Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/53322
ENGAGEMENT & TRIAL BALANCE Pendock Mallorn LTD – Accounting for Practitioners Reviews For Your Firm Accounting for Practitioners (AFP) is the trial balance and fi nancial statement genera- tion product within the Pendock Mallorn soſt ware lineup. Based on Excel, AFP is simple in function and ease of use, yet provides an abundant set of tools and calculations. AFP easily generates grouping schedules to aid in tax return preparation as well as full fi nancials, including notes, with lit le additional eff ort from practitioners. Although AFP is targeted to sole practitioners and small accounting fi rms, medium size fi rms may fi nd the inter- face more intuitive than other available solutions, especially for smaller engagements. Since AFP is based on Excel, the learning curve is relatively limited. Users navigate through the soſt ware by selecting the prefor- mat ed worksheet tabs or through a menu in the Add-Ins portion of Excel. T e navigation menu is simple in design and auto populates based on the Excel worksheet tab currently in view. Further features and options are also 800-567-4500 CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business – ProSystem fx Engagement 2012 OVERALL RATING BEST FIT Any accounting fi rm that is currently in or converting to a paperless workfl ow environ- ment STRENGTHS • Strong integration with ProSystem fx product lineup • Intuitive interface based on Microsoſt Windows and Offi ce functionality • High level of security from both user and data standpoints POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS • Limited integration with PPC Practice Aids • Currently no SaaS off ering ProSystem fx Engagement is the powerful engagement management tool off ering within the ProSystem fx product lineup. ProSystem fx Engagement provides a central location for data and workpapers to be stored and accessed. With heavy reliance on the Micro- soſt Windows and Offi ce functionality, Pro- System fx Engagement provides a quick learning environment for most staff profes- sionals. ProSystem fx Engagement includes all tools necessary to import and adjust client data as well as assist in the generation of fi nancial statements and tax returns. BASIC SYSTEM FUNCTIONS When ProSystem fx Engagement is opened, it has a Microsoſt Outlook feel about it. Tra- ditional drop-down menu navigation is located at the top of the screen while a vertical collapsing menu on the leſt part of the screen houses multiple shortcut icons. Navigation of the engagement itself is accomplished through a folder tree structure similar to Windows Explorer. T e engagement screen is incredibly visual and various font weights, icon sets and color schemes are located in the middle of the screen. T ese visual clues make it easy to determine the current status of a particular document. For instance, a user can quickly tell if a document has not been opened if the document title is bolded. Other visual clues include icons for the document fi le type, any notes attached to the document and various sign off dates and times. 14 February 2012 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com T e interface itself does not allow for much customization. Custom options are reserved for the structure of the engagement itself. Users may start with predetermined tem- plates, which ProSystem fx Engagement refers to as binders, or create their own based on client type and needs. When using or creating templates, all the underlying data is usually mapped and grouped appropriately and will not require much user intervention. This drastically reduces the time necessary to create future engagement projects. A trial balance module is included within ProSystem fx Engagement and all data is stored in a SQL database. When accessing the database, users will rely on Excel to per- form data queries and reports. This is by design and to create a comfort level with users, as most professionals have a reasonable comfort level with Excel. Many trial balance specifi c tasks may be performed through the add-in menu tab for Excel 2007/2010, a drop-down menu for Excel 2003 and earlier, as well as ribbons for Offi ce 2007 and 2010. A snapshot of the trial balance may be found in ProSystem fx Engagement and this provides a summary of all assets, liability, equity and net income accounts as well as any accounts that may not be grouped for fi nancial or tax return purposes. This snapshot view also provides direct links to journal entries of all types, including adjusting, tax and potential, among others. ENGAGEMENT MANAGEMENT ProSystem fx Engagement is controlled through two layers of security. T e fi rst being an administrative layer, which controls off ers access to functions such as setup of file rooms, staff and fi rm options, and the second being a workfl ow layer, which helps control structure and security of each individual engagement. T e administrative layer may be installed on a dedicated server and assigned user rights through Active Direc- tory on Windows Server products. This allows user rights to be tightly controlled to prevent intentional or inadvertent altera- tions. One additional layer of protection is that all documents contained within Pro- System fx Engagement are wholly contained. T is prevents documents from being located available through this menu, most of them specifi c to tasks to perform on each respective tab. Once inside the software, users are visually clued as to which data is to be altered. Any text in blue will allow users to update or enter content as necessary, while purple text is content generated by the system. Upon creating a new client fi le, users should spend the majority of their time in the question and answer portion of the program. It is vital to spend time with this step as this ensures the client fi le will be setup correctly and specifi - cally for that client's needs. Once this setup is completed, very lit le action is needed from the user for all future years as this information will be carried forward. Although AFP does not provide direct integration with any third-party tax or accounting soſt ware, users may still import data into the program. Most tax and accounting soſt ware will provide an export fi le that is accessible with Excel. Users may use these fi les to import trial balance data. Alternatively, users may manually enter the trial balance information. Once trial balance data is imported or manually entered, users simply map the fi elds as appropriate. Once the trial balance is mapped, users may assign financial statement and/or tax grouping codes. All grouping codes are fully customiz- able and may be specifi c to the accounting fi rm or to each client as necessary. Adjusting, tax, reclass and several other journal entry types may also be made as needed. Once all items are imported, grouped and adjusted as necessary, fi nancial statements and accompa- nying notes are generated automatically. Any blank data lines are automatically excluded from printing, which further prevents the user from any unnecessary cleanup prior to fi nancial statement generation. In addition to fi nancial statement genera- tion, AFP provides basic depreciation schedules and term loan schedules. The depreciation schedule off ering can handle any number of assets, limited only by the row space currently allowed in the respective versions of Excel. Term loans schedules show minor details of up to 26 diff erent loans and will provide an amortization schedule with principal and interest breakout for up to 72 payments for each respective term loan. All calculations within AFP are automatic with no user template or other complicated spreadsheet builds necessary. Many calcula- tions are performed through macros, which may pose a security threat to larger fi rms. Most small fi rms however, should not feel endan- gered with the macro security level required to use the soſt ware. Since the product is Excel based, users may add additional worksheets and may link them as needed. A variety of help and support options are available to users. Each data screen has help specifi c to that particular worksheet and may be found through the navigation menu. Unlimited toll-free support is also included with each license and other training options are available at lit le to no charge. Pendock Mallorn has recently streamlined the AFP product lineup pricing structure. T ere are now two versions of AFP that are available; AFP – Light and AFP - Premium. AFP – Light includes all features noted above and is priced at $599 with a $175 annual renewal for a fi ve user license. AFP – Premium adds document scanning, consolidations, and trend analysis capabilities and is priced at $999 with a $375 annual renewal for a fi ſt een user license. www.pendock.com