CCH Tax and Accounting made a big move into the document management business this week with the purchase of SIAN software by its parent, Wolters Kluwer Tax, Accounting & Legal, from Atlanta-based accounting firm Habif, Arogeti & Wynne.
Terms were not disclosed.
The application will be marketed under the name ProSystem fx Document.
"Our plans are to put resources behind it to keep it as a best-of-breed product on a stand-alone basis," says Kevin Robert, president of CCH Tax and Accounting. It will also integrate with other applications in the CCH product line, including ProSystem fx Tax and the CCH Tax Research Network. Robert also anticipates that the system, built using Microsoft's .Net technology, will move completely to an application service provider environment by 2006.
About 30 accounting firms purchased the system from HA&W, which will perform consulting services for customers that purchase ProSystem fx Document from CCH. That includes helping firms adopt best practices for re-engineering their office workflows after the software has been implemented.
Robert says that pricing for the application will be similar to pricing for ProSystem fx Engagement.
Although Engagement manages workpapers used in audits, the new application handles all documents, including incoming and outgoing e-mail, and will automatically index them and manage the document life cycle.
