25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey ResultsAccounting Professionals Identify “Securing the IT Environment” as the Top Priority

© 2015 American Institute of CPAs. All rights reserved.

DISCLAIMER: The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the American Institute of CPAs, its divisions and its committees. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information on the subject covered. It is distributed with the understanding that the authors are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

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Members of the Information Management and Technology Assurance (IMTA) Top Technology Initiatives Task Force, Emerging Technology Task Force and the IMTA Executive Committee provided information and insight in preparing this report:

CONTRIBUTORS:

Dr. Terry L. Campbell, Ph.D., CPA/CITP, CGMA, CMA Clinical Professor Kelley School of Business Indiana University Bloomington, IN

Bob Green, CPA/CITP, CGMALead Partner SingerLewak, LLP Los Angeles, CA

Adam Haverson, CPA/CITP, CFADirector Global Solutions at Pall Corporation Orlando, FL

Michael McAllister, CPA/CITP, CISADirector, BDO USA, LLP Reading, IN

Robert G. Parker, MBA, FCPA, FCA, CISA, CRISC, CMCAssociate, Risk Masters Inc. & Retired Deloitte Partner Victoria, BC, Canada

Maria Pollieri, CPA, CAProduct Management Director, Oracle Corporation Toronto, ON, Canada

Donny Shimamoto, CPA/CITP, CGMAFounder and Managing Director IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC Honolulu, HI

AICPA INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY ASSURANCE STAFF

Susan Pierce, CPA/CITP, CGMASenior Technical Manager — IMTA SectionMember Specialization and Credentialing AICPA, Durham, NC

Paul Warrick, CPA, CGMATechnical Manager — IMTA SectionMember Specialization and Credentialing AICPA, Durham, NC

Iesha MackProject Manager — IMTA SectionMember Specialization and CredentialingAICPA, Durham, NC

Maritza CoraAssociate Project Manager — IMTA SectionMember Specialization and Credentialing AICPA, Durham, NC

CPA CANADA CONTRIBUTING STAFF

Cecilia Banh, CPA, CA, MAccPrincipal — Research, Guidance and SupportCPA Canada, Toronto, ON, Canada

Valerie Leach, CPA, CAPrincipal — Professional Learning and DevelopmentCPA Canada, Toronto, ON, Canada

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

About the Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

North America Survey Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

North America TTI Survey Analysis: Top 10 Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

TTI Survey: North America Key Insights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

U.S. Key Insights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Canadian Key Insights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

TTI Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

IMTA Resource Index

INTRODUCTION

Technology is a crucial key to success, in the accounting profession and elsewhere. As mobile and social technologies gain near-ubiquitous acceptance and businesses of all kinds leverage new generations of data management and analytic capabilities, Information Technology remains a key component for business success and profitability.

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) conducted a survey of their membership to identify their top technology initiatives for this 25th anniversary edition.

Certified Public Accountants and Chartered Professional Accountants understand the benefits of Information Technology. Given the frequency and severity of fraud data breaches across all business sectors — CPAs in business and industry and public practice are prioritizing the management of risk, security, and information privacy. Many also are focused on how to use data and analytics to provide information to enable better decision-making, resulting in positive outcomes for their clients and their organizations.

Accounting professionals identified security, compliance, privacy, data management, responding to fraud and business intelligence as their key IT priorities. Many also offered helpful insights into how they plan to leverage technology to improve client services and their own business outcomes. Those priorities, and other survey insights, are summarized in this report.

Experts are now observing an inflection point in the technology industry toward complexity and self-serve implications, which could be a contributing factor to increasing initiatives relating to the security of more externalized technologies such as cloud, mobility, and social. As a result, instead of focusing technology and expertise on managing complexity, many accounting professionals are focused on improving their practices and companies by trying to innovate and stay ahead of technology. This is a positive inflection, because it more closely aligns technology with the business users, thus resulting in more technology-driven business growth.

For more information on these and additional resources, go to aicpa.org/IMTA.

2 | 25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results

ABOUT THE SURVEY

U.S. Participants

A total of 3,061 accounting professionals participated in the 25th anniversary TTI U.S. survey. Of those participants, 39% are in public accounting, 36% work in

business and industry, 6% work in the not-for-profit sector, 6% in consulting, 6% in education, 5% in government and 2% in other areas.

U.S. Participants by Industry

■ Public Accounting

■ Business and Industry

■ Not-for-Pro�t

■ Consulting

■ Education

■ Government

■ Other

39%

36%

6%

6%

6%

5% 2%

25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results | 3

Most hold leadership positions, with 40% indicating they are executives, partners, owners or shareholders; 26% managers/senior managers; and 14% directors or

vice presidents. Ten percent are staff-level personnel and 10% are in other positions.

U.S. Job Responsibility

■ Executive/Partner

■ Manager

■ Director/VP

■ Staff

■ Other

40%

26%

14%

10%

10%

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The majority of survey participants, 61%, indicate that they regularly or frequently encounter technology-related questions or concerns in their field of work, while 34% indicate they have minimal

exposure to IT-related concerns. Only 5% of respondents indicated that they never receive IT questions or concerns in the normal course of work.

U.S. Frequency in Encountering IT Questions or Concerns

■ Frequently/Regularly

■ Minimally

■ Never61%34%

5%

25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results | 5

Canadian Participants

A total of 256 Canadian accounting professionals participated in the 25th anniversary of the TTI survey. Of those participants, 46% work in business and

industry, 16% are in public accounting, 14% in government, 8% in consulting, 6% in not-for-profit, 5% in education and 4% in other areas.

Canadian Participants By Industry

■ Business and Industry

■ Not-for-Profit

■ Consulting

■ Other

■ Government

■ Education

■ Public Accounting

46%

6%

8%

4%

14%

5%

16%

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The positions of respondents in Canada were very similar to the positions held by U.S. participants. Most hold leadership positions, with 38% indicating they are executives, partners, owners or shareholders,

23% managers and 22% directors or vice presidents. Fourteen percent are staff-level personnel, and 3% are in other positions.

Canadian Job Responsibility

■ Executive, Partner, Owner or Shareholder

■ Manager

■ Director or Vice President

■ Staff-Level Personnel

■ Other

38%

23%

22%

14%

3%

25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results | 7

Most survey participants, 87%, indicate that they regularly or frequently encounter technology-related questions or concerns in their field of work, compared with only 61% in the United States. In Canada, 13% indicate that they

have minimal exposure to IT-related concerns compared with 34% in the U.S. Less than 1% of respondents never receive IT-related questions or concerns during the normal course of work.

Canadian Frequency in Encountering IT Questions or Concerns

■ Frequently/Regularly

■ Minimal

87%

13%

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NORTH AMERICA SURVEY RESULTS

Here are some possible reasons why the results closely match:

At a high level, technology issues, concerns and initiatives are not necessarily country-centric.

Given the technology infrastructure in North America, the compatibility and interconnectivity of that infrastructure, and similarity of service offerings within Canada and the United States, many of the issues are similar.

In North America, there may be “cross border” collaboration; many multinational organizations may be addressing the same or similar problems on both sides of the border.

There may be a convergence around economic, political and governing factors that drive the business environments that technology initiatives serve.

Although the ranking of the top 10 initiatives is based on the ranking of issues and concerns of the respondents, the ranking may or may not be the same as the ranking given to issues and concerns based on the respondents’ answers to more detailed questions — much of that analysis is featured throughout this white paper.

The rankings were very similar between the United States and Canada:

Ranking U.S. Results Canadian Results

1 Securing the IT Environment Securing the IT Environment

2 Managing and Retaining Data Managing and Retaining Data

3 Ensuring Privacy Managing IT Risks and Compliance

4 Managing IT Risks and Compliance Ensuring Privacy

5 Preventing and Responding to Computer Fraud Enabling Decision Support and Analytics

6 Enabling Decision Support and Analytics Managing System Implementations

7 Managing System Implementations Preventing and Responding to Computer Fraud

8Governing and Managing IT Investment/Spending

Governing and Managing IT Investment/Spending

9 Managing Vendors & Service Providers Leveraging Emerging Technologies

10 Leveraging Emerging Technologies Managing Vendors & Service Providers

25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results | 9

NORTH AMERICA TTI SURVEY ANALYSIS: TOP 10 TECHNOLOGIES

Blue = U.S. Ranking Orange = Canadian Ranking

1 1 Securing the IT Environment

Accounting professionals must confront serious information-related security threats, ranging from cybercrimes to the loss or theft of laptops, mobile phones and client or organizational data.

Accounting professionals generally are confident in their ability to secure their traditional IT systems. However, they are less certain of security protections for mobile devices and against the ever-changing threat of cyberattacks.

About 61% of U.S. respondents believe they have properly protected traditional networks and internal servers from external security threats. While nearly 52% are confident they have IT security policies appropriate for their industry and company size, and 58% believe they can ensure the availability and continuity of IT services.

Forty-two percent of U.S. respondents said they have addressed all relevant threats, including those from emerging technologies such as cloud, mobility, and social media. Forty-three percent are confident they have properly protected smartphones, tablets, and other devices from a data breach; while almost 41% say they can quickly detect and respond in the event of a cyberattacks.

In Canada, 74% of respondents said they have properly protected their networks and servers internally, and from external parties; 61% reported they have a security policy that addresses information security risks appropriate to the size of their organization and industry; and 58% said they would be able to ensure the availability and continuity of IT services.

To improve IT security, organizations should start with a comprehensive risk assessment of their physical and logical infrastructure, networks, data, and personnel. Based on those findings, policies and technologies can be implemented to reduce the risk of cyberattacks, data breaches, theft, fraud, and other threats. Like other

service providers, CPAs in public practice must maintain internal IT security, while also working with clients or upper management to ensure the security of all data and communications.

Resource:

IT Security — Information Security information page including an 8-part series on the ABCs of IT Security for CPAs

2 2 Managing and Retaining Data

The substantial data-related benefits, however, also come with very real challenges. Data are growing in volume and complexity, and are now supplemented by an influx of information from email, social networks and other unstructured data sources. At the same time, the growing threats of fraud, cybercrime and system failures increase the need for organizations to protect and manage that critical information. Accounting professionals are reasonably confident in their ability to meet those challenges.

Seventy-nine percent of U.S. respondents say they are properly backing up data and could effectively restore data in the event of a negative incident, while 61% understand their internal, legal and compliance-related data retention requirements. The majority say they have appropriately designed data retention policies and procedures, and that they adequately manage data storage and archiving costs, 60% and 55%, respectively.

Eighty-two percent of Canadian respondents report properly backing-up data and the ability to restore data in the event of an operational loss or access requirement. Sixty-eight percent understand their internal, legal and compliance-related data retention requirements. Of the Canadian respondents, 62% say they have appropriate data retention policies and procedures, while 61% report they are adequately managing data storage and archiving costs.

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Backup and restore procedures are designed to recover data processing resources. Here, there are two concepts: 1) Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) — the number of days, hours and minutes the organization can endure before it needs the system to work, and 2) Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs) — how current does the organization want the data at the time of recovery, last transaction, last night’s backup, last week’s or even last month’s backup. In either case, RTOs and RPOs do not guarantee that one could go back three years to obtain any data an organization might want.

Data management specialists have gone on public record, saying accountants and others can take very specific steps to improve data management and storage. A key first step is the creation of a strategic plan for the capture, management and backup of mission-critical data. A robust data management program should address information-related policies and procedures, with governance tied directly to internal, legal, and compliance-related requirements.

Robust business continuity planning generally demands continuous access to business critical data. Critical business functions from enterprise resource planning (ERP) centric sales transactions to web-based customer self-service depend on these data. When an event disrupts access to data — whether the root cause is damage to physical devices or loss of access — a business cannot execute its critical functions. This results in lost revenue, damage to reputation, a loss of situational awareness and can expose a company to liability. For all of these reasons, a robust data recovery/application continuity plan is a critical component of an enterprise-class data management plan.

Resources:

A Practice Aid for Records Retention — Overview of what to consider when assessing records management

See our Data Management — section at the bottom of the Business Intelligence web page for more information on how to manage your data.

3 4 Ensuring Privacy

Clients expect their accountants to ensure the strict confidentiality of their personal information; an organization’s customers expect the same. In response, many firms have instituted formal privacy policies, which include robust controls on access to data, automated monitoring of access, and employee training that includes voluntary compliance with Generally Accepted Privacy Principles (GAPP).

Fifty-eight percent of U.S. respondents say they have a good understanding of the appropriate regulatory and compliance requirements for their industry and organizational size, and 61% also say they have appropriate privacy policies in place. In the United States, 60% of respondents believe they have appropriate privacy-related safeguards and controls in place, and just under half (49%) say they can quickly detect and respond to a privacy breach.

Canadian respondents show a higher level of confidence in ensuring privacy. Seventy-five percent are confident that they have put the appropriate privacy safeguards and controls in place to minimize their risk of a privacy breach, while 73% report they will be able to quickly detect and respond to a privacy breach incident. Sixty-six percent of respondents report they have a good understanding of the appropriate regulatory and compliance requirements related to the privacy of data for their size of organization and industry.

One of the best ways to address privacy is to understand the Generally Accepted Privacy Principles (GAPP). Using GAPP, CPAs can help organizations design and implement sound privacy practices and policies. The adoption of these principles and criteria is voluntary, but they do serve as a framework on which to build a solid privacy program.

Resources:

Privacy/Data Protection — Privacy information page devoted to outlining privacy regulations and resources

25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results | 11

Generally Accepted Privacy Principles — GAPP is designed to assist management in creating an effective privacy program that addresses their privacy obligations, risks and business opportunities

Overview of Data Management — White paper providing an overview of data management

4 3 Managing IT Risks and Compliance

Aligning IT risk management plans with larger business strategies is a well-understood goal for organizations. To assist clients and employers address this alignment, accounting professionals should evaluate risk governance and compliance policies, then the risk to the entity they are working with; doing this will help ensure optimum security for devices, applications and data.

Sixty-two percent of U.S. survey respondents are confident they understand the risk associated with Information Technology, while 51% believe they understand the appropriate regulatory and compliance requirements for a company of their size in their industry. Fifty-four percent have conducted an IT risk assessment; 47% indicated they have deployed sufficient automated controls to protect against a potentially damaging management override of those protective systems.

Sixty-six percent of Canadian respondents expressed confidence in their understanding of risks associated with Information Technology, and 59% report a good understanding of the appropriate response for a company of their size in their industry. Forty-nine percent have conducted an IT risk assessment, while 40% say they have adequately deployed automated controls to achieve separation of duties and to avoid the potential of management overrides within systems.

Risk experts say initial assessments should focus on identifying higher-risk areas and on ensuring these risks are appropriately mitigated. Sometimes traditional systems present higher risk, because they are not being backed-up, or because they have not been replaced due to budget constraints.

Resource:

IT Assurance Services — Overview page highlighting resources pertaining to IT Risk and Assurance including SOC Reporting publications.

5 7 Preventing and Responding to Computer Fraud

IT-related fraud and abuse are growing concerns for most organizations. Hacking, data thefts and large-scale fraud are now all-too-common occurrences. Those threats affect governments, businesses of every kind, and individuals.

Sixty-two percent of U.S. respondents say they have considered the risk associated with technology-based fraud, while 54% of respondents are confident they have the appropriate policies and internal controls needed to reduce the risk of IT-related fraud to an appropriate level. Fifty-five percent know what to do in the event that a fraudulent incident does occur. Half (50%) are confident they have the policies needed to detect and mitigate potential IT-related abuse.

Sixty-three percent of Canadian respondents report they have considered the risks associated with IT-related fraud. Half say they have appropriate policies and controls in place to reduce these risks of IT related fraud and 55% know what to do in the event of a fraudulent event. Forty-nine percent are confident they have the policies in place to detect and mitigate potential IT-related abuse.

The responses indicate that accounting professionals are aware that they and their clients/employers can be particularly vulnerable to identify theft, hacking and other cybercrime.

While it is commendable that organizations develop policies and supporting procedures, they are subject to human execution and require effective awareness and monitoring to ensure compliance. In a sophisticated technology world, many threats are difficult, if not impossible, to mitigate effectively with technology alone.

12 | 25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results

Accounting professionals should become familiar with several ways to monitor activity, including the use of automation. Intrusion prevention systems are designed to monitor networks and/or systems — for malicious activity. Similarly, intrusion detection systems monitor attempted intrusions, or policy violations. These tools produce real-time reports. Intrusion prevention and detection software (IDPS) has become a valuable addition to the security infrastructure of most organizations.

IDPS can record information related to observed events, notify security administrators of questionable events and produce real-time alerts and reports. Some software can take a more proactive approach and reconfigure security and firewall settings in response to an observed attack.

Resources:

Top Five Cybercrimes — White paper highlighting the top five cybercrimes, tailored to the CPA’s perspective and experience

ID Theft/Fraud — Resource page devoted to Identity theft and identity fraud

6 5 Enabling Decision Support and Analytics

Organizations are not only working to capture and manage data, but are also investing in systems that let them convert data into insights; as a result, insights drive better decisions for their clients and for their organizations. Accountants naturally recognize the value of information and are working to put data to better use in their organizations.

Sixty-four percent of U.S. respondents say that they have access to sufficient data to make effective decisions, while 57% say they get timely, complete and auditable reports from their information sources. About 58% of U.S. respondents say they understand how data flows and are used in their organizations.

Fifty-three percent of U.S. respondents say they have good management reporting and business intelligence systems, while 48% say they understand the technology options for solving those challenges. Fifty-two percent of U.S. respondents say they are fully leveraging internal information and the growing universe of external data (such as input from social networks) to make business decisions.

Sixty percent of Canadian respondents say they have access to sufficient data to make good decisions, while 51% say they receive timely, accurate, complete and auditable reports from those information systems. Just under half of Canadian respondents say they understand how data flows and are used in their organizations.

Forty-three percent of Canadian respondents report good management reporting and business intelligence systems, while 46% understand the technology options for solving those challenges.

Survey results indicate that accounting professionals must work to better capture and manage data, and find ways to transform that information into relevant insights to help drive positive business results.

Resource:

Business Intelligence — A Business Intelligence (BI) information page providing BI resources including a toolkit to assist CPAs in implementing a BI platform.

7 6 Managing System Implementations

Identifying and acquiring good IT systems is crucial, but unless those systems are implemented correctly, those investments can be wasted. The 25th anniversary TTI Survey results suggest all accounting professionals understand the need to manage IT system deployments.

U.S. Survey respondents were most confident (60%) of their ability to ensure the quality and integrity of data during a system upgrade or implementation. Almost half, 46% feel their organization knows how to develop a good business case for new IT-related projects, and about 50% say that their organizations have good alignment between IT investments and the organization’s larger strategic goals.

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Thirty-seven percent of U.S. respondents say they can properly analyze the return on investment (ROI) payback of IT-related projects. About 46% believe that users receive adequate training and documentation for new or upgraded IT systems. A similar percentage (48%) believes they have the governance controls needed to ensure IT projects are implemented in accordance with originally stated objectives.

Sixty-four percent of Canadian respondents were confident they could ensure data quality and integrity during an upgrade or new installation, and 52% say they know how to develop a strong business case for IT-related projects. Fifty-six percent of Canadian respondents report a strong alignment between IT investments and the organization’s overall objectives.

Thirty-three percent of Canadian respondents say they can properly analyze the value of IT-related projects, while 49% say they provide appropriate training and documentation to users of new or upgraded systems.

Accounting professionals should carefully evaluate the business case for proposed business solutions, understand the changes the solution will require, and manage critical data conversion and migration activities. Organizations should exercise due diligence in all key phases of deployment, from design to build, testing and migration. Industry experts also say that, while implementation is important, the involvement and knowledge of users can be critical factors in the real productivity of any system.

Resource:

A CPA’s Approach to Business Solution Implementations — A white paper providing an overview of business solution implementations for CPAs

8 8 Governing and Managing Our IT Investment/Spending

Technology can drive substantial benefits for any organization, including measurable cost reductions, improvements in efficiency and productivity, and greatly enhanced customer service and satisfaction. However, to realize those positive outcomes, it’s imperative that organizations do more than simply purchase and deploy new systems. Accounting professionals must continually analyze and manage an entity’s IT portfolio.

According to the survey, 51% of U.S. accounting professionals say they are confident in their ability to prioritize IT initiatives and related spending. Thirty-four percent believe they are appropriately analyzing the value of the return on their IT investments. Just over 46% of respondents say their IT strategy is well-aligned to their overall business goals, with 43% saying that they have strong IT governance.

Fifty-three percent of Canadian respondents expressed confidence in their ability to prioritize IT initiatives and related spending, while 29% fully analyze the return on their IT investments. Forty-nine percent say that their IT investment strategy is properly aligned with their business strategy, while 45% say they have good IT governance.

Robust IT governance starts with a close alignment between strategic business goals and specific IT initiatives. Management of an entity’s IT investment portfolio helps an organization ensure it is spending the appropriate amount on technologies that will meet its strategic goals. IT governance should address strategic alignment, value delivery, risk management, resource management, and performance management.

Experts say an entity’s IT portfolio should focus on systems that allow the entity to “run” more efficiently, to “optimize” in terms of efficiency and effectiveness of its business processes, and to “innovate” itself to be competitive and successful in the years ahead.

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Resource:

IT Governance — Resource page covering governance topics and management concerns

Solution selection tool — A Job Aid to the Solution Selection Process

9 10 Managing Vendors and Service Providers

IT vendors and service providers can help organizations save time and money, while also providing access to world-class features and productive capabilities. Yet, there are costs and potential risks associated with IT service providers, and CPAs and others must understand and manage those relationships and their associated risks. The survey illustrated varying levels of confidence on IT vendor issues.

In the United States, about 50% of respondents indicated they understand and have adequately assessed the risk of using an IT-related vendor or service provider, and slightly more than half (52%) believe they are performing the appropriate due diligence before hiring an IT partner. Forty-seven percent are confident in their IT service provider’s compliance with service level agreements (SLAs).

Fifty-four percent of U.S. accounting professionals say they can adequately analyze the cost of hiring a service provider, while 50% believe they have adequate processes in place to identify a reliable vendor or to negotiate a sufficiently flexible IT service contract.

In Canada, 49% of respondents say they have adequately assessed the risk of using an IT-related vendor or service provider, while 51% say they conduct appropriate due diligence before hiring an IT partner. Forty-one percent of Canadian respondents are confident that their IT service providers comply with SLAs.

Fifty-seven percent of Canadian respondents say they can analyze the cost of hiring a service provider, while 48% say their organizations are capable of negotiating flexible contracts that will allow the entity to reasonably adjust/exit the contract as needed.

When an organization relies on an IT service provider for mission-critical services, the entity takes on the risk of a potential failure by that IT partner. As a result, accounting or internal audit organizations should conduct due diligence to fully evaluate potential service partners.

Routine tasks seem to be at odds with good management practices. These may include paying an invoice from a vendor without understanding what was promised or what was actually received, and whether what was received was within the tolerable limits of the SLA. Successful organizations should work to fully understand SLAs and insist that contracts are flexible enough to allow the organization to exit the relationship, if needed. Exiting a service relationship can be a huge issue, and organizations should focus on getting their data back in a usable format, and on planning a cooperative cut-over to any new provider.

Resources:

SOC Reports — Resource page pertaining to Service Organization Control Reports® for CPAs, users and service organizations

Trust Services — Resource page providing an overview of trust services authorities and guidance

Trust Services Principles and Criteria — Overview page highlighting Trust Services Principles and Criteria resources

25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results | 15

10 9 Leveraging Emerging Technologies

Forward-looking CPAs are embracing a range of emerging technologies, from the unprecedented gathering of data by way of the internet of things, big data and cloud computing. Those and other new technologies allow accounting professionals to be more efficient and productive, connect more easily with partners and clients/customers, and drive cost saving and new revenue opportunities.

Experts agree that for any organization to fully realize the benefits of new technologies, senior management must take the time to understand the risks and the opportunities those systems present. Organizations should start by understanding their underlying business objectives, and then work to develop specific plans and policies to deploy new IT capabilities that will benefit the organization and its customers.

The AICPA has been active in the evaluation of emerging technologies for a number of years. CPAs largely recognize those challenges, as demonstrated in the results of our 25th anniversary survey. Accounting professionals are ready and eager to leverage emerging technologies, but most believe they have a lot of work to do in this area of their business.

In the United States, 60% of respondents believe that emerging technologies will be a key factor in their future business success. Forty-two percent of U.S. respondents say they have the capital and the human resources needed to deploy new IT solutions.

Forty-five percent believe they have the knowledge needed to identify new IT-related revenue or cost-saving opportunities, while 43% are confident in their ability to manage a vendor supported emerging technology environment. Thirty-four percent of U.S. respondents believe they are ahead of their competitors when it comes to using new technologies.

In Canada, 58% of respondents believe that emerging technologies will be a key factor in future business success, while 52% say they have the financial and human resources needed to deploy new IT solutions. Forty-four percent say they have the knowledge needed to identify new IT-related revenue or cost-saving opportunities.

As technology continues to improve and the cost of that technology becomes more affordable for even the smallest firm or business, it is predicted that more accounting professionals will embrace these technologies. In some ways, they already have. Today, the “cloud” is really just a metaphor for the Internet, and as such, we are witnessing the migration of business applications from traditional on premise software solutions to cloud-based subscriptions, and inherent in this delivery model is a standards-based approach to common business processes.

In addition, the finance profession is at an inflection point; we are witnessing finance convergence in cloud computing, where users expect to execute business processes on a myriad of hardware devices. They also expect to be able to intuitively leverage common Internet design tenets, such as social collaboration, Google-like search/navigation, and point-and-click report development, in a self-service manner.

Resource:

Cloud Computing — Cloud computing information page with references and resources on multiple types of cloud computing methods: Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Data as a Service (DaaS)

16 | 25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results

TTI SURVEY: NORTH AMERICA KEY INSIGHTS

U.S. Key Insights

U.S. Insight No. 1: Technology Priorities for Accounting Professionals

Securing the IT Environment — Given the frequency of high-profile cybercrime and data breaches, it’s no surprise that accounting professionals have elevated security to the top of their list of IT issues. The focus on security may also reflect efforts to manage the risk of mobile devices and vendor-managed technologies such as cloud-based data and services. Accounting professionals need to become more conversant around the business of the modern cloud operations data centers and associated governing agencies that may monitor or manage emerging datacenters.

Managing and Retaining Data — Accounting professionals continue to recognize the importance of capturing, storing and retrieving information, but there are some privacy issues associated with managing and retaining data.

Managing IT Risks and Compliance — This issue reflects a clear recognition that accounting professionals must have the strategies, systems, and policies needed to manage risks of all kinds, and to satisfy internal and regulatory compliance requirements.

Ensuring Privacy — Accounting professionals continue to rank privacy among their top technology challenges; respondents ranked privacy at a medium- to high-risk level. This underscores the profession’s focus on protecting personal information held by the company. Based on survey results, participants were most concerned about their understanding of privacy-related regulatory and compliance requirements, especially in light of the greater potential to gather more data points by way of the internet of things.

Enabling Decision Support and Analytics — Putting data to work as a tool to assist in making informed predictive decisions remains a top priority for accounting professionals. Other priorities include having a strong alignment between the organization’s strategic goals and reports provided to management, as well as generating reports using high-quality data that is accurate, complete, precise, timely and auditable.

Based on survey results,

participants were most concerned

about their understanding of

privacy-related regulatory and

compliance requirements, especially

in light of the greater potential to

gather more data points by way of

the internet of things.

25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results | 17

U.S. Insight No. 2: 2012–14 Rank Comparison

Accounting professionals are increasingly concerned with security, managing and retaining data, and ensuring privacy, although “privacy” became a bit more important in 2014 than in the previous two years. Given the frequency and severity of data breaches,

respondents continue to rank IT security very high — the top priority for the 25th anniversary edition of the survey — and also elevated the importance of “preventing and responding to computer fraud.” One initiative in particular, “Managing System Implementations,” decreased in importance from 2013 to 2014.

United States Top Technology Initiatives Survey Rankings Comparison

Initiative 2014 2013 2012

Securing the IT Environment 1 2 1

Managing and Retaining Data 2 1 1

Ensuring Privacy 3 4 4

Managing IT Risks and Compliance 4 3 3

Preventing & Responding to Computer Fraud 5 6 9

Enabling Decision Support and Analytics 6 7 7

Managing System Implementations 7 5 6

Governing and Managing IT Investment/Spending 8 8 8

Managing Vendors & Service Providers 9 10 10

Leveraging Emerging Technologies 10 9 5

18 | 25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results

U.S. Insight No. 3: 25th Anniversary TTI survey Confidence Levels

As in previous years, respondents were also asked to gauge their level of confidence in how their organizations, or their client’s organizations, are addressing current technology initiatives.

The following confidence levels are shown in descending order from most confident to least confident. The priority rank indicates the importance respondents attached to each initiative in the 25th anniversary survey.

Obviously, the priority rankings do not correlate to the ranking of the top 10 initiatives. Although every one of the top 10 initiatives is important in terms of confidence levels, the most significant one to focus on is Managing and Retaining Data due to its 55% level, a full 6% higher than any other initiative. Conversely, the ranking of Emerging Technologies at only a 30% confidence level indicates that quite a large majority of U.S. respondents are not confident at all in what lies ahead.

What can be learned from studying these differences? More than any other action, professionals can attempt to learn more about these initiatives so they can provide better advice to their firms, employers and clients/customers. In some cases, these initiatives require a deeper knowledge of business analytics and business intelligence software — tools that are not traditionally associated with CPAs, but which are growing in importance horizontally. Understanding the confidence levels and advising in these areas is also an area where CPA/CITP credential holders can take the lead.

Understanding the confidence levels

and advising in these initiatives is

an area where CPA/CITP credential

holders can take the lead.

Ranking Initiative Confidence Level

2 Managing and Retaining Data 55%

3 Ensuring Privacy 49%

1 Securing the IT Environment 48%

4 Managing IT Risks and Compliance 48%

9 Managing Vendors & Service Providers 48%

5 Preventing and Responding to Computer Fraud 47%

8 Governing and Managing IT Investment/Spending 46%

7 Managing System Implementations 45%

6 Enabling Decision Support and Analytics 40%

10 Leveraging Emerging Technologies 30%

25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results | 19

U.S. Insight No. 4: Market Segment Perspectives

The following are the top 10 technology priorities from four major U.S. segments:

U.S. Market Segment Rankings BusinessPublic

AccountingNot-for-

ProfitConsulting

Initiative Ranking

Securing the IT Environment 1 2 1 2

Managing and Retaining Data 2 1 5 1

Ensuring Privacy 4 3 4 3

Managing IT Risks and Compliance 3 5 3 5

Preventing and Responding to Computer Fraud 6 4 6 6

Enabling Decision Support and Analytics 5 6 2 4

Managing System Implementations 7 7 7 7

Governing and Managing IT Investment/Spending 8 8 8 9

Managing Vendors & Service Providers 9 9 9 8

Leveraging Emerging Technologies 10 10 10 10

20 | 25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results

U.S. Market Segment Percentages BusinessPublic

AccountingNot-for-

ProfitConsulting

Initiative 2014 Ranking Ranking

Securing the IT Environment 1 71% 60% 69% 59%

Managing and Retaining Data 2 66% 63% 53% 63%

Ensuring Privacy 3 53% 60% 57% 59%

Managing IT Risks and Compliance 4 59% 46% 59% 56%

Preventing and Responding to Computer Fraud 5 43% 52% 49% 52%

Enabling Decision Support and Analytics 6 48% 27% 64% 57%

Managing System Implementations 7 47% 26% 39% 39%

Governing and Managing IT Investment/Spending 8 35% 25% 31% 35%

Managing Vendors & Service Providers 9 30% 25% 31% 35%

Leveraging Emerging Technologies 10 28% 18% 31% 32%

25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results | 21

U.S. Insight No. 5: Geographical Perspectives

The responses from U.S. regions — Northeast, Midwest, West and Southeast — were analyzed separately.

U.S. results were notably similar in their rankings of top IT issues. All regions agreed on the top three priorities relating to security, managing data and ensuring privacy. Slight regional variations were seen in the ranked order of other issues.

U.S. Geographical Rankings Northeast Midwest West Southeast

Initiative Ranking

Securing the IT Environment 1 1 1 1

Managing and Retaining Data 2 2 2 1

Ensuring Privacy 3 3 3 3

Managing IT Risks and Compliance 4 4 4 4

Preventing and Responding to Computer Fraud 5 5 5 5

Enabling Decision Support and Analytics 7 6 6 6

Managing System Implementations 6 7 7 7

Governing and Managing IT Investment/Spending 10 8 8 8

Managing Vendors & Service Providers 9 9 9 10

Leveraging Emerging Technologies 8 10 10 9

22 | 25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results

U.S. Geographical Percentages Northeast Midwest West Southeast

Initiative Ranking Percentage

Securing the IT Environment 1 72% 70% 71% 71%

Managing and Retaining Data 2 68% 69% 69% 72%

Ensuring Privacy 3 62% 60% 67% 61%

Managing IT Risks and Compliance 4 57% 59% 56% 55%

Preventing & Responding to Computer Fraud

5 53% 48% 52% 52%

Enabling Decision Support and Analytics 6 37% 41% 40% 41%

Managing System Implementations 7 43% 41% 37% 41%

Governing and Managing IT Investment/Spending

8 27% 43% 30% 30%

Managing Vendors & Service Providers 9 27% 32% 28% 26%

Leveraging Emerging Technologies 10 29% 24% 23% 28%

25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results | 23

CANADIAN TTI SURVEY FURTHER ANALYSIS

Canadian Key Insights

Canadian Insight No. 1: Technology Priorities for Accounting Professionals

Securing the IT Environment — Like their U.S.-based counterparts, Canadian accounting professionals are also very concerned about security, ranking “Securing the IT Environment” as the No. 1 priority. This focus on security may reflect efforts to manage the risk of mobile devices and vendor-managed technologies such as the continuing emergence of a myriad of cloud-based data and services.

Managing and Retaining Data — Canadian respondents indicate an interest in the capture, storage and retrieval of information. Certainly, managing and retaining data impacts privacy issues in Canada. Under Canadian privacy legislation, and as required under AICPA and CPA Canada’s Generally Accepted Privacy Principles, significant restrictions are placed on the collection, use, storage and sharing of individually-identifiable information. Companies must be transparent; they have a legal obligation concerning what they want from the data they collect.

Managing IT Risks and Compliance — This issue reflects a clear recognition that accounting professionals must have the strategies, systems and policies needed to manage risks of all kinds, and to satisfy internal and regulatory compliance requirements.

Ensuring Privacy — Canadian accounting professionals rank privacy among their top-five technology challenges; respondents ranked privacy at a medium- to high-risk level. This underscores the profession’s focus on protecting personal information held by the company. Based on survey results, participants were most concerned about having a privacy policy that addresses the requirements and risks appropriate to the size of an organization and industry, and to have a good understanding of privacy-related regulatory and compliance requirements.

Enabling Decision Support and Analytics — In the 25th anniversary survey, accounting professionals in Canada continue to name decision support and analytics as a key priority. Other priorities include having a strong alignment between the organization’s strategic goals and reports provided to management, as well as generating reports using high-quality data that is accurate, complete, precise, timely and auditable.

Under Canadian privacy legislation,

and as required under AICPA and

CPA Canada’s Generally Accepted

Privacy Principles, significant

restrictions are placed on the

collection, use, storage and

sharing of individually-identifiable

information. Companies must be

transparent ...

24 | 25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results

Canadian Insight No. 2: 2013–14 Rank Comparison

As with their colleagues elsewhere in North America, the priorities of Canadian accounting professionals have shifted somewhat in recent years. The 25th anniversary

survey illustrates a continued focus on technology-related risk, security and data privacy. Note 2012 rankings are not available for Canada.

Canadian Top Technology Initiatives Survey Rankings

Initiative 20142013

Ranking

Securing the IT Environment 1 2

Managing and Retaining Data 2 1

Managing IT Risks and Compliance 3 4

Ensuring Privacy 4 6

Enabling Decision Support and Analytics 5 3

Managing System Implementations 6 7

Preventing and Responding to Computer Fraud 7 9

Governing and Managing IT Investment/Spending 8 5

Leveraging Emerging Technologies 9 8

Managing Vendors & Service Providers 10 10

25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results | 25

Canadian Insight No. 3: 25th Anniversary TTI Survey Confidence Levels

As in 2013, respondents were also asked to gauge their level of confidence in how their organizations, or their client’s organizations, are addressing current technology initiatives.

The confidence levels are shown below, in descending order from most confident to least confident. The Priority Rank indicates the importance respondents attached to each initiative in the 25th anniversary survey.

Obviously, the Priority Rankings do not exactly correlate to the ranking of the Top 10 Initiatives.

What can be learned from studying these differences? More than any other action, professionals can attempt to learn more about these initiatives so they can provide better advice to their firms, employers and clients/customers. Understanding the confidence levels and advising in these areas is also an area where professional accountants can take the lead.

Ranking Initiative Confidence Level

2 Managing and Retaining Data 69%

1 Securing the IT Environment 68%

7 Ensuring Privacy 67%

10 Preventing and Responding to Computer Fraud 63%

5 Managing IT Risks and Compliance 61%

6 Managing System Implementations 60%

9 Managing Vendors & Service Providers 58%

3 Enabling Decision Support and Analytics 54%

4 Governing and Managing IT Investment/Spending 54%

8 Leveraging Emerging Technologies 36%

26 | 25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results

Canadian Insight No. 4: Impact of Technology Initiatives

The following chart depicts the percent of Canadian survey respondents who are confident or highly

confident in the ability of their organization, or their client’s organization, to address these technology initiatives. Note that 2012 rankings are not available for Canada.

2014 2013

Initiative RankingConfidence

LevelRanking

Confidence Level

Managing and Retaining Data 2 69% 1 57%

Securing the IT Environment 1 68% 2 56%

Ensuring Privacy 7 67% 6 53%

Preventing and Responding to Computer Fraud 10 63% 9 47%

Managing IT Risks and Compliance 5 61% 4 57%

Managing System Implementations 6 60% 7 47%

Managing Vendors & Service Providers 9 58% 10 42%

Governing and Managing IT Investment/Spending 4 54% 5 38%

Enabling Decision Support & Analytics 3 54% 3 33%

Leveraging Emerging Technologies 8 36% 8 22%

25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results | 27

TTI SUMMARY

The analysis and conclusions drawn from the 25th anniversary TTIs are presented in this white paper so that CPAs and accounting professionals throughout North America can improve their own knowledge and understanding of the TTIs and, perhaps more importantly, help advise their firms, clients and employers how to manage and implement these initiatives into their organizations.

Although it seems that any IT professional or consultant can also provide advice and counsel, accounting professionals are in an advantageous position to take a leading role. Not only are accountants intimately familiar with their clients’ and employers’ businesses, their trusted advisor status elevates them to a much higher, more impactful level in many aspects of the business marketplace.

Because technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, it is an immense challenge for client and employer organizations to keep up with everything they need to know to stay ahead of their own stakeholders and customers they serve. As a result, business owners will look to their accounting professional to inspire and inform in all-things technology.

Today’s accounting professionals are well qualified to lead businesses through technology’s complex requirements, and ensure a safe, secure and profitable use of today’s new technologies to enhance organizational performance and profits.

Although it seems that any IT

professional or consultant can

also provide advice and counsel,

accounting professionals are in

an advantageous position to take

a leading role.

28 | 25th Anniversary Edition of the North America Top Technology Initiatives Survey Results

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