CPAs Get SaaS-y at TECH+ Conference
By Steve Ernst
Congratulations
and a job well done are in order for Peyton Burch and his TECH+
Conference Steering Committee and the AICPA's Todd Helton, Linda
Sinnott, Tracey Tarinelli and Stephanie Finn for a well-planned,
content-rich, very well-attended and deeply sponsored event in
June at the always-gracious Bellagio in Las Vegas.
SAP America, Inc. was proud to again be a Gold Sponsor as we introduced SAP Business ByDesign and our SAP Business Objects OnDemand, as well as the latest version of SAP Business One.
The enthusiasm and attention at this year's TECH+ were obvious from the outset with the well-attended Pre-Conference "deep dives." I attended the session on IT Considerations for the Risk-Based Audit Standards. As dry and technical as the title may sound, the session presented an in-depth discussion of the ongoing balance between the controls surrounding data being used and reports being created within a technology-based environment and the ongoing need for an auditor, both internal and external, to be satisfied with those controls and the resultant, finalized information. If anything this pre-conference workshop was an indication of the conference's theme and flavor. More and more, the presentations are being given from real-life scenarios from those on the ground as a CPA in public practice or from a private industry CPA sitting inside a growing business making daily decisions and in constant need for updated, fresh data.
The conference also balanced the ultra-specific with the general overview
type of presentation, so we had sessions on advanced MS Excel for CPAs presented
by Val Steed of K2 Enterprises and Build Community: Avoid Commoditization by
Gary Boomer of Boomer Consulting. We had Technology Management for the Small
Firm by Roman Kepczyk of InfoTech Partners and XBRL: How It Impacts
You by Walter Hamscher of Standard Advantage.
Again, the Vendor Showcases were extremely well attended and covered accounting software (as readers of this column know, from SAP's perspective, this should be management software that includes accounting functionality, but I digress), document management software and tax document automation software.
The conference kept the tradition of opening with a Tech Update by Randy Johnston and wrapped up with Rick Richardson's always-anticipated "Tomorrow's Technologies."
If I had to point to the two most talked-about technology elements that emerged from TECH+ in 2008, it has to be software-as-a service (SaaS) and business intelligence. Both have taken on different definitions and meanings over the years, some solid and useful and some fatally false. If anything, the 2008 TECH+ conference was a place where the CPA in public practice and the CPA who is a key executive within a company had a chance to get a solid update on both subjects. They also got to hear how fast things are changing to allow businesses of all sizes to take advantage of technology that was, just a few years ago, beyond the reach of a small company because of a lack of IT infrastructure and budget constraints.
Small businesses are pressed to make quicker and bigger decisions that bet a substantial amount on early warnings or trends that the data within their businesses indicate. With a world economy now affecting the daily cash flow of businesses of all sizes, a powerful front end to the technology supporting a business is a necessity. And this is the imperative faced by businesses without an IT department, without a long-term IT plan and without a significant IT budget.
For SaaS, the presentations at TECH+ gave a historical perspective and were
thought provoking and fact filled. Michael Bodner of Quantum Information Technologies,
LLC covered the market dynamics of SaaS. Taylor Macdonald of Deltek, Inc. spoke
about the opportunities SaaS presented a technology consultant. If you need
proof of how important SaaS is becoming to the CPA community, you only had
to attend SAP's "Early Riser" session on the third day of the conference,
where, at 7 a.m., a standing-room-only crowd heard about separating SaaS fact
from fiction as we asked the question, "Is your company or are your clients
ready for SaaS?"
Throughout the conference, any observer had to be impressed by three things. First, attendance was on an upswing for the second year in a row. The AICPA is heading in the right direction with the conference, and it's receiving great advice and counsel from its Conference Steering Committee. Second, the conference had an increasing number of sponsors offering diverse products and solutions. Third, and, to me, most important, was the increasingly active and pointed participation of the attendees. It made for a very impactful and useful conference, which can be built upon to continue to be a must-attend event.
Steve Ernst, CPA, leads the SAP CPA Advisor and other influencer programs for SAP America, Inc. Prior to joining SAP, Steve provided consulting services to boards and executive staff on accounting, auditing, business processes and internal control systems, as well as sales, marketing and business development initiatives. He has more than 30 years of experience, including 10 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and more than 20 years in international finance and operations in the consumer product and technology markets. You can contact him at steve.ernst@sap.com.
