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CCH has begun selling its document management system, ProSystem fx Document, in an application service provider version that allows accounting firms to access it online. The service, ProSystem fx Document ASP, is hosted by CCH instead of the accounting firm, so firms don't need to invest in extra hardware or personnel to operate the system. ProSystem fx Document ASP includes paperless workflow and secure back-up features.Users can access documents at any time from any computer connected to the Internet. A Document Drive feature allows users to view documents offline, and clients can get access to selected documents through a client portal.

Software developer Paisley has announced an updated version of its governance, risk and compliance software, Paisley Enterprise GRC. Version 3.5 includes compliance management features that support the documentation and management of laws and regulations, policies and procedures, compliance risk assessment, testing, and compliance reporting.Businesses can identify enterprise risks and link them to their operational processes and controls by using key performance indicators, key risk indicators and heat maps.

In the comics, all you have to do is get exposed to some radiation, don some tights, and everyone knows you're ready to take on the world.With accounting software, it's not that easy.

Our nostalgic cover aside, and despite the fact that the SaaS segment is evolving more rapidly than anyone could have envisioned even five years ago, hosted solutions still represent only a small fraction of the vast quantity of software products on the market.Distilling that vast quantity down to what we feel are the Top 100 Products requires an enormous quantitative and qualitative effort - and we've been doing just that for 15 years.

In addition to those products named in our Top 100 List, each year our editors spotlight a number of products that caught our attention - and deserve yours.* 1040Scan (SurePrep LLC): Scanning software that automatically inputs data from source documents directly into tax software, and also organizes and bookmarks source documents into PDF files.

HIGH-END/ MID-MARKET ACCOUNTINGACCOUNTMATE 7 FOR SQL

In the last year or two, the fog surrounding Sarbanes-Oxley software was finally starting to clear, with a number of vendor offerings focused specifically on compliance, primarily with Sections 302 and 404, on management's responsibility for certifying financial results and internal controls, and with the documentation and testing of internal controls.That split software applications into several basic groups - those that help to document processes and internal controls, software that tests the effectiveness of internal controls, and applications used in the audit test process.

Contact information for the vendors of the Accounting Today 2007 Top 100 Products and Ones to Watch.AccountantsWorld

Periodically, the partners of all accounting firms should pause and assess the strategic direction of the firm. Strategy and tactics are easily confused, and I've worked with many firms that hold a strategic advance only to get bogged down in tactical detail. So what's the difference?Strategy deals with direction. It deals with "what we are about." It deals with "What will we look like in three or five years?" Tactics are those necessary action steps that we must take every day, week or month that will get us to that future state.

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