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When you think about it, accountants have always been portable, in one sense. Despite the fancy, newfangled technology with all its bells and whistles, all it takes is paper and a pencil for an accountant's work to begin. "And, there are still a lot of CPAs out there who would much rather put pencil to paper and crank out a schedule," said Paul Geary, CPA, a sole practitioner in Quincy, Mass.
Geary views his computer as an advantage that benefits both his client and his practice. Being portable is a practice improvement issue for him because it cuts down on the time carting material back and forth from his client to his office. "My preference is to do management consulting, not bookkeeping. If I have more time, there's more things I can do. Even on an hourly basis, I cut down on some of the things I'm doing and have time for things I enjoy more and that are more beneficial to my client. The total amount of billing is the same, but I am going to enjoy what I am doing more and, the client stands to benefit more."
Believe it or not, portable accounting does not take Buck Rogers technology anymore. If an accountant is familiar and comfortable with a desktop computer, that same comfort level can quickly be reached with a greater amount of work being completed with the use of the new laptop or notebook computers.
The convenience factor and business opportunities are what make portable computing a business strategy accountants cannot ignore. "One of the biggest things is it allows you to be more timely in providing certain services," said Steve Rafferty, CPA, a partner in the St. Louis office of Baird, Kurtz & Dobson. "For example, if you are using a program such as FAST, a trial balance software, you can make journal entries that arise from an audit and review a draft of the financial statements with the client while in the field. You can be very responsive with that kind of thing. When you are talking about an out-of-town job, that can be a big deal because the client wants to meet with you before you leave and know where they stand at that point."
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