Computers in Accounting
... $50,000 and the low-end anywhere from $100 to $5,000 range. Low end is further broken down into very low-end and “larger” low-end systems that are more functional but not quite big enough to be categorized in the mid-range computer systems. Another computer related drive is the Internet and interfaces with the ability to have multiple software and hardware products communicating directly with the accounting system and its databases. Commerce that is conducted using the Internet technology will be the most widely used technology in the years to come. Quicken, is a popular, easy to use accounting system that is now providing remote entry of transactions through the web. This allows Quicken users to enter transactions through a site and store them for later retrieval. The exchange of goods and products using electronic means is known as E-business. E-business conducted at commercial or wholesale level would consist of things like transferring electronic funds. Amazon.com and online securities trading are examples of e-commerce at the retail level. Dell Computer Corporation currently handles $10 million dollars in retail transactions over the Internet per day. While Windows is the most common operating software in use, users are moving away from the older DOS-based or text-based interface. The newest of accounting systems are now going to web-based accounting systems. In the past things that would normally have cost millions of dollars can now be achieved for less than $500,000. The use of local area networks and wide area networks is growing. Of an e-mail survey sent out to over 4000 different CPAs, the Journal of Accountancy magazine was able to find out the most commonly used programs. It was discovered that windows runs 92% of government offices and most CPA’s use the Microsoft software for its ability and diversity to be able to do anything from word processing to designing spreadsheets. 80% of respondents were shown to use Microsoft Office for their program needs. Edward Denison pioneered an expression used to measure the contribution to computers to growth in 1985. The following is a decomposition of output growth. (1) (Output growth)=(contribution of growth in computer capital) + (Contribution of growth in the stock of other capital) + (Contribution of labor growth) + (Contribution of multifactor productivity growth) Some of the computer technology has already lost its charm. DOS, one of the first operating systems, has fallen victim to the Y2K bug. Accounting systems created in the time of DOS will fall by the wayside. Furthermore the ability to use the Internet with these older accounting systems will be nonexistent. Aside from accounting software, CPA’s use a variety of applications like Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. Microsoft word is a word processing program that can be helpful to acc...