IMGCAP(1)] CaseWare, the most common engagement software used by accounting firms worldwide, can be significantly enhanced to elevate practice productivity and the software’s effectiveness with the integration of additional document management (DM) tools and workflow software.
According to data published from the 3rd Annual Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey, 34 percent of accounting professionals identified workflow and efficiency as their biggest technology challenge and 37 percent identified security and risk management as the leading technology concerns in their firm. Being able to amplify CaseWare’s positive impact on your firm by incorporating DM and workflow software should be of interest to those who want to resolve these issues and go from good to great with CaseWare.
Firms of all sizes have found great success when pairing CaseWare with document management and workflow software. The pairing has been described by those who use the combination as the standardization mechanism that moved their firm from CaseWare as the first step to no longer having to handle paper files, to a CaseWare firm that operates with well-organized electronic files.
If you use CaseWare and are interested in increasing the performance of your practice, seek out DM and workflow software that delivers the following must-have features:
1. The ability to open CaseWare from your DM software platform.
2. The ability to add scanned files via your DM system, regardless of whether the CaseWare project file is open or closed.
- a. When a CaseWare project is open, a simple drag-and-drop feature makes moving files simple.
- b. When a CaseWare project is not open, easily send files to the unopened CaseWare project file.
3. A built-in PDF editor and mark-up tool with standard document manipulation features. Having this tool built-in negate the need to pay licensing fees for an expensive tool like Adobe Acrobat Pro.
4. A PDF printer for instant conversion of any document to a PDF file.
5. A batch print-to-PDF tool: the ability to print the entire CaseWare project to a fully bookmarked searchable PDF following the CaseWare indexing system. Additionally, having CaseWare indexes printed on each page of the file and retention management assigned to each file mitigates risk.
6. A workflow management tool allowing CaseWare projects to be managed and monitored. Assign staff to a project, manage the progression of a project and be on top of all due dates.
Don Emery, CPA, CA, is director of client solutions for
