The Top Accounting Technology Stories in 2013

December 18, 2013 8:55 PM

Luis A. Ripoll

Technology is permeating many aspects of a CPAs life, in how they improve their practice and better serve their clients. Here, in no particular order, are the stories we felt were most noteworthy related to the tech products our readers use or recommend, as well as the trends surrounding them.

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kbuntu/kbuntu - Fotolia

Intuit Re-Aligns

In July, the top small business product maker refined its focus and made accounting a top priority, re-aligning its Accountant Division and selling off its health group and financial services units.

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Getting Cloudy

Long-standing desktop software vendors took bigger steps to commit to cloud products, even as more firms and their clients made the switch.

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SAP Slows Business ByDesign

The enterprise software maker realized that it needed to re-adjust the focus for its midmarket cloud ERP product, and in October announced that it would slow development on Business ByDesign. Then in December it announced some new capabilities for the product.

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Sage Focuses on its Core

Deciding to focus on core products, in February the company chose to divest its nonprofit and nearly all CRM offerings, including ACT/Saleslogix.

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Getting Appy

Increasingly mobile practitioners are becoming hungry for apps to make them more productive out of the office and vendors are responding with a flood of options.

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Big Data or Big Hype?

The ability to slice and dice client and industry data for potentially big financial gains is now seen as a holy grail for the future of SMBs and firms, but it is all they say it is?

Handing Over Cash with Dramatic Clouds and Sky Background.

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Cash for Cloud

Investors ponied up serious dollars this year to support cloud business and accounting tools; some of the big winners were Xero, Acumatica and Bill.com.

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Photographer:Gualtiero Boffi/tiero - Fotolia

Staying Secure

Security remains top of mind for firms at all levels, as threats rises all around, and methods of stealing data or spread viruses proliferate.