CPA Practice Advisor

AUG 2013

Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.

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BRIDGING THE GAP By Jim Boomer, CPA.CITP Tablets - Tech Toys or Tools? Y ou have a tablet. Hey, maybe you're on your second or third generation. And you're still trying to fgure out exactly how this device can make you more productive in the workplace. You're not alone. Apple redefned an entire product category when it introduced the iPad and, in the process, they sold over 100 million devices (and sparked countless competitive oferings). Today, many tablet owners are pondering the question, "Is it just a tech toy? Or is it a true productivity tool?" Individual Success – A Mixed Bag Te stories I hear from across the country vary in terms of the success professionals have had using the tablet as a true work machine. Tere are some that claim it will never be useful for anything beyond email, calendaring and surfng the web. In the opposite camp are those who have fgured out a combination of apps (including remote desktop connection apps) that allow them to get real accounting work done from their tablet. However, most will agree that we aren't able to completely ditch the laptop or desktop computer in lieu of a tablet for a lot of the work we have to accomplish. Is it a Tablet or a Really Small Laptop? Jim Boomer is a shareholder and the CIO for Boomer Consulting, Inc. He is the director of the Boomer Technology Circles™ and an expert on managing technology within an accounting frm. He also serves as a strategic planning and technology consultant and frm adviser in the areas of performance and risk management. In addition, Jim is leading a new program, Te Producer Circle, in collaboration with CPA2BIZ and the AICPA. 22 We are seeing a growing adoption of the Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 Pro. Accountants like it because it gives them a more of a natural link to the Microsof world where they live. However, there is also another debate growing around this device, "Is it really a tablet? Or, is it just an extremely small laptop?" Regardless of the answer to that question, it appears Microsof is on the right path. If they can fgure out a few glaring issues like batery life, they might fnd themselves in the thick of the mobile device space. And I don't know that people really care what category the device falls into if it meets their needs. It's All About the Apps When it comes to mobile devices, it truly is all about the apps. The device itself is useless without the apps that unleash the power of the device and allow users to accom- August 2013 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com plish countless tasks. And it's this very fact that leads me to believe that it's too soon to make a call on the toy vs. tool debate. Tere is no shortage of apps we use on a daily basis to make our personal lives easier and it's only a mater of time before the business apps arrive. The majority of the sofware providers in our profession have some type of mobile strategy in place today. Where they are in the execution of that strategy varies, but we will see several new apps hit the app stores with the specifc purpose of making mobile devices an integral and useful part of accountants' daily lives. For this reason alone, the way people use their tablets in the next year or two won't look anything like it does today. Don't Write Off the Tablet Many people have already labeled the tablet a tech toy and have given up on fnding a business use for it. And then there are those previously mentioned users that have fgured out ways to integrate it into their daily work. I commend you for puting the time in and sticking with it. I believe it will smoother sailing from here as the vendors address additional needs for core accounting work . You' l l have more nat ive applications to accomplish tasks and won't have to rely as much on "work-around" solutions. I recently moderated a panel at the AICPA Practitioners Symposium and TECH+ Conference in Las Vegas. On that panel were two frms that had rolled out iPads to every employee in the firm. One prov ided tablets as par t of the standard technolog y toolk it to every employee and the devices are owned by the frm. Te other gave them as year-end gifts so they are now employee property and they gave employees a choice to use them for work or not. While each frm's story difered in the business drivers behind the rollout and the method in which the tablets made their way into the hands of employees, these firms obviously see potential or they wouldn't have made the signifcant investment that they did. And they wouldn't be continuing to invest further in custom mobile applications to make the devices more useful to employees. So botom line on the tech toy vs. tool question – the jury is still out. I believe it's in your best interest to stay in the game and watch the evolution continue on - one app at a time.

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