Redmond, Wash. - Officials at Microsoft said that independent software vendors would play a key role in the planned fall launch of its Office Small Business Management Edition.

Time and billing software was one of the first applications to make the leap from paper to PC, with the earliest forms appearing in 1979. Normally, this is a simple and straightforward process - record the time, send the bill, track the receivables - that doesn't require much change from year to year.Until now.

Education and training have always been an important part of the accounting profession.

Nowadays, communications plays a larger role than ever in strengthening customer service, as well as bottom-line results, yet not every accountant has the right system to meet their needs.

San Mateo, Calif. - Veteran Intuit executive Jay O'Connor was appointed vice president of worldwide marketing for NetSuite Inc., a provider of on-demand business software.

Microsoft Corp. has named Chris Liddell as its chief financial officer, replacing long-time executive John Connors, who left the company last month.

Spurred by double-digit spikes in service and subscription revenues, nonprofit software vendor Blackbaud Inc. posted first-quarter profits of $10.9 million for the period ended March 31, versus net income of $4 million for the year-ago quarter.

New York - The American Institute of CPAs has introduced a new Web site for the information technology community. The site, at www.aicpa.org/infotech, is a portal containing resources, tools and guidance for CPAs interested in or performing IT functions.

As financial reporting has progressed from using carbon hard copies and one-write systems to Lotus Notes and eventually online databases, systems-related issues and problems have kept pace.

Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft Corp. has released module extensions for its Great Plains 8.0 Professional Edition - enhancing the areas of business intelligence, industry functionality and expanded customization.

CSI REBRANDS TAX AND ACCOUNTING LINE: Tax and financial software provider Creative Solutions has rebranded its entire product portfolio under the name CS Professional Suite. The company said that the change was enacted to better position each suite and its component products.

If fund accounting were a screenplay, the working title would be "Sarbanes-Oxley Meets the Baby Boomers." It is a curious time for charitable organizations, because they are faced not only with the prospect of enormous growth in endowments and contributions, but with demands for greater accountability and compliance measures to help manage that growth.An estimated $10 trillion will pass from the Baby Boom generation into charitable organizations from now until 2050. Intersecting this increase in giving is a nation with a growing obsession for accountability. In the wake of the stock market bust, the energy scandals, the Internet scandals and a recession, people want an unparalleled level of transparency in every aspect of accounting.

Do partners in your firm have time to think, or are they only focused on their book of business and charge hours?

Intacct Corp., a provider of online financial software, is poised to launch a trio of new programs to its reseller channels. o The Trusted Advisor Reseller Program rests on VARs, system integrators, and accounting firms to resell or refer Intacct's ERP On Demand application suite to mid-market companies. Intacct will train and certify all resellers interested in this sales program. o ISV-in-a-Box is a multi-step program aimed at helping ISVs sell a combined solution of their own product and Intacct's core enterprise resource planning processes to their customers. o Accounting-Outsourcer-in-a-Box is an 11-step-progam intended to assist accounting firms set up outsourcing practices. "Midsize companies have vastly different requirements for managing their business processes," said Robert J. Jurkowski, chief executive officer of Intacct, in a statement. "We surround the market with trusted advisors to give customers the freedom to either buy Intacct's ERP On Demand solution from a certified VAR, or from an ISV that has embedded our applications suite in its industry-specific solution."

Intacct Corp., a provider of online accounting software, unveiled its first multi-entity supply chain management and on-the-fly business analytics additions to its online software suite. The enhanced suite offers small and midsized businesses order-entry management, inventory valuations and purchasing costs. Available on a monthly subscription basis, Intacct's suite includes financial, supply chain, professional services automation and business analytics software. Additional offerings from Intacct scheduled for later this spring include enhanced multiple budgets computation and multi-entity technology that allows users to capture and evaluate real-time business intelligence from individual divisions or an entire enterprise.

-- Officials at Microsoft said that independent software vendors would play a key role in the planned fall launch of its Office Small Business Management Edition. "The reason we continue to grow is because of our ISVs," said Mark Young, developer and general manager of ISV strategy at Microsoft, during a day-long ISV forum titled "Opportunity Knocks." "We understand the power of ISVs." To help ISVs promote and integrate with Microsoft's new application, Dave O'Hara, vice president of business development at the technology giant, set out a roster of six resources available for Microsoft ISVs: free product testing, in-the-box promotion, online catalog inclusion, development support, marketing support and customizable marketing templates. Another feature for ISVs is the software development kit, available now, to encourage and assist them in integrating their existing products and creating new ones within the Small Business Accounting software. In addition, the SDK will help them set the language from C# to whatever code they prefer. "The thing I love about SBA," said Young, "is every map is open. Every vertical to horizontal is open and an opportunity." However, one of the maps that remains closed, said Young, was security -- set at base level for heightened security. "The security was built in at a database layer -- far more secure than at any application layer," said Rajat Taneja, general manager of Small Business Applications at Microsoft Business Solutions. Taneja added that customers would find not only advanced security and a brand-new accounting system, but also an enhanced Outlook 2003 integrated with Business Contact Manager. The Outlook with the contact manager would provide a richer sales and marketing experience by offering such tools as a viewable history of tasks for each client, reporting capabilities, and contact information for all those working with or on a specific account.

-- For its work on information security, national CPA and business advisory firm Crowe Chizek has been named the 2004 Security Partner of the Year for the Midwest by Microsoft Corp. The firm edged out some 900 Microsoft partners in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. Over the past year, more than 85 Crowe professionals have been involved in developing and enhancing clients' Microsoft security posture. The firm also participated in three Microsoft security summits in Chicago, Detroit and Orlando. Crowe is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in four competencies -- information worker productivity solutions, integrated e-business solutions, business solutions and security solutions. Crowe ranked No. 12 on Accounting Today's 2005 Top 100 Firms list, with annual revenues of $286.2 million.

Most often, the phrase "brain drain" refers to the mass exodus of a nation's smartest and most talented people to countries that can offer them better opportunities. But there's a new definition today, one that is expected to change the nature of business as we know it in as few as three years.

* PAISLEY UNVEILS INTEGRATION: Paisley Consulting, a provider of business accountability software, has launched The Paisley Solution, an integration of two Paisley products, including the new JavaScript-based AutoAudit, in an effort to ease the auditing process. The company's newly released J2EE AutoAudit, a JavaScript version of its formerly Lotus Notes-based AutoAudit product, and the existing Risk Navigator can now be used together as one to optimize auditing efficiency, Paisley said. The integration of the two applications creates a common platform for internal auditors, risk management personnel, compliance personnel and business managers.

On-demand accounting software that is accessible without an in-house server may still be relatively young and growing, but as far as it being the wave of the future, don't get out your surfboards just yet, say users and consultants.Many small and midsized businesses are still attached to their multi-dimensional, server-based software and are not yet ready to make the jump into the Web. But not all the hold-up is the fault of the users - the software producers admit that their products are good, but in some cases could be improved. Missing integration to add-ons and a lack of features within the on-demand systems leave some work to be done.