HIGH-END/MID-MARKET ACCOUNTINGACCOUNTMATE 7 FOR SQL

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is now four years old, and companies, accountants and agencies are still arguing about who should have to comply and how those who are subject to the act can meet the compliance regulations.Smaller public companies are howling at what they see as onerous costs in implementing SOX measures and software. The good news is that there is finally lots of software available to help companies of all sizes in complying with SOX.

Like office co-workers whose friendship ultimately evolves into something more permanent, document management and workflow have become inextricably linked because, like a couple, one influences the other.Ergo, we have hastily jumped on the DM-workflow evolution bandwagon and paired them together in a single category. Below is a list of this year's top entrants at their synergistic best.

It's been a sweet year for accounting software (pun intended) in terms of both new and established Internet solutions. But for users, it's akin to deciding which end of a buffet to begin at. Is it best to implement an Internet suite from one vendor, or mix and match for a custom bundle? Like grazing on a food bar, it's a question of whether you favor the proteins or salads.But either way, grab a plate and dig in. There's plenty of choices for everyone, as this year's roster of top Internet suites clearly demonstrates.

Contact information for the vendors of the Accounting Today 2006 Top 100 Products and Ones to Watch.AccountantsWorld

Micros Systems Inc., a provider of information technology solutions for the hospitality and retail industries, has acquired TangentPOS, a company specializing in event point-of-sale and accounting systems for food service and retail operations at major sports and entertainment facilities.TangentPOS has over 200 installations in venues in North America and offers various products designed to maximize food and beverage profitability at concessions, premium seats, bars, restaurants and vending.

And the big get, well you know, it is as it has always been.

Accountants and journalists have a lot in common—a lot of people don't like us. There was a period during the accounting scandals when accountants and reporters were right next to each other down, far down the list of most admired professions, and we hadn't moved up. Another thing we have in common is that our businesses have been built looking backwards. Accountants record historical transactions. Journalists record things that have happened. Accountants have been told they must become more forwarded looking. Journalists must do the same. In fact, accountants have an easier time. They have audits and taxation, a regulatory environment that provides the potential for a steady stream of business. No one is required to read a print publication or visit a publishing house's Internet site. I am not predicting the end of print. Every time I visit Borders or Barnes & Noble, I witness crowds devouring books and magazines. Print isn't going away. But journalists must change because the Internet removes the need to have so many of us providing historical information. That is particularly true in technology journalism. Most people aren't concerned about what happened in the past. Who wants to read year-old software reviews? We all want to know what we are going to be able to buy within the next year. What's the latest gadget? And that's the long-term view. The real solution for journalism is difficult because it requires an investment in people, not easy to do when margins are under pressure. But unless we are all going into business selling rejiggered data that is gathered by a bunch of electronic grunts, the main thing we have to sell is the knowledge we have that can be used to help our readers make decisions to keep their businesses alive and breathing. There is no gain in body counting. I've never believed too much in the concept of disintermediation. That's the process by which the Internet supposedly removes the need to have intermediaries who interpret things. On the contrary, we need more intermediaries. If you have ever walked into a store with a large audio-video section, you have probably found yourself bewildered by choices. It's the sales person's job to limit choices—what's your price range, how serious are you about music and what types? Without a salesperson's help, there is a good chance you won't make a buying decision. The vast amount of data available is like that confusing sales room. Without someone to limit the choices, it's hard to make a decision. This is the market in which journalists should have an opportunity to prosper. Like accountants, we must know what our market is. There's not much to be gained from covering accounting scandals and Sarbanes-Oxley, except stroking your own ego, if your best chance of serving readers is talking about write-up software and how they can do a better job hiring. We must interpret, not record. As I like to say, "Disintermediate, never. Intermediate now!" Or risk disintegrating as a profession.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GROUP ACQUIRES XCELERATE: Los Angeles-based Information Technology Group Inc. has acquired Xcelerate LLC, a reseller of Sage Accpac ERP and Sage CRM software based in Chicago.Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The combined firm will operate as Arxis Technology Inc. and serve over 450 clients in four major markets - including Southern California (Los Angeles and Orange County), Chicago and Phoenix.

Bloomer, Geri & Co., a CPA and business advisory firm headquartered here, found a way to fight potentially crippling e-mail bombs last tax season.Information technology manager Joy Lasseter said that the first clue of the attack came in the form of a call from the company that hosts the firm's Web-based e-mail that "a tsunami" of spam suddenly came flooding in, with thousands of messages per hour addressed to Bloomer Geri's internal mailboxes.

In my last article (Accounting Today, Sept. 4-17, 2006, page 22), we explored the importance of understanding what motivates your people. I encouraged you to use the six professional motivators to ask them to prioritize what motivates them - both as a team and individually. In this article, we'll explore actions and ideas that I'd like you to consider for appealing to each of the six within your organization.Acknowledgement and respect

The concept of the paperless office was first introduced as a futuristic vision at Business Week in 1975, and 30 years later, its realization remains elusive.Although the evolution to a paperless office has been slower than predicted, there has been recent momentum fueled by the development of electronic tools with specific functionalities that drive productivity. The introduction of these products has created some confusion about the roles that each plays, and has raised questions about how best to integrate these tools. This article offers a glimpse at two emerging products - document management systems and automated workflow applications - each critical to the implementation of the "less-paper" office.

Many CPAs believe that they are their clients' most trusted business advisors, but what about being trusted within the firm? Sadly, that trust often doesn't extend among partners and staff.In today's competitive environment for talent, employees leave partners and managers, not firms. Trust is often defined as "confident reliance on another person." If your partners and managers are not trusted internally, you may be fighting a serious battle that will prevent you from retaining and attracting quality talent.

Tax and financial products provider Thomson Tax & Accounting has bolstered its Fast-Tax print services to include Schedule K-1s for trusts and estates.

Sage Software has released Sage BusinessWorks 7 Accounting, the new version of the company’s business management solution.

It was difficult to sell software to a group of sheet metal manufacturers. That was because they don't think of themselves as manufacturers. They think of themselves as being in the sheet metal business. Changing the approach to fit their self-image, improved the ability to sell to these prospects. Someone made that observation at the Sage Summit user conference earlier this month. I don’t remember who discussed this in terms of how this person's company was forced to adopt to the prospects' thinking, but it goes to the heart of the issue of how to reach a market. In a way, it would be the same as trying to market to journalists as writers. Technically, we are writers. It's not the first way we think of ourselves. The tools we use are similar. But how we think is different. This is the problem of confusing categories with reality. Categories are a way of ordering things. But they organize things from a particular point of view, and obviously everybody doesn't have the same point of view. In the world of business, many labels, such as manufacturing companies or SMBs, are categories that vendors use to make it easier to organize records for selling goods and services. It's often said marketing technology doesn’t work—prospects want to solve problem and don't care about the bits and bytes. And while might agree they are small businesses, letters like SMB and SME aren't really about them, but about the people who apply the terms to them. It's not the best approach. So what's the secret? There's no great secret here. The lesson is that the best way to reach a market is to understand the needs of prospects and treat them as if they are important and let them know that you are worried about their needs first, not about your own pocketbook. .

Sage Software announced the launch of Sage Pro ERP 7.4, the latest version of the company’s business management solution for small and midsized businesses.

“Can I ask you a stupid question about your session? What is ERP?"

SAGE COMPLETES EMDEON BUY: The Sage Group plc, the U.K.-based parent to Sage Software, said that it completed its previously announced acquisition of Emdeon Practice Services, a vendor of software and services to physicians' practices. Terms of the deal, which was announced in August, were not disclosed.Within Sage Software, Practice Services, which has roughly 20,000 customers, will form the new Sage Software Healthcare Division.

Accounting and financial software provider Intuit Inc. has officially released QuickBooks 2007.The company has worked hard to build buzz around the latest incarnation of its flagship product - first by unveiling improvements to its ProAdvisor program, and then by announcing a partnership with Google Inc. to tie online marketing services into the software.