The American Institute of CPAs' top technologies list for 2002 ranks business and financial reporting at the top of the list. The topic rose from No. 3 in 2002. AICPA suspects this rise was driven by concerns raised in the wake of Enron. Wayne Harding, a member of the AICPA's Top Technologies Task Force and Information Technology Executive Committee, officially announced the 2002 rankings during a presentation at the AICPA's TECH 2002 Conference in Washington.

"The very nature of financial reporting - its purpose and significance - is now a major part of the national debate," explained Mr. Harding, "so it makes sense that reporting applications would figure so prominently on the list."

The full listing of the top ten issues for 2002, in order of importance, is as follows:

1. Business and Financial Reporting Applications
2. Training and Technology Competency
3. Information Security and Controls
4. Quality of Service
5. Disaster Recovery (includes business continuation and contingency planning)
6. Communication Technologies - Bandwidth
7. Remote Connectivity Tools
8. Web-based and Web-enabled Applications (Internet)
9. Qualified IT Personnel
10. Messaging Applications (e-mail, faxing, voicemail, instant messaging)

The rankings were determined by a web-based survey of those who hold the CITP (Certified Information Technology Professional) credential. Additional details are available on the applications, issues, technologies and emerging technologies included in the AICPA's survey.

-Rosemary Schlank