Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/40356
Jarvis Soeda — 38 Manager, Training & Consulting — CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business Huntington Beach, California Education: Bachelor's Degree in Accounting from the University of Hawaii, at Manoa Hobbies: Sports, Music, Travel What are some ways your firm/business has gone "paperless" and/or "green" in the last two years? CCH Training & Consulting has implemented several "paperless" and/or "green" initiatives in the past two years including the following: delivering training/ consulting guides in electronic format, offering CCH User Conference training materials in electronic format, and a paperless, online customer evaluation/feedback process. Cell phone: iPhone & BlackBerry What is your favorite smartphone or tablet app? My favorite smartphone app is Pandora due to the custom- ization features, Music Genome logic, and extremely affordable pricing. Do you embrace cloud computing? CCH Training & Consulting recognizes the value and potential of cloud com- puting and has a created a robust curriculum of services to support our full suite of cloud computing (SaaS) products. How is cloud computing changing the accounting profession, and how con- cerned are you with the security issues related to cloud computing? Cloud computing is helping to increase efficien- cies by allowing professional staff easy access to data in the office, home or field. It's changing the way employees work, allowing increased flexibility and productivity. It also allows firms to realign and repurpose IT resources to focus on other strategic and value-added initiatives, and can be a key component of disaster recovery plans. Security issues will always exist in both local and cloud environments, and it's important to understand the differences in those issues, evaluate their potential impact on a business, and develop a solid plan to mitigate those risks. Businesses should choose vendors that are in full compliance with the latest security and data encryption standards. In addition, technologies and processes will continue to emerge that will increase the security and reliability of data. Monitors on your desk? Two What ONE piece of technology could you absolutely not live without? I absolutely could not live without a GPS device for professional and personal life. These devices are so efficient and effective; using Thomas Guides and other physical maps/directions has become virtually obsolete. 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? Outsourcing of IT infrastructure will continue to increase as the cost of external hosting continues to drop and network bandwidth and reliability continues to increase. What pitfalls or what unwritten rules of social networking etiquette exist, which are frequently missed by others in the profession? It is extremely important for organizations to have a formal social media policy and ensure it is properly communicated and enforced. It is equally important to have efficient and effective processes for the monitoring and handling of both positive and negative feedback. NOT including your current employer, what company do you most admire and why? Not including CCH, I most admire Google due to the efficiency, effectiveness, creativity and breadth of their applications and tools. Google always appears to have solutions to common challenges/problems. If they don't currently have a solution, one can be confident they will soon at an extremely affordable price. Other than SMS on your cell phone, what is your favorite way to IM with your friends and family? Windows Live Messenger 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 demonstrable benefits from the use of social networking? CCH utilizes social networking to help connect with our current and potential customers. The CCH Learning & Development Academy uses web communities to provide a professional collaboration opportunity for our alumni. We continue to develop stronger relationships with our customers through these marketing tools. What sports team/championship event do you absolutely refuse to miss? The 16-time World Champion Los Angeles Lakers basketball team. Lakers, Lakers, Lakers! What are some of your favorite books, movies, music, websites and TV shows? Books: Robert Ludlum Movies: Will Ferrell Comedies Music: Eclectic Hip-Hop, Reggae, Jazz, Soulful House Websites: Pandora, Google TV Shows: Sports Center, Saturday Night Live, Modern Family, Parks and Recreation THE SPORTS REPORT The Super Bowl was named as the most popular sports event (if only for the com- mercials for some), but many of our 40 Under 40 are also big fans of March Madness and MLB. And let's not for- get the noted favorite college football teams: Florida, Boise State, Michigan and Alabama. 17 Back to Contents Page 3