July 1999 Issue

Survey Reports CPA Computer and Internet Use

By Bruce H. Nearon, CPA

Members of the NYSSCPA Emerging Technologies Committee's Generation G Subcommittee surveyed attendees about their computer and Internet skill level on May 26 at the 1999 CPAs' Finance, Business and Technology Show & Conference. The subcommittee conducted the survey to reach out to members who are not taking advantage of technology and find out why. Although the results are still being analyzed, here are some of the preliminary findings.

Of the 124 CPAs at the show who completed the survey, 96 percent said they have a computer on their desk.
Of those, 61 percent assessed their skill level as intermediate and 20 percent as power user; only 19 percent considered themselves novices.

For all skill levels, the three most popular applications were word processing (80 percent), e-mail (72 percent), and spreadsheets (69 percent). Surprisingly, Web browsers (60 percent) edged out tax preparation (56 percent) for the fourth and fifth spots.

For novices, the three most popular applications were tax preparation (50 percent), business management (50 percent), and a tie between personal finance and web browser (48 percent), followed by word processing (42 percent), e-mail (42 percent), and spreadsheets (42 percent).

The survey also asked CPAs to assess their Internet use. For CPAs at all skill levels, the most popular uses of the Internet were research (90 percent) and e-mail (81 percent).

The most surprising result was the amount of online transactions conducted by CPAs, with 35 percent of those surveyed making online purchases and 25 percent booking vacations online.

Readers are cautioned not to generalize these results. The results may have been biased in favor of technology-savvy CPAs since those surveyed were attending a show and conference with a technology theme. *