File

gll

A Man with Many Hats

I've been running into my friend and fellow columnist Dave Cieslak a lot lately. He was kind enough to join us in Los Angeles for the Innovation Awards ceremony back on June 5th and then I saw a LOT of him at TECH2006 in Austin.

For those of you who don't know Dave, he's one of The CPA Technology Advisors' Dream Team columnists and is truly a man of many, many hats. He'd immediately tell you that his first hat is as family man and husband to his lovely (really!) bride, Michelle. Probably second, although he runs so fast you can't really tell, is as principal in Information Technology Group, Inc. (ITG), a computer consulting firm with headquarters in Simi Valley, CA where he specializes in micro-computer accounting systems, information security, the Windows operating environment, eCommerce, handheld computing, systems development and project management. He's an avid runner (hat 3?), a drummer (do drummers even WEAR hats?), and frequent speaker.

I see David often as our paths cross regularly on the CPE, trade show, and technology conference speakers' circuit. He's very active in the California CPA Society Technology group and sits on the board of ITA. Oh, and in his spare time he Chairs the AICPA's Information Technology Executive Committee, and has served as Chair of TECH2005 and TECH2006. Oh, darn ---- one more thing --- he handled a couple of sessions as featured speakers there, too.

Finally, just when you thought the man might actually sleep occasionally, like the rest of humanity,  he just accepted the position of chair of the Sage Accpac Business Partner Advisory Council (BPAC). BPAC is a select group of Sage Accpac Business Partners that meets twice a year with Sage Accpac executives to provide important feedback and perspective on product features and development, corporate strategy, industry trends, and the competitive landscape. Chosen for the position by his peers, David will serve a one-year tenure.

There's plenty of time to sleep after that. Right, David?

gll

PS --- Private note to David: Your column deadlines are still the same! No extensions just because you went and got yourself another HAT!!!

Superfetch Promises to Speed Vista

There were two excellent Windows Vista programs at the AICPA TECH2006 --- a  3 hour "deep dive" and a shorter (kinder, gentler) "executive overview". I attended the former and stopped by to introduce the speaker, Keith Combs, for the latter. Wow -- do I have a lot to write about over the next few months!!

I was particularly impressed with a Redmond magic trick referred to a "SuperFetch". This technology  actually "learns" what products you use, when, in what order and combination. Once it's learned your usage patterns it begins to "pre-fetch" the needed DLLs into memory based on those patterns so that when you actually DO call the program it will seem to load and execute much, much faster. In Microsoft-speak I just said "SuperFetch is a memory management strategy that intelligently maintains optimal memory content based on historic usage patterns on the Window-based PC. SuperFetch analyzes several weeks of usage patterns in order to allow Windows Vista to make intelligent decisions about what content should be present in system memory at any given time. Using SuperFetch memory management technology also allows Windows Vista to detect and evade troublesome memory usage patterns that would otherwise push higher priority content out of memory."

SuperFetch will be included in all editions of Windows Vista --- which, because you have a practice a run and clients to service, you won't buy until at least this time next year, right? RIGHT!!!

gll

CITP Update

I spend an exciting day in Austin yesterday (Saturday, June 10th) doing strategic planning with the CITP Credential Committee. Members joining me (I chair the committee) were Chris Fraser, Kevin Martin, Bryan Smith, Ilene Eisen, and Jim Bourke. Our committee was joined by Ruth Richter, a consultant from Covergence Coaching who has been our "staff liaison" during the AICPA's move to Durham, Nancy Cohen, veteran AICPA staffer who is making the move to Durham and has assumed responsibility for our committee, Steve Winters, soon-to-be Director of Membership Areas and Credentials, and Ken Askelson, who serves as a Commissioner on the National Accreditation Commission.

We had a lot of good news to share ---- our CITP count is at 817, a 21% increase in under a year. The better news is that the applications are coming in even faster since our agreement with ISACA. And the best news is that we've just released a new TWO PAGE application form. [Hint: It's SO simple that even Dave Bergstein can complete it!!] Here's a link to it. http://infotech.aicpa.org/NR/rdonlyres/0EE21F76-40E2-44E5-81DC-296D7BEB3CCF/0/9593378CITP_LIVEAP.pdf

It's HOT in Austin (nearly 100 degrees today) and we're looking forward to a great time here at TECH2006.

gll

2006 Innovation Awards Honor Technologies that Advance and Enhance Productivity

The 2006 Tax & Accounting Technology Innovation Awards were announced and presented Monday evening at the California Accounting and Business Show & Conference in Los Angeles, offering recognition to applications, hardware and services that provide a unique benefit to tax and accounting professionals or otherwise enhance the productivity or profitability of these professionals. This year’s winners included a wiki-based tax research utility, a document identification system, an online payroll application, mobile workgroups collaboration, and a new entry into the small business accounting market.

The Innovation Awards are sponsored by The CPA Technology Advisor as a means to recognize innovative developments in technologies that benefit the tax and accounting professions, as well as significant advancements in existing technologies. Award statues were presented to the winners by Gregory L. LaFollette, CPA.CITP, Executive Editor of The CPA Technology Advisor.

“The marketplace for technologies that enhance productivity and client service in the accounting and tax profession is thriving,” LaFollette said. “Each year, we are increasingly impressed with the innovations that vendors develop to help meet the unique challenges we face in our practices, and the Innovation Awards help to further stimulate development by publicly commending those vendors whose products or services represent the most significant technological innovations in these fields.”

The recipients of this year’s Tax and Accounting Technology Innovation Awards are as follows:

GLL Interviews Thomson VP about Virtual Office

As a South Dakota native, and now-returned resident, I have to confess that the significance of the  "first day of hurricane season" has previously been pretty much lost on me. Until today, that is. I am attending the Florida Institute of CPAs Accounting & Business Expo in Orlando and somehow (go figure) this day seems to have some special meaning for Florida residents. Maybe it's the pounding they've taken over the past few years or their still-fresh memories of their neighbors a few states west. In either case, the CPAs here at the show are most definitely interested in products and services that might help the weather the next big one. I had a nice conversation with Teresa Mackintosh, VP of Marketing at Thomson Creative Solutions and we discussed what she's been hearing at their booth --- from both existing customers and those looking for new solutions.

[Interview runs ~6 minutes.]

gll




MP3 File

A Little Birdie Told Me ....

The rumor mill was in full swing last week at the 2006 New Jersey Accounting, Business & Technology Show Here are some observations and "chirpings" that I've been hearing:

INUIT LACERTE is set to roll out a "premium" version of their DMS. The premium versionwill add ONLINE backup automatically for the entire DMS database. If a practitioner were to fully utilize the DMS system they could effectively backup nearly all their client files --- overnight and automaticallyI I wonder if Thomson Creative Solutions' FileCabinet CS (the grand daddy product in this space) will follow suit ... ? Note: [I can personally guarantee you that it HAS been discussed out in Dexter!!]

MORE INTUIT: I keep hearing rumors that several (three, four, five?) vendors have been selected as authorized third-party ASP hosters for QuickBooks and that Intuit will soon announce some sort of endorsement and/or special support for "the chosen". I wonder what the QB OnLine team thinks of THAT idea ..... ?

GO FILE ROOM was at the show but pretty much without any Thomson markings. If I didn't know for sure they'd been acquired, I sure wouldn't have guessed it by their presence at this show. I wonder how soon the "transformation" will begin ....?

WIZSOFT --- the most poorly named software since BOCDIP was acquired and immediately rechristened ProSystem Scan, made their U.S. debut (to our profession anyway) at the Meadowlands. Very interesting product set, especially in the Sox 404 world in which we seem to have found ourselves. They claim an 80% market share in their native Israel. Nice people ... I wonder if we'll see them at more shows?

CCH PROSYSTEM FX --- I took an attendee to their booth to facilitate him looking at ProFX Tax and was amazed to find that no one at the show was familiar with the product and that they didn't even have it loaded on their demo computers! Oh, BTW --- we asked a half dozen booth workers and watched (it was pretty amusing) as they scurried around askind EACH OTHER if anyone was familiar the product. They were all interested in showing us the other CCH products --- of which there are many --- but none knew the core application. I wonder what sort of planning goes into selecting booth staff up in Riverwoods?

On to Orlando next week, then LA the following week, and finally on to Austin for TECH2006 the week following that. Look for a lot more "chirpings" coming up!

gll

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective VARs?

Sage Software's Insights 2006 has drawn over 3,100 attendees to the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Conference Center in Nashville, Tennessee. True to the spirit of "Music City" Sage choose to warm the audience with a 45 minute set of driving rock music -- mostly reminiscent of the 60s and 70s --- and highlighted by the "Briefcase Blues Brothers" whose parody and obvious talent were loudly appreciated by the crowd. Their act ended with a sun glass-clad Ron Verni joining them in a not particularly well choreographed dance number that quickly brought the cheering crowd to their feet. Never one to waste time Verni soon quieted the group as he outlined the upcoming conference schedule, making special note of keynoter Steven Covey. Verni's message, "Our Seven Commitments", was particularly well-organized this year --- a tribute perhaps to Covey's best-seller "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". The "commitments" Verni spoke of were:

Commitment 1 - to Small Medium Business
Commitment 2 - to Speed of the Customer
Commitment 3 - to Services
Commitment 4 - to Complete Solutions
Commitment 5 - to Presenting One Face to Our Customers
Commitment 6 - to Being Customer Connected
Commitment 7 - to YOU

The delivery was freshly energized, the numbers updated, the announced acquisitions different, but the message was consistent with prior years: Verni reiterated his company's pledge to continue serving the SMB market. He also announced the acquisition of MasterBuilder from Intuit and the rollout of Peachtree Quantum, designed to hold more upper-end users in the Sage “family” as they approach readiness for MAS 90 or 200.

More to come later …..

gll

Is RIDING a bull different from SHOOTING the bull?

AN OPEN LETTER TO MY FELLOW CITP CREDENTIAL HOLDERS:

TECH 2006 - the AICPA's Information Technology Conference - is like no other conference you'll attend.

Why?

TECH 2006 has content designed just for YOU - the CITP. No where else will you find our brand of educational sessions, beneficial networking, and yes, even a mechanical bull - but more about the bull later.

Held June 11-14 in Austin, this year's conference promises to the best ever. Known worldwide as "The Live Music Capital of the World," you'll want to experience everything Austin has to offer, but let's start by telling you about what's in store.

CITP Bonus Session: "Deploying COBIT 4.0" with Daniel Casciano/Ernst & Young
Held at 3:45 p.m. on Sunday, June 11, this free pre-conference session is only available to CITPers - and no one else. We designed this topic to present the latest information about COBIT from one of the foremost authorities, Daniel Casciano of Ernst & Young. Again, this is content just for credential holders!

IT Town Hall: Sunday, June 11
Directly following the COBIT Session, the IT Town Hall is your opportunity to find out what's new with the CITP credential, as well as have an open dialog about future enhancements. This open forum also is an ideal time to meet your fellow CITPs to develop relationships and share information.

You're Surrounded by CITPs
Have you ever been in a room where most everyone around you had the same background and experience - in other words, a gold mine of networking? That's TECH 2006, where you'll find more CITPs congregating than at any other conference you'll attend. This goes way beyond just exchanging business cards. We're talking about the best networking you will find in this three-day timeframe. Not only will you walk away with more friends than before; you'll go home with a new set of expert resources you can call on at any time in the future. How often can you say that?

Presenters are Also CITPers
We truly have strength in numbers. At last count, 13 presenters, including me, hold the CITP credential. Even though we were asked to speak at TECH 2006 based on our enhanced knowledge of accounting and technology, the presence of this many CITPers as speakers is a clear sign that those who hold the credential know what they are talking about. Speakers include:

David Cieslak
Bob Gaby
Mike Harnish
Mike Johnston
Roman Kepczyk
Lisa Kianoff
Kevin Martin
Rick Richardson
Tim Shortsleeve
Diana Spurgus
Val Steed
Chaim Yudkowsky

Tuesday Night "CITP Sponsored" Reception: June 13
Prepare yourself for a night in Austin where you'll get away from the hotel to kick back, eat some great barbeque, and enjoy the open-air venue of Maggie Mae. The CITP credential is the exclusive sponsor of this reception and we expect all CITPs to show up for a rollicking good time. Cowboy hats optional.

Reach out to Attendees to Promote the CITP
As the last two years have shown, TECH 2006 has proven to be the place that CPAs come to learn about and apply for the CITP Credential. I want to remind you that YOU are the best ambassadors for the CITP credential, and without you, we would not have the strength and momentum that is keeping the CITP as a very important part of our profession.
* You'll have a special ribbon on your name tag that identifies you as a CITP. Wear it proudly, and when you meet non-credential holders, tell them about the CITP and its benefits.
* The AICPA IT Section and CITP Credential will have a 20 X 20 booth this year, with half of it dedicated to a CITP Networking Lounge. Feel free to have your CITP-interested colleagues meet you at Booth #100 to learn more about the credential and apply.
* "Why Become a CITP?" will be held Tuesday morning, June 13. One of the early morning sessions, this one focuses solely on the credential's benefits. As a CITP, we want you to tell other CPAs about the session and encourage them to attend.

Now to the mechanical bull ... I promise you that if we are able to sign up 100 new CITPs during TECH 2006, you'll see me ride a mechanical bull. Is this a dream or reality? You decide and make it happen!

See you at TECH 2006.

Sincerely (and in training for the bull),

Gregory L. LaFollette, CPA.CITP
Chair, CITP Credential Committee