Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
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PRACTICE MANAGEMENT Reviews For Your Firm CCH, A Wolters Kluwer business — ProSystem fx Practice Management 2011 OVERALL RATING BEST FIRM FIT POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS Firms wanting powerful time, project, marketing and client management features, particularly those using other components of the ProSystem fx Suite. STRENGTHS • Strong integration with Pro- System fx Suite, Sage Abra Pay- roll, and Sage MAS 90, 200 &500 • Great features for tracking mar- keting & prospect information • SaaS version available • Business Intelligence module available 800-739-9998 opt. 1 Don’t miss these Online Exclusive articles from CPA Practice Advisor Why Firms Must Advance Women By Monika P. Miles, CPA, ASWA National President T e next generation of top accounting professionals will bear lit le resemblance to the male-dominated leadership ranks cur- rently occupying corner offi ces, according to the recently released 2011 Accounting MOVE Project Executive Report (“2011 Executive Report”), which is available at www. ASWA.org. Since over half of today’s accounting grads are women, public accounting fi rms must rapidly realign profes- sional development programs. If they do not, fi rms simply cannot remain competitive and will not have enough partners for an orderly transition when baby boomers are ready to retire. The American Society of Women Accountants (ASWA) partnered with strategic communication fi rm Wilson-Taylor Associates, Inc., the American Woman’s Society of Certifi ed Public Accountants (AWSCPA), Moss Adams, and Rothstein Kass to produce T e 2011 Accounting MOVE Project Executive Report. The MOVE methodology pivots on four factors — money, opportunity, vital supports for work/ life balance, and entrepreneurship — proven to advance women in the workplace. T e report provides new and compelling reasons why career advancement for women of all ages must be actively cultivated in order for accounting fi rms to stay competitive. T e report then provides useful recommenda- tions and best practices to recruit, retain and promote women in accounting. Read more about the focus of, research behind and highlights of this report at www. CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/10296443. MARKETINGWORKS How to Supersize a Happy Meal Firm Bio By Scot H. Cytron, ABC How do you make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear? Said another way, how can you transform the tried-and-true fi rm bio into something more than a ho-hum template piece of writing that resonates with clients and prospects? A recent experience with a fi rm wanting me to rewrite bios for its partners got me thinking about all the creative ways to take a bio that is a Happy Meal, at best, and make 12 August 2011 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com it supersized. No mat er what size fi rm you are … or what each person may do beyond the fi rm’s physical borders, here are a few tips: • Apply themes to our bios • Write bios as Q&As; or complete the sentence • Get the managing partner’s buy-in • Don’t forget the goal Read more about these four tips at www. CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/10296483. THE BLEEDING EDGE The Technology Audit By Dave McClure As technology is increasingly woven into the fabric of business management and operations, it becomes more necessary to evaluate technology utilization and prepare for management an assessment of the threats and opportunities available. In the area of threats, there is the risk involved in an inadequate backup and document archiving system. Weak policies regarding employee use of company com- puters can leave the network vulnerable to viruses. Unauthorized use of soſt ware — especially unauthorized soſt ware installed by employees — could subject the company to thou- sands or even millions of dollars in fi nes for copyright infringement. And these are just the obvious threats. Opportunities also abound, in reducing software licensing costs. In replacing expensive laptops with tablets or netbook computers. In consolidating printing operations. In productivity gains through additional training. So what comprises a technology audit? T ere are seven basic steps: • Conduct a security sweep of the network and every device at ached to it. • Audit the soſt ware in use by the company. • Audit the hardware in use by the company. • Audit the backup systems. • Audit the document management system. • Conduct a printer audit. • Ensure the company has a strategic technology plan. Read more about these seven steps at www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/10296488. • Users have to update the program manually SUMMARY & PRICING Because of its strong integration capabilities, ProSystem fx Practice Management is a solid choice for fi rms using other components of the ProSystem fx Suite. Several fi rms not using the suite purchase the practice management portion as a standalone product because of its powerful time, project, marketing and client management features. T e price of a 10-user basic system that does not include contact management is $2,260. The version that includes all components is $4,325. PRODUCT DELIVERY METHODS: ■ ✔ On-Premises ■ ✔ SaaS ■ ✔ Hosted by Vendor BASIC SYSTEM FUNCTIONS TIME MANAGEMENT CAPABILITIES INVOICING FUNCTIONS MANAGEMENT FEATURES INTEGRATION & DATA MANAGEMENT HELP/SUPPORT Read the full review of this product exclusively online at www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/10294034 www.cchgroup.com