Email Security

In doing research for strategic uses of technology in accounting, I came across an interesting article entitled "Email Security for Small Businesses: Protecting Digital Information." It was an article in the CPA Journal from July of 2006. The article discusses how protecting information used to involve locking drawers and cabinets, but now with the use of email and the Internet, keeping information secure has changed immensely. The article discusses the danger of sending important information through email, due to the lack of security involved. Once that information is sent, it could be forwarded to anyone, including competitors. There is also the possibility of information being stolen off computers that are misplaced, or left unattended.

Fortunately, there are options businesses can take in order to try to prevent this from happening. The article mentions how accounting firms have used encryption and digital rights management (DRM) to safeguard such information from leaving the organization. According to the article, these options are now available to smaller businesses, as oppose to just the large accounting firms. This sort of security technology can delete old emails at a certain date, and apply pass codes for accessing the information so it is only available to certain users. Of course there is no absolute guarantee to these types of security, but it is a step in the right direction to protect client data.

Having had experience at a local accounting firm, I can relate to some of these security issues. We were constantly reminded never to leave our laptop unattended for more than a few minutes at a time, and are never to leave our laptop at a client overnight. The firm I worked for takes very cautious steps toward making sure no information is accessible to anyone outside the company.

Information technology is highly important in accounting. Today, more than ever, tax returns are being prepared electronically with the use of information systems. During my experience as an intern at a local public accounting firm, I used the system known as GoTax in order to prepare corporate and individual tax returns.

This system allows the user to locate each return by entering a specific I.D. number. Each year the returns are rolled forward and the system is updated for changes in tax law. Once a return is opened, the user can drop in the numbers needed to complete the return. GoTax will automatically configure the tax payment or refund needed. This has dramatically cut down on preparation and review hours for returns. GoTax also allows users to preview the final return and does a diagnostic check for errors.

Such a system is strategically important for several reasons. Primarily, it allows for uniform access to accounting returns over a large geographical area. At the place I interned, reports and research we conducted could be available almost immediately to managers for review. This is also important for on-site work at a client's home office. Additionally, there is the ability for management oversight during return preparation. Returns completed by many different employees can be checked and reviewed by a single user in a different location.

Further, IT in accounting has helped in its ability to create a consistent quality of accounting throughout a company. Information systems used in the areas of audit and tax ensure an identical work product through the use of corporate policy and education. Corporate policy, both static and constantly updated, can be distributed immediately to all employees in all departments.

Strategic Use of IT in Auditing

Having worked two internships at a public accounting firm, specifically in the area of auditing, there are a couple strategic uses of information technology that I have had experience with. As technology advances, so does the use of technology in the auditing world.

Auditing a client involves gathering a large amount of information including prior year financials, bank statements, backup support for new asset additions, loan documents, and much more. Traditionally, auditors received hard copies of all these documents and filed them in folders. Today, more and more information is received in the form of electronic files. The firm I worked for has a database known as Accounting Information Management (AIM), which is used to store and organize any work papers or documents received electronically from clients during the audit process. AIM allows auditors to organize multiple years of client's information by area audited. These areas include Cash, Liabilities, Equity, Income Statement, and many others. With in these areas there is a work program set up in AIM, which the auditor fills out during the audit process. These work programs contain questions and processes to be answered and performed while auditing a client's financial statements.

AIM is a strategic use of information technology in auditing. Its a very easy program to navigate through, and allows all information to be stored in a safe, reliable way.

Next week's blog will cover strategic uses of information technology in the area of tax.

Updated information on blogs used in accounting

To expand upon blogging used in the accounting industry, I did further research and found some additional information. One website I found, located at http://quickbooks_online_blog.typepad.com/blogmain/for_accounting_professionals/index.html, is created for accounting professionals to discuss the Quickbooks Online Edition software. This blog site is mainly geared towards accountants and bookkeepers in the private accounting industry. Quickbooks is a software used for bookkeeping, and this website allows users to comment on its usefulness and compare it to other software. I found this website to be fairly reliable. It is posted by users of the software who appear to have plenty of experience using it.

Another interesting website I discovered is located at http://www.sequence-inc.com/fraudfiles/. This site focuses around fraud in the accounting industry. Most of the blogs posted are reports of various fraudulent acts committed by accounting professionals. I found this site to be fairly reliable, but in reading through the blogs I discovered that a few posts dealt with other acts of fraud outside of the accounting industry. This site did appear to be objective, simply stating the facts of the particular cases and avoiding too many personal opinions. I found this site useful for keeping up with daily news stories involving accounting frauds, as that is still a hot topic in this industry.