Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/40356
Julio E. Garcia, CPA — 36 Managing Member, Alonso & Garcia, PLLC Plano, Texas Blog URL: www.cpa-in-dallas.com Twitter ID: @alonsoandgarcia Education: Bachelor of Accounting, International Business & Master of Accounting, Florida Interna- tional University Professional Associations/Memberships: AICPA & Texas Society of CPAs Hobbies: Home improvement projects and Sailing What ONE piece of technology could you absolutely not live without? Outlook. It keeps me organized in terms of address book, contacts, appointments and client communications. It is the application I spend most of my workday using. NOT including your current employer, what company do you most admire and why? Apple. Although I am not up to date with all of their products and applications, it is amazing how the company re-invented itself and came back with such a force in the hardware market, which is so competitive to begin with. It has been a long time since the Newton … remember that one? Do you embrace cloud computing? My partner and I embraced cloud computing back in 2004. At that time, we installed in-house Terminal and Citrix Servers. These servers allowed us to host accounting and tax applica- tions that could be remotely accessed anywhere. It gave both our staff and us access to our office resources from anywhere, including client sites, the office or home. How is cloud computing changing the accounting profession, and how concerned are you with the security issues related to cloud computing? At the present time, cloud computing is increasing efficiencies in workflow processes across all CPA disciplines, whether it is accounting and audit, tax or consulting services. It is also flattening organizations in terms of how much administrative support a CPA firm requires to effectively run. However, it is just a matter of time before clients catch on and increase their demands on turnaround time regarding their matters. What are some ways your firm has gone "paperless" and/or "green" in the last two years? We invested in paperless technologies, such as high-speed scanners and document management software. Since February 2009, we no longer maintain physical paper files for both recurring and per- manent records. We also have clients "opt out" of receiving encrypted PDF copies of their tax returns from our secure file download site. 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? I believe small businesses that don't have the expertise or resources to host their applications will fully migrate to the cloud. Larger enterprises will most likely deploy their own cloud farms. CPA firms may use a mix of in-house servers for secure applications such as tax preparation software and cloud for everything else. Are you using social networking (such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+) as a marketing tool for your practice … or do you use such sites for personal use only? Have you gained any clients or seen other demonstrable benefits from the use of social net- working? I hired a consulting firm to implement a lead generation program that utilizes all three applications: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter along with search engine optimization for my website. We have not rolled out anything in Google+ yet. I can see a definite transi- tion from print and direct mail into web- and social media-based mediums not only for CPA firms but for small businesses in general. I recently met with a prospect that was an executive at a yellow page advertising company for many years. He just launched his own web-based marketing firm partly due to the alarming rates at which the yellow page business was bleeding revenues and customers. Other than SMS on your cell phone, what is your favorite way to IM with your friends and family? I am not there yet. Email is the way I communicate the most, followed by Facebook. My generation came up with email well before SMS became widely popular. Cell phone: You are going to laugh, but I currently have an HTC Touch Pro II running Windows Mobile, which is prehistoric by today's standards. I'm looking into the HTC Evo 3D but need to make sure I can synch it with Outlook. What is your favorite smartphone or tablet app? Outlook on my Windows Mobile. Love the fact that I can keep in touch with client communications when outside the office. My incoming faxes and voicemails also get routed to my email so I don't miss a beat. How many monitors do you have on your desk? Two 22-inch widescreen monitors mounted vertically and setup as an extended desktop. What pitfalls or what unwritten rules of social net- working etiquette exist, which are frequently missed by others in the profession? At first I was hesitant to become involved in social networking for my business because of the fear personal matters would become entangled with business matters. This can be overcome with discipline and making sure you keep separate profiles or accounts, at least for Facebook. You also have to realize LinkedIn is probably not the site you want to chat with your friends in. Something that is also a bit embarrassing is when two individuals carry on a chat that probably should be done over the phone or by text as opposed to a public forum. People just don't understand that you need to be prepared to make whatever you post or upload in these sites public record regardless of whatever privacy rules the sponsor of the site states they have or who you "accept" as your friend or colleague. It is just a matter of time before one of these social networking sites has a major security breach. What are some of your favorite books, movies, music and websites? Favorite book – "The Da Vinci Code." I have never read a book that literally kept me on the edge of my seat. Favorite movies – Ocean's 11 and The Shawshank Redemption. When I work late or need to unwind, I listen to some chillout, smooth jazz, or even some Samba or Bossa Nova. Love the Yahoo! Portal — it as everything I need. DOUBLE VISION Nearly all of our 40 Under 40 use multi-screen monitors. Two screens is the most common, although Dustin Wheeler and John Parsley each have four-monitor set-ups. 31 Back to Contents Page 3