software company ceos and cfos say in a new survey that cloud computing and software-as-a-service will drive spending in their industry over the next 12 months.
the survey also finds most expect their company’s business will grow by at least 20 percent in 2011 and that hiring will increase significantly. the software ceo/cfo outlook 2011 study was conducted by sand hill group and underwritten by adaptive planning and intacct.
by dustin lubertazzi,
senior consultant, sageworks, inc.
luca pacioli, an italian mathematician and franciscan friar, is widely known as the “father of accounting” for publishing 36 chapters on the double-entry accounting method used by venetian merchants during the italian renaissance. his book, summa de arithmetica, geometria, proportioni et proportionalita (which translates, “everything about arithmetic, geometry and proportion”), was written as a textbook for students in northern italy at the end of the 15th century. pacioli’s documentation of double-entry accounting and ledgers taught entrepreneurs of the day how to conduct business using timely and accurate financial information, and it established the fundamentals of accounting still practiced today.
pacioli’s fundamentals were only feasible thanks to the written numeral system and the abacus developed before that. and since then, the industry has seen further and more ground-breaking developments including the introduction of the typewriter, then computers, and later the internet. with each of these milestones, technology not only impacted how accountants handle financial information but also how they interact with their clients.
with the changing technological landscape, what must accountants do to stay competitive in the future, and how will technology change the future role of the accountant?
“cross-functional business processes” bedevil finance managers.
a survey of over 800 finance professionals attending an introductory webinar on software-as-a-service staged by netsuite and the institute of management accountants shows that the chief drivers to the cloud are both efficiency and effectiveness.
nearly half, or 46% of top u.s. technology companies — an important bellweather for the u.s. and the accounting profession — plan to increase employee headcount this year, marking a significant sign of confidence in the sector, according to bdo usa llp. just 7 percent expect headcount to decrease.
one-third of all cpa firms don’t.