Are you ready to do business on the Internet?The Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the holds great commercial promise for industry, not-for-profit Not-for-profit An organization established for charitable, humanitarian, or educational purposes that is exempt from some taxes and in which no one in profits or losses. organizations, government and CPA (Computer Press Association, Landing, NJ) An earlier membership organization founded in 1983 that promoted excellence in computer journalism. Its annual awards honored outstanding examples in print, broadcast and electronic media. The CPA disbanded in 2000. firms. But how ready is your organization for such a move? This checklist is designed to help answer that question. OPEN FOR BUSINESS ON THE INTERNET ** How will the Internet open your target market? ** Which aspects of your organization will be able to take advantage of the Internet? Which will not? ** Does your organization have the resources to extend its business beyond its current geographical boundaries? ** Is your organization prepared to "go global"? Be sure to consider * The probable effect on accounting requirements, which differ from nation to nation. * Tax issues--from a multinational approach to the need to meet a specific nation's tax laws. * Import and export requirements. * How the cultural differences in a foreign country would affect the business--from marketing to human resources The fancy word for "people." The human resources department within an organization, years ago known as the "personnel department," manages the administrative aspects of the employees. . * Inventory and logistics infrastructure. * Foreign currency transactions, translations and risks. SECURITY ** Do you have a security, system (called a "firewall") to protect your network from intruders seeking to steal or corrupt your data? ** Is your accounting software ready to accept data generated on the Internet? ** Does your disaster recovery plan cover your Internet activity? Has that part of the plan been tested? ** How will you authenticate (1) To verify (guarantee) the identity of a person or company. To ensure that the individual or organization is really who it says it is. See authentication and digital certificate. (2) To verify (guarantee) that data has not been altered. customers and suppliers you encounter on the Internet? Likewise, how will you authenticate transactions? ** How will customers pay for purchases made on the Internet? Is the payment mechanism reliable and secure? ** How does an auditor limit detection risk across the Internet? ** How do you prevent or detect transaction errors? CUSTOMER FOCUS ** Does using the Internet change the target or scope of your market? ** How does the Internet help you satisfy your customers' wants and needs? ** Will your customers use the Internet for the long term? MARKETING ** Are you prepared to invest in the development and maintenance of a home page on the Internet? MARK ECKMAN, CPA, CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor) The award for successful completion of an examination in information systems audit, control and security from the Information Security Audit and Control Association. See ISACA. , the district manager for financial management architecture policies at AT&T, is chair of the American Institute of CPAs information technology research subcommittee sub·com·mit·tee n. A subordinate committee composed of members appointed from a main committee. subcommittee Noun . |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion