ACCOUNTING AND IT
Information technology strongly influences the way most accountants work. Instantaneous
access to the Internet via mobile communication devices such as cell phones, for example,
enables managerial accountants to complete important work tasks while traveling in the
field, auditors to communicate with each other from remote job sites (but auditing the
same client), staff accountants to text message one another from alternate locations, and
tax experts to download information on tax rulings that are even more current than their
latest CDs.
Figure 1-6 provides an overview of the major areas within the general field of
accounting. This section of the chapter considers the impact of IT on each of them.