Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/40356
Melanie Carol Geist, CPA — 35 (continued) What are some of your favorite books and TV shows? I love to read books and magazines. My favorite author is Larry McCurry; "Lonesome Dove" is my favorite book. As far as television is concerned, I generally pay attention to sporting events or The Food Network. Otherwise, I am channel surfer. Cell phone: It's time for the annual upgrade, but I'm carrying the Samsung Moment. Samir Khosla — 38 Director of Product Management, Accounting Profes- sionals Division — Intuit, Inc. Mountain View, Calif. Education: Undergraduate Engineering degree (Penn State) and MBA (Stanford) Hobbies: Playing basketball, volleyball and squash; International travel; Hiking NOT including your current employer, what company do you most admire and why? I admire a lot of the small businesses around my neighborhood. Their reputation comes from excellent service. The best example is a deli near Intuit, where the owner, Sam, knows every customer by name, always greets us with a big smile, and knows what we usually like for lunch; he's already got the sandwich started even before we order! Do you embrace cloud computing? I have been an early adopter of many cloud technologies. For example, I have used Google Docs for several years now. More recently, I've discovered some new cloud-based applications that I find very useful like Evernote, TripIt and AwardWallet — these aren't just available through browsers, but now also offer mobile apps, which makes my information accessible truly anytime and anywhere. How is cloud computing changing the accounting profession, and how concerned are you with the security issues related to cloud computing? When it comes to cloud computing, the security issues are not a big concern to me. If you really think about it, on-premise computers are also usually connected to the internet and susceptible to hacking from the outside. My take is that while there will always be risks, cloud computing, when delivered through reputable companies, is probably more secure than other methods. 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 demon- strable benefits from the use of social networking? Social networking tools are an interesting area for me. At Intuit, we have many people around the company who are very adept at using these for both personal and work pur- poses. I haven't found myself to be a natural 'sharer' in social media, but I do find that it's worth taking a few minutes a day to share something out. It just helps me reconnect or build stronger personal bonds. What pitfalls or what unwritten rules of social net- working etiquette exist, which are frequently missed by others in the profession? The biggest misperception is that social media is somehow disconnected from professional life. In my experience, people see this as a distraction, where I want to shape it more as an opportunity to build a 'personal or professional brand' for yourself much more easily. Cell phone: iPhone What is your favorite smartphone or tablet app? I am a big fan of Pandora because we've set up a channel that mixes all of our family's unique tastes in music and provides us music in our car that my wife, my daughter and I (each with our very different tastes) can all agree to listen to! Other than SMS on your cell phone, what is your favorite way to IM with your friends and family? Google Gtalk What are some ways your firm/business has gone "paperless" and/or "green" in the last two years? From Intuit's standpoint, we continue to help small businesses go green through incorpo- rating more 'paperless' workflows such as electronic invoicing and payments into our products. A great example is GoPayment, which lets anyone take a credit card payment on their smartphone, without a paper to sign or creating a paper receipt, as GoPayment users are able to email and text receipts to the customers. What ONE piece of technology could you absolutely not live without? If five years ago someone told me that I would replace my notepad, flashlight, alarm clock, camera, camcorder, email and social media client, kids' game platforms, and my phone with one single device … I would have been afraid I may be destined to no longer be part of this world. Well, my iPhone has done that and more. So while this may be a pretty obvious answer, it really is the single piece of technology I cannot live without. What sports team/championship event do you absolutely refuse to miss? There are so many! I would never miss cricket championships featuring India or a World Series game featuring the Phillies or a Super Bowl featuring the Eagles. What are some of your favorite books, movies, music, websites, and TV shows? Books – Indian American authors like Jhumpa Lahiri have become some of my recent favorites. TV shows – I have become an addict of HGTV. There is always something interesting on when I am channel-surfing, from watching someone (and imagining myself) house-hunting abroad to getting inspiration from a designer remodeling a space. Websites – My favorite websites relate to my interests and hobbies; some of my favorite less well-known sites are FlyerTalk.com (a discussion forum about all things related to travel), Beerleaguer.com (a blog about Phillies baseball), and cricinfo.com (a comprehensive site for cricket news and scores). Monitors on your desk? Two What is your favorite smartphone or tablet app? It's a tossup between Weather Channel or Google Naviga- tion. Monitors on your desk? Two. Other than SMS on your cell phone, what is your favorite way to IM with your friends and family? Yahoo! Messenger OH, CANADA! Two of this year's 40 Under 40 Honorees are from the Great White North. Kasey Baynes (Toronto) and Robin Penney (St. John's). 15 Back to Contents Page 3