Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/40356
Jon Petit, EA — 29 Account Manager — CSI Accounting Services Minneapolis, Minnesota Education: AAS Accounting and AAS Business Administration, Minnesota School of Business Professional Associations/Memberships: National Society of Tax Professionals, National Society of Accountants Hobbies: Reading, Computers, Simulator Cockpits, Sci/Fi movies What are some of your favorite books, movies, music and TV shows? I've read every Conan story by Robert E Howard, and have a growing collection of the old fairy tale books. I watch mostly scifi/historical dramas on TV. My current favorite movie is Inception. I listen to electronic/ dance music all day long in the office because I don't have to pay a lot of attention to it, I can just hear it faintly in the background. It keeps me focused during the long nights in April. What are some ways your firm/business has gone "paperless" and/or "green" in the last two years? When I started here, we still had to print a general ledger & financial statement just to review it for completeness. We no longer print any paper copies for our own use, and are pushing our clients towards our portal. The same goes for all tax returns, as well. Do you embrace cloud computing? Our client base that uses Right Networks for hosted QuickBooks is growing by leaps and bounds. How is cloud computing changing the accounting profession, and how concerned are you with the security issues related to cloud computing? As a full write-up firm, cloud computing is pushing us more towards review work vs. getting in three-part check stubs, keying everything in, etc. I'm not very worried about security. That's really what these cloud companies are in the business of. Anything that we manage to put into the cloud is going to be more secure there than it is sitting on our server in our locked closet. Monitors on your desk? Three, hopefully four soon. Jennifer Fisher Dills, CPA — 33 Vice President of Finance/CFO, Drake Enterprises, Ltd. Franklin, North Carolina Education: Western Carolina University – BSBA (Accounting Major); Western Carolina University – Macc (Masters of Accountancy) Professional Associations/Memberships: AICPA, NCACPA, Beta Gamma Sigma Hobbies: Hiking, Mountain Biking and Spending time with my family What are some ways your firm/business has gone "paperless" and/or "green" in the last two years? We have implemented an electronic document system that allows all order forms and accounts payable invoices to be scanned and filed electronically. All our faxes are electronic, and we pay many vendors/customers through ACH to avoid cutting checks where appropriate. NOT including your current employer, what company do you most admire and why? Dixon Hughes Goodman because I was a former employee and now my husband works there. Do you embrace cloud computing? We currently are not using cloud computing in our accounting department, but we would be open to it in the future. What sports team/championship event do you absolutely refuse to miss? Super Bowl What are some of your favorite TV shows? Survivor & The Bachelor/Bachelorette 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? I use LinkedIn to stay in touch with my professional network, but the company I work for has a Twitter and Facebook account to market to others. What ONE piece of technology could you absolutely not live without? My computer because I can't imagine having to go back to doing accounting work on those long, green-column worksheets. Cell phone: Verizon HTC Touch Monitors on your desk? Two Other than SMS on your cell phone, what is your favorite way to IM with your friends and family? I don't use IM. I still prefer to talk to them over the phone or through SMS. 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? We've been very happy with our server, but I just don't see a lot of need for us to maintain our own physical server. When our current server retires shortly, we plan on replacing it with a hosted terminal server. This would give us a lot of flexibility, and a lot less admin work that comes with running our own. Are you using social networking (such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+) as a marketing tool for your practice … or do you use such sites for personal use only? We have a small social network presence, but I don't think we are using it as effectively as we could be. Cell phone: T-Mobile G2x What is your favorite smartphone or tablet app? Google Voice. I like to keep my personal and work contacts sepa- rate without having to carry two separate cell phones. What ONE piece of technology could you absolutely not live without? Computer. I've been addicted to news since 9/11/01. I was walking into my apartment building, and the building manager asked if I had heard what happened. I said no, and he responded, "You'd better go turn the news on." I felt like I was the last person to know about it, and I didn't like that. NOT including your current employer, what company do you most admire and why? SpaceX. They are taking what has been an old, slow-to-change industry, and seeing if they can shake things up. They took up what would otherwise be a monumental task, and are going to be the first company to truly fly private spacecraft. Other than SMS on your cell phone, what is your favorite way to IM with your friends and family? Facebook, just starting with Google+; still a lot of email. 20 Back to Contents Page 3