Letters

Technology Column Gets an A
Once again Technology Q&A discussed an Excel feature that previously I had noticed only in passing. My knowledge of hyperlinks was limited to guessing they had something to do with Web sites. After reading “Create an Excel Contents Tab” (JofA, Aug.05, page 87) and playing with the menu for a few minutes, I much better understand the application of the feature. I had a similar experience with the discussion of conditional formatting (“Shade Alternating Rows or Columns,” page 88).

I live and breathe Excel in my daily work. However, it seems there often are features and tricks I had no knowledge of that may improve my work or make it more interesting. I get more information that directly affects me from this monthly column than the rest of the JofA. Keep up the great work.

John Keegan
Controller
Duferco Steel Inc.
Oakhurst, N.J.

Former Andersen Partner Speaks Out
Barry Melancon’s Letter From the President (JofA, Jul.05, page 8) is self-serving and misleading. One might wonder why a retired Andersen partner and former chairman of the AICPA Tax Section (that would be me) would be critical of that letter or express anything but appreciation for the AICPA’s assistance in the recent Supreme Court case, which overturned Andersen’s criminal conviction.

Andersen committed no crime, and in fact followed professional standards, in removing extraneous papers from the files.

The letter points out that

The Supreme Court vindication of Andersen is “a bittersweet victory” for all 28,000 ex-Andersen employees (and, I’d add, partners);

The AICPA filed an amicus curiae brief supporting Andersen’s successful position; and

None of us can ever know how Andersen would have fared “without the criminal verdict.”

So, what is my problem with the AICPA and with Mr. Melancon’s letter? The AICPA’s actions were too little and much too late. The indictment of the firm, not the conviction, brought Andersen down. I cannot recall, and have been unable to find, evidence of expressed AICPA support for AA and opposition to the indictment at a time when they might have had some actual impact. I understand the AICPA did many things behind the scenes, but I would have preferred more public support at the time.

Mr. Melancon’s letter seems to be an attempt to take credit on behalf of the AICPA for its recent actions that may have helped Andersen achieve its 9-0 Pyrrhic victory. The reason for filing the amicus brief was that “other CPAs might be subject to the statute that laid the foundation for the government’s case.” But how will that help other CPAs whose firms might be destroyed by a mere decision to indict the firm?

Press reports indicate that KPMG escaped immediate indictment largely based on the lessons learned in Andersen. If the Supreme Court decision helps present and future firms, that is commendable, but the AICPA’s failure to speak out when it might have really made a difference to Andersen and its personnel is deplorable.

Leonard Podolin, CPA
Haverford, Pa.

The Right Tools
Reading “Mass Mailings Made Simple” (JofA, Apr.05, page 48) reminded me of the old story about the handyman who owned only a screwdriver, so he used the handle to drive nails. While the article is interesting, it does not do the accounting profession a service.

Why do so many of my CPA brethren continue to waste their most valuable asset—time—using screwdrivers instead of the right tools? Technology is a tool begging to be used.

With products such as ACT!, Sage CRM and SalesLogix, mass mailings are simple to create. Too often, when I consult to members of our profession, I understand why so many of their clients are afraid to invest in being more efficient: Their trusted advisers are often too lacking in knowledge to point them in the right direction.

Let’s publish articles that point us to the future, not bury us in the past.

Arthur E. Nathan, CPA/CITP
President
Solution Strategists, Inc.
Cranford, N.J.

Authors’ reply: We agree there are other products designed to facilitate the creation of mailing lists, and these products do a great job. However, the purpose of this article was to show how easy it is to use Microsoft Word, an application found on most desktops, to do simple mail-merge tasks. In our experience, we have seen many people who are unaware of Word’s built-in capabilities.

For others, Word’s functionality is more than sufficient, and they already are familiar with the interface. Our research indicates that people prefer to use Microsoft Office when possible, even when specialty applications exist that are more powerful.

We encourage readers who plan to spend a large portion of their time doing mass mailings to buy and learn to use an application specifically designed for that. For simple mass mailings, Word does a good job, and you don’t have to buy and learn another software package.

Bonnie Brinton Anderson, PhD
Larysa V. Oprya
Marshall B. Romney, CPA, PhD
Brigham Young University
Provo, Utah

What About the Micro Firm?
I have long believed the AICPA was too involved with big firms, and not concerned enough with the one-, two- or three-partner firm.

When I read the article, “Nothing Succeeds Like Succession” (JofA, Jul.05, page 63), I noted the chart indicated a five-partner, three-manager firm with who knows how many staff. This was a good article for that size firm, but my question is, What should the two-partner, three-staff person do? I don’t know how many of us are in small firms vs. bigger, but in my town the average is probably two partners, three staff. If you want the small practitioner to get his money’s worth from membership, you need to address our part of the marketplace. How about a succession-planning article for the micro firm?

Ken Gardner, CPA
Boulder, Colo.

Editor’s note: Here are a few features the JofA has published on this topic that are of interest to smaller firms: “Price Equals Value Plus Terms” (Dec.04, page 67); “Who Will Take the Reins?” (Aug.04, page 45); “Have a Fallback Plan” (Sep.03, page 57); “The Single-Participant 401(k)” (Mar.03, page 49).