#42 Relying on the Internet for Answers
Jul 7th, 2009 by pfi
Accountants know the answer to everything, provided that everything first shows up in the first few results of a Google search.
Accountants rely on web search for everything. Financial ratios, stock quotes, exchange rates, press releases, and lunch spots – everything is a click away.
Since Google is the current reigning market leader, we can just assume that accountants Google for everything. Google is pretty much the ultimate resource.
The amazing thing about Google is that it allows accountants to answer seemingly obscure yet basic questions. Accountants don’t need to have a copy of every tax form, excel template, or printer driver as these are all a search away. If somebody asks an accountant about Excel formatting, all an accountant has to do is type in the original question word for word in Google, and the accountant gets the answer.
For resources like accounting pronouncements, Google may not actually be the source for the best answer. Accountants sometimes have to rely on (gasp) company databases for the unimportant stuff: SABs, TPAs, company guidance, etc.
It’s also important to note that while college students use Wikipedia, accountants love Wikipedia.
It’s a good thing the internet was invented or accountants would be stuck working in an environment without Facebook, Twitter, or Youtube.
This post couldn’t be more true. As an intern, instead of making a fool of myself by asking stupid questions, I always turn to google for the answers.
Nothing beats spending time at work googling stuff like: http://tinyurl.com/nfwzav
I can’t live without google search. I’ve literally structured my entire learning patterns around it. Very scary but sort of like an addiction. You know its bad for you but it feels so good when you get your fix:)
Robert
AccountingNation.com
This is very accurate. I cannot count the number of times I have used FX rate sites such as Oanda for current and historical data. Also, because we often receive documents in various foreign languages, translators such as Babelfish prove to be incredibly useful even though the translation always ends up in broken English. This wouldn’t be possible without the Internet!
Do CPA’s grow on trees? If not, then why are they treated like they do?
This is so true…as a fellow Intern, I definitely turned to Google often to prevent myself from looking like a total idiot. :s
It is so much easier to just google a topic than to navigate through the official firm guidance/ policy.
Sooo true Bill. Our search function never turns up anything useful. The problem is Google doesn’t seem to have the answers for firm-specific questions =(.
just looked up yet another acronym on wikipedia. now, when my manager asks what the heck that means, i get to make her look dumb. success!