The Frontier: Software’s becoming too specialized
Summary
That’s not even considering the wider range of solutions for things like payroll, expense management, time tracking, accounts both payable and receivable and the myriad other products that fill the business world. While the panoply of products available to the modern accountant is encouraging, some thought leaders have expressed concern that the sheer number of applications is starting to bog down processes as professionals continually switch between programs that often don’t communicate with each other. Between the expense of having that many licenses, plus the hours needed to train accountants on the appropriate programs, as well as the necessary effort of IT staff to maintain them, tools that once been touted as creating efficiencies are starting to eat away at them instead. There is widespread recognition that the sheer number of applications is a problem, but at the same time firm leaders feel stuck because the hyper-specialized solutions of today are generally the only way to get work done anyway, however inefficiently. While Wilson was hesitant to say if this problem would ever be solved for good, Donny Shimamoto, founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowledgies, was confident the market would eventually hear consumers and provide the more integrated solutions professionals today are craving.