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Tech2Go Episode 7 – Engagement and Trial Balance Software, Exchange Server 2007, NetSuite IPO, and GPS Navigation Systems

Jul. 30, 2007

Tech2Go is a fast-paced roundtable discussion with Executive Editor Gregory L. LaFollette, CPA.CITP, and regular columnists Brent Goodfellow, Dave McClure and Randy Johnston. These thought leaders tackle current technology issues impacting the tax and accounting profession. This month, the panel discusses Engagement and Trial Balance software, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, the NetSuite IPO, GPS Navigation Systems, and upcoming Conferences and Tradeshows. [Running time is 1:06:38]


Gregory L. LaFollette CPA.CITP

Brent Goodfellow CPA.CITP, MCSE, MST, MCT

Dave McClure

Randy Johnston

Tech2Go Show Notes
Episode 7 – August 2007
Recorded July 27, 2007
Duration: 1:06:38

  • Thanks to our Sponsor: ADP
  • Engagement Software vs. Trial Balance Software
    • Engagement Software
      • CCH ProSystem fx Engagement, extensive presence in larger firms; moving to smaller firms
      • CaseWare Working Papers, small estimated U.S. share; large Canadian and international share
      • Thomson Engagement CS, very strong in smaller firms; moving to larger firms
      • 1,215 audit regulation changes
      • Paperless support is not being properly implemented by most CPA firms
      • Data linking features are often unused by CPA firms
      • 25%-35%+ productivity gain by using the paperless tools properly
      • Engagement software and document management software (DMS) serve different purposes
      • PPC eTools is often used in conjunction with engagement software
      • Engagement software will help your teams stay in compliance
  • Microsoft Exchange Server 2007
    • Shift from single-role server to a five-role server:
      • Edge transport server
      • Hub transport server
      • Mailbox – Mail server
      • Client Access – Outlook web access, mobile devices
      • Unified Messaging
    • Exchange 2007 “Gotchas† from 2003 version
      • Requires 64-bit hardware, and 64-bit versions of Windows
      • Minimum 2GB RAM
      • No option for an in-place upgrade on the server
      • De-emphasis on “Public Folders† (but will still support them)
      • Administrative services now done through a command-line interface via an administrative shell
    • Excellent built-in anti-spam filters – virtually eliminates spam
    • Increased performance on mobiles and new “lite† feature for web access with only the necessary features to consume less bandwidth
    • You can now schedule “Out of Office† time to expire at a certain time
    • Unified Messaging now has “Outlook Voice Access† to connect your telephone to your mailbox
    • Full index searching – search entire mailbox very quickly
    • Administrators now have the ability to search across multiple mailboxes
    • Outlook 2007 connection will now “auto-discover† an Exchange 2007 server on the same network to eliminate lengthy configuration steps
    • Helpful 2003 to 2007 conversion utilities:
    • Exchange 2007 Small Business Server edition will be released mid-2008
  • NetSuite IPO
    • Software as a Service (SaaS) company
    • Seeking $75 million
    • Maintains software and hosted applications in a single 3rd party datacenter, with no backup or failover servers in a different location
  • Questions or Comments?
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