|
|
Article: Is an accountant just an old computer? (includes related article on the National Society of Accountants' 52nd Annual Convention and Exposition)(Special Issue: Technology Solutions)
- Article from:
- The National Public Accountant
- Article date:
- June 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 National Society of Public Accountants. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
In 1963, John F. Kennedy said, "The greatest computer is still the human mind." Is this statement still true? Since the '60s there have been great strides in artificial intelligence, so much so that in 1982, Time magazine's "Man of the Year" was not a man at all, but a computer.
As accountants, we are faced with perceptions and realities. We often have to sift through our clients' perceptions and guide them to accepting and presenting the realities to the public and themselves. But perceptions still haunt us, and spurred on by Madison Avenue, our clients can begin to doubt our usefulness. Like the pills that are supposed to cure all of our ills, the computer has ...