Industry CPAs Take Tech Lead
But a gap between CPAs in practice and CPAs in industry creates both opportunities and challenges.
by Rick Telberg
At Large for the AICPA
The CPA profession may be leading the way in embracing new, productivity-boosting technologies.
But within the profession, members in business and industry are advancing even more aggressively than their colleagues in public practice.
Overall, 3 in 5 participants in our study from two weeks ago say they will be spending more on new hardware and software over the next 12 to 18 months. That's at least as good, or better, than the rate for small- and medium-sized businesses in general.
Overall, SMBs (for short) will grow their IT spending by 6.6 percent this year over 2003, according to the latest research from Forrester, nearly four times faster than the anticipated 1.7 percent rate forecast for larger companies.
That suggests our readers are in the vanguard of not just the profession, but also of the U.S. economy. Congratulations to all you pioneers.
What are your top concerns? We asked, you answered, in order,
"Essential to Our Success"
1. Assuring security and privacy for ourselves and our customers 77%.
2. Getting the most return out of our present systems 52%.
3. Disaster/backup planning and recovery 52%.
4. Upgrading to keep abreast or to go to the next step 47%.
5. Communications and messaging (i.e.: email, spam, IM's, voicemail, online meetings) 47%.
6. Streamlining document management (the "paperless" office) 34%.
7. Customer relationship management and data mining 30%.
8. Mobility/portability (i.e.: going "wireless," virtual office, working from anywhere) 28%.
9. Integrating diverse databases and applications 25%.
10. Business exchange technology (i.e.: online transaction, EDI, XBRL) 10%.
For too many firms, needed upgrades have been deferred too long. "We plan on upgrading our computers every three to five years," said a senior partner at a mid-sized local CPA firm. "This is the fourth year, since our last upgrade and we feel it is time to replace our computers."
For others, they are taking advantage of a brighter economic outlook. "Business has improved, generating the necessary cash to take advantage of technology enhancements that will improve efficiency or ROI on outsourced services by bringing them back in-house," said Earl Hendricks, chief executive at 3rd Dimension Systems Inc., a technology dealer in Minneapolis.
Indeed, it's the members in industry who are leading the way. While 3 in 5, or 61 percent overall, of readers are bumping up tech spending, the figure among members in business and industry is 7 in 10, or 71 percent, compared with 1 in 2, or 55 percent, in public practice.
That gap in spending plans between CPAs in practice and CPAs in industry creates both opportunities and challenges for savvy professionals. Public accounting firms cannot afford to get left behind their clients' needs and demands.
