The principal of Information Technology Group Inc., David Cieslak, will serve as the chairman of the Sage Accpac Business Partner Advisory Council.The BPAC is a select group of Sage Accpac Business Partners that meets twice a year with Sage executives to provide feedback and perspective on product features and development, corporate strategy, industry trends and the competitive landscape. Chosen for the position by his peers, Cieslak will serve a one-year term.

QuickBooks parent and tax and small business software provider Intuit Inc. has become the latest in a series of companies to have the Securities and Exchange Commission question their stock-option grants.The regulator served Intuit with an informal inquiry notice in June, after a Center for Financial Research and Analysis report questioned Intuit's granting policies, and the company later announced that it had implemented a self-review.

Who is responsible for IT in your firm? Do you have a written technology plan and budget? Is technology viewed as a strategic asset, or as overhead? Are you adequately staffed in the IT department, and in the firm as a whole? Do you have the right people on your IT team?These are all important questions, and your firm should be able to provide definitive answers if you expect to compete in a rapidly changing digital and global economy. Many traditional services are being commoditized, and profit margins are under pressure. With the right technology, you can compete, as well as offer new, higher-value services.

A sure sign of problems on the floor of a trade show exhibit hall is having lots of exhibitors talking to each other.

Thomson Tax & Accounting, part of The Thomson Corp., announced the upcoming release of its InSource WorkFlow Manager solution.

Another round has been fired in the war at the low end of the mid-market.

Sage Software has announced the availability of its time and billing program, Timeslips by Sage 2007.

Several months after offering new incentives for companies to furnish their financial information in computer-readable interactive data format, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that another trio of firms has joined the initiative.The new companies - General Electric Co., PepsiCo Inc. and Banco Itaú Holding Financeira SA - bring the number of participating firms to 20. Only nine companies joined the SEC's first Extensible Business Reporting Language initiative in 2005.

SAGE UNVEILS WAREHOUSE AUTOMATION MODULEBusiness software developer Sage Software unveiled a new Warehouse Automation module for its Sage MAS 500 enterprise resource planning software.

Would your company survive a devastating disaster or business interruption? This is a question that has been at the forefront of most business' concerns for a few years now, and one that needs to be continually asked in the future.The foundation for developing a continuity and disaster recovery program lies in developing a method for the protection and preservation of vital records. All businesses, especially small and midsized organizations, should facilitate a proactive, rather than a reactive, approach to disaster preparation - especially with regard to vital records. This article focuses on developing a vital records protection strategy in the greater context of continuity and disaster recovery.

Customer relationship management provider LexisNexis Interface Software has released InterAction 5.5 - an upgrade of its flagship CRM product for professional services organizations such as accounting and law firms.Built on Microsoft's .Net platform, the enhanced InterAction 5.5 offers new features and functions ranging from activity configuration enhancements to the ability to apply additional information fields to matters, deals, opportunities and engagements.

It's funny how quickly we adapt to new technology. Just a bit over two decades ago, Ken Olsen, the president of then-giant minicomputer vendor Digital Equipment Company, wondered, "Why would anyone want a computer on their desk?"Today, pretty much everyone has a computer on their desks, and DEC is long gone, having been bought by Compaq, which in turn was acquired by Hewlett Packard.

You have just completed your annual firm partner meeting, and the decision was made to move forward with the selection and implementation of a content management system. You want to ensure success. What are the critical factors? Why do some firm's succeed while others fail? Can anything be done up front in order to ensure success?Accounting firms are not unique when it comes to the success or failure of information technology projects. Firms tend to make the same mistakes as large companies, and particularly the federal government.

Financial and nonprofit software publisher Serenic Corp., has entered into an agreement with Microsoft Corp. in which Serenic would be the Industry Solutions Vendor for payroll software and related services for customers who use Microsoft Dynamics NAV in North America.Terms for the pact, which became effective July 1, were not disclosed.

Sparked by a double-digit hikes in payroll service and human resources revenues, payroll and benefits outsourcing provider Paychex Inc. said year-end profits rose 26 percent, to $464.9 million, versus fiscal 2005 for the period ended May 31.

"What do you have against Orlando Ayala?" a reseller wrote.

After a string of embarrassing security lapses, the White House Office of Management and Budget laid out a number of new measures aimed at protecting personal information that agencies hold on millions of employees and citizens.

Accounting and payroll software provider Universal Business Computing Co. has rolled out new features for its Real-Time Accounting & Payroll applications.

There's no secret that the software reseller channel is consolidating. But the move towards bigger and bigger players is gaining steam.

The principal of Information Technology Group Inc., David Cieslak will serve as the chairman of the Sage Accpac Business Partner Advisory Council.