AAA Accounting Technology Administrators Inaugural Fly-In A Success
by Roman H. Kepczyk, CPA.CITP (July 20, 2004) 

The AAA’s first Accounting Technology Administrator (ATA) Fly-In, held the day before the AAA National Symposium in St. Louis drew close to 60 participants.  This full-day session was designed to meet the needs of both network administrators dealing with the technical aspects of maintaining a network and firm administrators also responsible for overseeing the management and implementation of digital initiatives in their firms.  The morning sessions focused on detailing best practices within the tax, audit, client service and administrative areas, while the afternoon sessions dealt with more technical topics such as network, hardware, communications, security and other technical issues.  An additional objective of the conference was to facilitate networking amongst the members of this Special Interest Group and identify opportunities for this group to work on in the future.  Following the ATA Fly-In, all were provided with a listing of participants, resources, and shared tips developed by the group. 

All the participants were in one way or another on the road towards a digital environment and discussions of “less-paper” considerations dominated the program.  Within tax, firms were standardizing on dual monitors, scanning client supporting documents, printing multiple originals and PDFs for all returns, and modifying their systems to get an invoice out with every return.  In the audit area, firms were transitioning to document container applications such as CCH Engagement, CaseWare, and CSI Practice and using data extraction tools such as IDEA and ACL.  Field networking options such as crossover cables, portable LANs and wireless access were also featured.  The group discussed the use of USB fobs to secure and transfer data as well as laptop security issues such as mandating the use of screensaver passwords and locking cables to minimize the risk of theft.  On the topic of client service, QuickBooks was regarded as the most dominant product and with the release of an updated financial statement generator, would be more prevalent for write-up use.  Within administration, utilizing the onscreen capabilities of practice management for not only billing but also tracking CPE, Vacation, marketing databases, and entering expense reports were touted as well as posting electronic documents in the firm’s intranet for secured owner access.  For document management applications, Roman outlined the five primary classes of products, the dominant applications in each and the methodology by which firms should make a decision.   

The ATAs also discussed hardware recommendations and it was suggested that desktops bought today with 1Gb of RAM would most likely have a four year useful life, while laptops would probably extend to three years.  The group also discussed the various PDA options and while Palm was more prevalent today, Roman felt that Microsoft would continue to take market share each year.  For standardization, it was recommended that firms work towards Microsoft Server 2003 and XP Professional on the desktops.  For office applications, it was recommended that firms with a mixed bag of versions transition to Office 2003, while those predominantly on Office 2000 should wait until there was a justifiable reason to upgrade.  The afternoon session addressed firmwide security and perimeter testing of the network and utilizing tools such as 2wire.com, GRC.com, BroadbandReports.com and Geektools.com.  The group also discussed best practices for optimizing Citrix and other remote access technologies.  Below are examples of some of the shared tips identified by participants. 

• Putting bookmarks in PDF files to make it easy to review tax files in future years.

• Utilizing the Jumpdrive USB fobs to backup data and store it separately from the laptop bag.

• Formalizing standards for all workstations and buying in large lots to reduce the number of different configurations the firm maintains.

• Planning standardization of workstation and operating systems and locking down for at least two years.

• Developing standardized maintenance on all servers, including re-booting Citrix at least weekly to optimize performance.

• Utilizing Microsoft SUS for rolling out applications and updates to the workstations.

• Attending three day Microsoft Network Administration course to cover the basics

• Using CyberScrub or Disk Eraser to low level format the hard disk of machines going out of service.

• Using Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer to evaluate the security of your network infrastructure.

• Utilizing Merril Lynch Cash Management card in lieu of credit card or other electronic payment to optimize float and earn interest.

• Running Websense to monitor web sites visited by personnel and limiting access. 

For more information about being involved with the Accounting Technology Administrators group in the future, please contact Roman H. Kepczyk, CPA, CITP at (480) 706-1728 (roman@itpna.com).

Roman H. Kepczyk, CPA, CITP is President and the Chief Technology Management Strategist for InfoTech Partners North America, Inc. a consulting firm that works exclusively with CPA firms to implement today’s state of the art best practices in tax, audit, client service and administrative production as they transition to a digital or “paperless” environment.

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