CPA Practice Advisor

40 UNDER 40 2012

Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.

Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/80319

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 16 of 48

What are some ways your firm has gone "paperless" and/or "green" in the last few years? Dustin Wheeler CPA — 33 Tax/IT Manager, Wallace Neumann & Verville LLP Las Vegas, Nevada The firm went paperless about four years ago and it was a huge undertaking. It required a lot of time to purchase new equipment, study industry best practices, and implement new paperless processes and workflow. It was all worth it, since working in a paperless environment has provided many benefits in terms of inter- nal efficiencies and client service. Have you embraced cloud computing for your practice? Are you moving your clients to the cloud? Though most of the firm's tax and ac- counting applications run over a local network, we use Sharefile as a portal for encrypted file exchange and an automatic web-based data backup product. We will continue to evaluate SaaS products as they improve and develop for possible implementation in the firm. I work with several clients who run the ma- jority of their businesses on the cloud. My clients use a variety of SaaS accounting software, including QuickBooks Online, Xero, FreshBooks and Wave Accounting. With so many new products entering the market, the last couple of years have been exciting in the SaaS accounting software world. I am always enthusiastic to learn something new. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE In addition, I use Google Apps with my blog's domain for non-firm activities (such as writing reviews for the CPA Practice Advisor). This has helped me work with and relate to entrepreneurs that use Google Apps in their businesses. I really love the convenience of accessing and editing my Google Documents on any computer or device. How is cloud computing changing the accounting profession, and how con- cerned are you with the security issues related to cloud computing? Access to real-time financial data enables accountants to have a more collabora- tive and efficient relation- ship with their clients. For example, when a client calls with a question, I can pull up the client's current data within a matter of seconds. Instead of exchanging com- plete data files with clients How mobile are you regarding your work? How have mobile devices and apps impacted your productivity and work-life balance? Hobbies: Pickup basketball, biking, hiking, puzzles, board games, home video editing, playing Xbox Kinect games with my son and all of the hassles that go along with it (such as version control), I simply log in to the client's accounting software and make adjustments. Of course, there are security risks associat- ed with cloud computing, but sometimes people forget that risks also exist in stor- ing data locally. Firms beginning to use cloud computing should carefully select SaaS software vendors and take preventa- tive security measures. For example, I use very strong passwords that are unique for every site. I believe the benefits of cloud computing outweigh the risks, but I take a cautious approach. In many ways, technology has helped me to spend more time in the of- fice. Portals and screen-shar- ing services like GoToMeet- ing and join.me have allowed me to serve clients remotely, cutting down the number of trips to clients' offices to resolve simple issues. Mobile devices have helped me be more responsive to clients and take advantage of time that would otherwise be unproductive. For exam- ple, I recently composed an email to a client while wait- ing in line at Costco to buy gas. Ultimately, being more productive out of the office means that I need to spend less time in the office. However, I also think it is important to be disconnected for periods of time to have a healthy work-life balance. Have you found business success via so- cial media, either via recognizable ROI, new customers, marketing or network- ing? Absolutely! One of my favorite clients found me on Twitter. Shortly afterwards, I invited him to lunch to meet in person and have enjoyed working with him ever since. Also, several new clients have found me through Internet searches, landing on 17 | 2012 CPA Practice Advisor 40 Under 40 BACK TO PAGE 3

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of CPA Practice Advisor - 40 UNDER 40 2012