Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/40356
Dan Wernikoff — 39 Senior Vice President & General Manager, Financial Management Solutions — Intuit Mountain View, California Twitter ID: twitter.com/wernikoff Education: BS, Miami University & MBA, University of Pittsburgh Hobbies: Family, Swimming and Travel Are you using social networking (such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+) as a marketing tool for your business … or do you use such sites for personal use only? Have you gained any customers or seen other demonstrable benefits from the use of social networking? From a professional perspective, I believe there is value in connecting with peers and associates in one's community. I'm a member of LinkedIn and find that it's a useful tool for recruiting top talent and staying in touch with col- leagues. I also have a blog that I use to communicate to my organization and am a regular user of Facebook. I use Twitter for real-time search, specifically to understand sentiment around QuickBooks, and I've just picked up Google+. I try everything. What pitfalls or what unwritten rules of social networking etiquette exist, which are frequently missed by others in the profession? Social networking provides a great way to connect with people (leveling the playing field for small business owners and accountants). Incorporating social networking into product and marketing plans does pay off. Many accountants and entrepreneurs participate in socially geared networking forums, as well as business networking forums; the caveat is both reflect heavily on you and, by association, your business. The unwritten rule is to remember the content published here is accessible by others. Even though you may have separate sites/accounts that seemingly split your business and personal online personas, anybody could easily access the information on your personal site prior What ONE piece of technology could you absolutely not live without? My Withings scale. I work a lot, so sometimes I neglect the most important thing — my health. This scale broadcasts your weight, body fat and BMI to its site for my whole family to see, including my wife. You can't really cheat on your health when everyone sees the outcome in real time. What are some ways your firm/business has gone "paperless" and/or "green" in the last two years? We work closely with our customers and developers to find ways we can provide greener products without com- promising performance. One developer, Solutions@ MBAF, LLC has actually created an app called PaperSavePlus that is available in Intuit's App Center that allows users to scan receipts and invoices into QuickBooks-Paperless Document Management. Do you embrace cloud computing? Absolutely. We've launched the Intuit App Center, which is a place for small businesses to find and use apps in the cloud that work with QuickBooks and with each other. We've also increased our investment dramatically in Intuit's QuickBooks Online product, which is specifically designed to take advantage of the cloud. Personally, I do most things in the cloud, and through countless interactions with small businesses know how useful it can be to access their data anywhere, anytime. How is cloud computing changing the accounting profession, and how concerned are you with the security issues related to cloud computing? Accoun- tants can benefit from cloud computing in multiple ways, both as a small business themselves and as a trusted advisor to other small businesses. As small to doing business with you. The bottom line is social networks are no different than going out socially. So behave like you are at a social gathering, and you should be fine. businesses, there are many things that accountants need to do when they are on the go like being able to access customer information or getting paid. We continue to see an acceleration of accountants who run their practice online and recommend their clients move to QuickBooks online. The benefits are dramatic in terms of being able to access and work with the clients' data remotely. I'm always careful to work with brands I trust when moving any of my personal data online, but the bottom line is your data is increasingly on a computer that is networked even when not using online applica- tions, so security is a concern that knows no platform boundaries. NOT including your current employer, what company do you most admire and why? Apple. At the end of the day, the success of any company normalizes around the products and services that they offer, and Apple builds beautiful things. I'm continually amazed by how much of life is influenced by Apple products. What sports team/championship event do you absolutely refuse to miss? I'm from Pittsburgh so you can be sure that on Sundays, my family is enjoying a little Steelers football. What are some of your favorite websites and TV shows? I'm an avid online news junkie. I love any (industrial) design related blog. I love almost all HBO programming and find myself continually frustrated by the networks' inability to create innovative programming, other than Mad Men. I love that show. Do you foresee the majority of firms still implementing servers for the majority of their computing in their offices five years from now or do you think they will be outsourcing this component to vendors who specialize in this area? That's a bit like asking if everyone is going to be a mechanic to fix their car, a doctor to manage their kid's health, and a utility provider to manage power to their house. Over time, as technology becomes widely adopted, hosting continues to evolve into a commodity that is most efficiently managed by a specialist. Unless accountants offer true IT services, they provide infinitely more value by advising their clients on how to manage and run their business. Cell phone: I carry a Motorola Droid Pro and an iPhone 3 (I'm waiting for the iPhone 5). We develop applications on both platforms, so it's good to play with both. The Droid Pro got me off my BlackBerry keyboard addiction — and can actually enable a full phone call without dropping, which is remarkable in Silicon Valley. Both are amazing. What is your favorite smartphone or tablet app, and why? I love Flipboard for the iPad. It's a combination of social media and a beautiful interactive magazine layout. I read about current events and design obsessively, so anything that makes scanning the headlines easier is something I want. Monitors on your desk? I have two. Other than SMS on your cell phone, what is your favorite way to IM with your friends and family? Facebook GET SOCIAL All of our 40u40 are actively engaged with social media, at least as a marketing and outreach tool for their firm or business. And so are we! Follow us on Twitter/ 12 Facebook/LinkedIn/Blog Back to Contents Page 3