Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/58700
MONTHLY MICRO APPS PDF Tools for Tablets and Other Mobile Devices M 18 18 any practitioners are using tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices in their practices. Although commercial software publishers are extending their offerings to include apps for these devices, many of the mobile business tools available for professional accountants offer very limited functionality. A good example of these constraints is evident in the wide range of PDF applications available for tablet PC's. T e PDF apps available for mobile devices are generally developed by independent developers, and have a much more limited set of functions than traditional PC-based tools. T e author has personally installed at least eight PDF tools over the last two years, and is still looking for a bet er solution for mobile PDF annotation. My purchases can be classified into a number of categories, including: • PDF Reader Only (Adobe Reader, DataViz Documents to Go, and Google Docs) • PDF Creation Only (Adobe Create PDF, PDF Reader Pro Edition, PDFScanner) • E-Signature Applications (DocuSign Ink, SignMyPad) • Light Editing Tools (ezPDF Reader Pro, iAnnotatePDF, GoodReader) While none of these apps provide a single comprehensive document creation, rearrangement, annotation, and approval tool, users can use apps to meet most of their mobile PDF requirements. support this functionality. T ere are few, if any, tools which will allow creation of basic PDF forms on a tablet. Firms who would like to use tablets for client interviews should test their applications thoroughly to ensure that data can be collected, retained, and transmit ed in an effi cient and secure manner, as poorly deployed solutions can actually reduce the productivity of teams. PDF Readers T ere are a number of apps which read or create PDF fi les. T ese tools basically display the electronic document as format ed, and do not permit the user to make notes, rearrange pages, or otherwise make changes to the fi le. Some tools include a feature called Brian Tankersley, CPA.CITP, Technical Editor Brian Tankersley is a Knoxville, Tennessee CPA and consultant whose practice is focused on technology consulting and training for accountants. Brian is a nationally recognized speaker with K2 Enterprises (k2e. com), and blogs on accounting technology at CPATechBlog.com. Comments, suggestions, and errata are always welcome, and should be e-mailed to brian.tankersley@ CPAPracticeAdvisor.com. .CPAPracttiiceA A refl ow, which helps overcome the small screen size of the device by reorganizing the text in a single column, screen- optimized layout. Documents rendered to PDF electronically using tools like Acrobat Distiller or PDFMaker on Windows can generally use these tools, however, scanned images stored in PDF fi les generally cannot be reorga- nized to make them easier to see on a small screen. Some PDF readers also allow users to complete electronic forms on mobile devices, however, many tools do not Apri April 2012il 2012 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com PDF Creation Tools for creating electronic documents can generally be classifi ed as scanning tools (which capture and present an image of a document) or rendering tools (which arrange characters, pic- tures, and other items in a manner similar to how it would be printed on paper), and both are available for mobile devices. A popular scanning app such as PDFScanner can utilize the built-in camera on mobile devices to take a picture of a document. While the quality and image format of the resulting fi le will not rise to the quality of a document captured with a scanner, the convenience of anytime, anywhere scanning is appealing to many users. A tool like Adobe CreatePDF for mobile will convert many common Office file types into searchable electronic documents, but will not enable any editing of the resulting fi les. E-Signature Apps Banks, real estate agents, and insurance companies are all migrating aggressively to electronic signature platforms like RPost, DocuSign, and EchoSign to reduce the need for documents to be printed and then scanned to capture an approval. Although some documents (most notably IRS Forms 8878 and 8879) require manual signatures[1], many common documents such as contracts, engagement letters, and audit confi rmations can be electroni- cally signed in a manner which is binding in state and federal courts.