Technology
Expertise is All Around, but You’ve Got to Get Out of Your Silo
Feb. 26, 2019
We all settle into our own professional paths, growing accustomed to a routine and work cycle that, while it may change from year to year, can still limit what we are exposed to personally and professionally. While this is especially a part of the battle siege mentality of tax season (heads-down and shields up), it can restrict what you’re exposed to.
There is a reason that multiple educators and instructors teach us during our education, and it’s the same reason that professionals need to look outside of their routine for new ideas or affirmation that they’re on the right track. It’s because we know that gathering knowledge from multiple sources is the best way to gain a broad overview, as well as specialized information from individual sources who may be experts in varying areas.
Fortunately, technology has made access to information much simpler, even to the point where some professionals can feel overwhelmed. The key is to first find the information sources you trust and respect, and then to use some basic tools such as RSS feeds to make the process of collecting the information easier.
Over the past 20 years, The CPA Technology Advisor has established itself as a key technology resource for tax and accounting professionals. And while many of our writers are credentialed, active practitioners, our magazine and interactive content is focused specifically on the intersection of technology and public accounting. Your practice has many other information needs, of course. From following and understanding new tax legislation, to specific application of treatments, AICPA opinion, best practices, business management and the multitude of state and local taxation issues … just to name a few.
For those issues and other information needs, we recommend that professionals turn to sources that specialize in those areas. Our silo is the intersection of technology and public accounting/taxation, but we’ve found several trusted and respected outlets and professionals who can also be a valuable resource to you.
Blogs
www.CPATechViews.com
In addition to our main website, we also offer the CPATechViews blog, a forum where contributors to The CPA Technology Advisor and special guests offer their insight into technology issues facing the tax and accounting profession. Visitors can also join in the conversation, posting their thoughts or questions to the bloggers or to each other.
www.RootWorks.com
This is the blog and consultancy website of our Executive Editor, Darren Root, CPA.CITP. Darren also runs a practice in Indiana. On his blog, he explores firm management and leadership principles, as well as technologies that directly enhance professional productivity, firm revenue and client service.
www.cpatechblog.com
The CPA Technology Blog (not to be confused with our magazine) is run by Brian F. Tankersley, CPA.CITP, a practitioner, speaker and consultant to accounting firms, and also an educator through K2 Enterprises, the AICPA and the Becker CPA Review. Brian is also a contributor to The CPA Technology Advisor and CPATechViews.com. On his blog, Brian often shares his insight and advice regarding specific technology practices and tools, along with news bits about technology companies serving the profession.
www.TheTechGap.com
Greg LaFollette, CPA.CITP, is a well-known and outspoken technology thought leader in the accounting profession. His blog was one of the first to specifically focus on technology for accountants, and often focuses on gadgets and news from technology companies.
www.Tickmarks.Blogspot.com
Dan Meyer’s Tick Marks blog offers summaries and explanation of accounting, taxation and personal finance topics, primarily geared toward small business owners and individuals. Dan is an accounting professor on the faculty at Austin Peay University.
www.YourCPAPartners.com/blog
The Lake Wylie, South Carolina, practice of Bordeaux and Bordeaux, run by husband/wife team Chad and Donna Bordeaux, offers a very useful client-focused blog that helps address issues such as extensions, business management and small business technology issues. Chad is also a noted speaker to the accounting profession on the use of social media.
Other blogs we respect:
www.CPAblogger.com
blog.ConvergenceCoaching.com
www.FromGregsHead.com
blog.bdcocpa.com
Accounting News Sources
www.CPATechAdvisor.com
The CPA Technology Advisor is focused on providing independent technology reviews, guidance, insight and best practices to small and mid-sized tax and accounting practices. We also provide extensive online resources, including free CPE webcasts, regular podcast series, and technology assessment and selection tools.
www.AccountingWeb.com
This is good source for tax and accounting-related news content from all over the Internet, plus original content and features from CPA-credentialed editorial staff.
www.AccountingToday.com
Accounting Today offers news and information primarily focused on tax legislation and policy, along with corporate governance. It recently merged with the former Accounting Technology, so it does offer some technology content, but is primarily directed toward large firms and in-house corporate accounting professionals.
www.JournalOfAccountancy.com
This publication is published by the AICPA and goes to all 300,000+ members. The hefty tome is the official scholarly publication of the society, providing deep insight into regulatory guidance, internal risk controls and assessments, financial reporting standards, and legislative activity.
www.TheProgressiveAccountant.com
This blog-formatted website provides generalized roundups of technology and services for firms, but often focuses more on VAR opportunities and relationships.
Top 10 to Follow on Twitter
CPATechAdvisor
BFTCPA
CPATech
MACPA
FICPA
NYSSCPA
AlabamaCPA
YoungCPANetwork
TaxCreditNews
CPAnet
Other Resources
You might also be interested in a recent article by Scott Cytron, one of our regular online columnists, where he covered the topic of popular websites for the accounting community, from topic-specific sites to professional association and organizations sites, to popular accounting-related blogs and news sites and aggregators. You can check out his list at www.CPATechAdvisor.com/go/2787.