Charles Duell, the director of the U.S Patent Office at the beginning of the 20th century prophesied, “Every thing that can be invented has been invented.” Looking back, one may remark about the ignorance of this statement, and laugh in the irony of how much has actually changed. However, while the laughter is going on a question in raised; “is it possible that today’s businesses are believing what Duells said, ‘that there is nothing more to come?’” Today, companies have access to some of the most groundbreaking technology, but are they taking advantage of it? One field that has changed dramatically over the past few years is the accounting department, specifically the profession of a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Are CPA’s staying on top of the latest technology that can contribute to their job? For a better understanding of how technology directly affects the CPA profession one should look at the changes that have occurred over the past few decades, what a current office should be using, along with checking out the technological advances and how they will affect the CPA’s career in the next ten to twenty years.
Not only are the accountants’ world changing, but the courses that an individual must study on the road to becoming a CPA, are also rapidly changing. The objective is to better prepare the new graduate with a better understanding and firm grounding in the technology, which will soon confront them. Courses used to focus strictly on the use of paper and pencil in the solving of problems. The book was the single focus by the professors, and the book “contained everything that an aspiring student could hope to know.” But universities and individual professors are beginning to realize that once released in to the accounting profession, a graduate, ...