Doing business on the Internet.

The Internet's World Wide Web is the place to be--whether you're in public accounting or in industry or whether you're browsing for information, shopping for products or services or selling them. This article will tell you why you should be there and what it takes to get there.

The Internet was designed initially as a communications vehicle for sending person-to-person messages or for broadcasting to wider audiences. But it didn't take long for Internet techies to recognize that if you could pass messages back and forth on the Net, there was no reason why you couldn't construct virtual way stations--electronic sites anyone on the Internet could visit either to pick up a posted message addressed to no one in particular or to deposit one for anyone passing by. So, with some programming wizardry, the World Wide Web (www) was double-decked onto the Internet as one of the byways of what was to become the information highway. Web sites proliferated as users quickly realized that these virtual locations, which took only clever programming to construct, were electronic analogues of a storefront or an office. Internet users dubbed them "home pages." Once inside the home page, visitors can be directed to any number of other Web sites for more information.

These home pages quickly became more than way stations for messages. The programmers, not satisfied with just a stark image on a screen, added inviting graphics and sound clips to get Internet surfers to linger awhile. They also added hypertext-- software technique that allows a visitor who double-clicks on a word, icon or graphic to call up more information by being electronically transported to a related site on the Web.

Presto, the Web was transformed from just a fanciful playground for cybertechies into a serious business resource with vast commercial potential. And the cost of admission was relatively little.

Why should an organization establish a presence on the Web? Because it's an inexpensive way to reach millions of clients, customers and prospects. It's estimated that some 30 million people have access to the Internet. And that number is growing rapidly. While such raw numbers are impressive, what's more important is that the cost of establishing and maintaining a Web presence is not necessarily related to the size of the potential audience.

An even more significant reason for being on the Net: The inherent design of a home page--where anyone interested lingers for more information-- makes it a medium automatically customized by the audience itself: If people are interested, they will not only come, they will dig for more information.

What should that mean to the accounting profession?

Whether you're in public or management accounting, your business should be figuring out how it can use and benefit from the Web--for marketing and sales or for working with customers or clients.

And note well: Your competitors are either already on the Net or getting ready to launch.

--Stanley Zarowin

Gaining a presence on the Internet's World Wide Web with your own home page a site analogous to a billboard on the information highway used to be an expensive and arduous task best left to a handful of programming experts. Today, thanks to the introduction of a wide assortment of easy-to-use software, this project has become much simpler. While many contractors will do the job at relatively modest prices, it can be a do-it-yourself project even for those without programming skills. All that's needed is the interest and a few hours' time. Before deciding whether to tackle the job on your own or to contract it out, there are some things you should know.

HOW WEB PAGES WORK

The terms "Web site" and "home page" are often used interchangeably, but technically they are not quite the same. While a home page is a Web site, a Web site need not be a home page. A home page is a primary electronic address that an organization or person may create on the World Wide Web (often referred to as "the Web" or "WWW"). Think of the home page as the location of an electronic front door to a store--the first point of entry for a visitor. Once there, the visitor is presented with a menu of possibilities: Clicking on a key figure carries you electronically to another Web site, which then serves up the subject promised by the hypertext. Sound and video also can be incorporated into a Web site. For an illustration of the overall Web structure, see exhibit 1, page 45.

Using the example in that exhibit, a user clicks on a key word, such as DATABASES, which initiates a hypertext link to another Web site that contains information about databases. From that page, the user can then click on US TAX CODE, thereby creating yet another link to an online tax code database. Users can always return to the home page no matter how many other jumps they make.

Software programs that create hypertext linkages are called uniform resource locators (URLs). A typical URL address on the Web would look like this:

http://www.esse.com/wired

The "http" stands for "hypertext transfer protocol" and precedes all Web addresses. The "www.esse.com" identifies the location of a specific computer site where the sought-after data are situated. And the word "wired" locates a specific file m that computer site.

BUILDING A WEB SITE

The language of the Web is called hypertext markup language (HTML). Every Web page is constructed of HTML code. You can program your Web pages in several ways: by using HTML code or by using standalone editor programs that automatically generate HTML code or add-on packages for various word processing programs that create the special code. Since few people have the time to learn a programming language, we will focus only on standalone editors and the add-on products for word processors. Exhibit 2, page 46, presents the names, prices, requirements and Web addresses of a representative sample of standalone and add-on HTML editors. Some provide only basic features, while others offer full WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) graphics so you can view your Web pages while they are under construction Since the look of Web pages differs depending on which browser program is used to access your page, preview your Web pages using several popular Web browsers (for example, Netscape Navigator or Internet Anywhere). A "browser" is special software designed to search the Web and view its contents.

Prices of HTML editors vary from free to about $100. Experiment with some of the freeware (offered by publishers at no cost) and shareware (you can try out these products at no cost, and if you like them, you are "invited" to pay the publisher a modest fee and in exchange receive either the full documentation or a software key that lets you use the product more effectively). We recommend you take a look at Easy HTML, Hot Dog, HTMLed or WEB Wizard; they are stable (that is, resistant to failures) and user friendly.

If you want to learn more about these products, go to the WWW addresses listed in exhibit 2. For an extensive list of HTML editors, see Mag's Big List of HTML Editors at http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/ html/editors.html

Four add-on editors in the table produce HTML code directly from screens you design on your word processor. The dialog boxes, tool bars and pop-up menus make the lob relatively easy. They contain other handy features. For example, Quarterdeck's WebAuthor allows complete access to Word for Windows' editing tools such as spell check and thesaurus, WYSIWYG document creation, online help and tutorials, forms management, support for various hypertext links and GIF (a graphic format) filters compatible with CompuServe. While the current crop of add-on products aren't yet as sophisticated as standalone HTML editors, future updates likely will be more robust. GETTING ONLINE

Once your Web pages are constructed, there are two ways to put them online: pay a monthly fee to an Internet service provider (ISP) or build and maintain your own sites--a service called hosting. Most small organizations should contract with an ISR 

Many ISPs also offer a Web page construction service for a fee, which is clearly the easiest route. Form and content control are in your hands In addition, most ISPs will place your Web pages on their Web site, a service called "hosting." While many commercial ISPs offer Web page construction and hosting services, we restrict our discussion to a representative list of nine shown in exhibit 3, page 46. Three--Alterdial, CompuServe and 1-Link--do not provide Web page construction in-house; rather they contract that service from third parties We do not include pricing schedules because fee structures are often complicated and vary considerably from one ISP to another.

A typical small home page costs at least $90 per month, after development and initial setup Prices for sites with larger data storage needs and a higher number of monthly visitors rise sharply. For example, IBM Internet's price is $1,200 to develop and set up a home page while the basic monthly hosting fee is $785.

Web page construction, hosting and maintenance are emerging service areas, hence specific service offerings and price schedules vary considerably from one ISP to another. It's likely that Web page construction prices soon will be falling as competition increases and service offerings expand.

Some users might wish to consider establishing their own Web server--the computer that serves up the data of a Web site. In that case, they will need a direct Internet connection and Web server hardware and software. Exhibit 4, above, lists several software products that will work with most existing computer hardware. In general, though, for a Web operation to run fast enough so that users aren't frustrated by long pauses, it's best to dedicate a computer to the task. Consult with the vendors to determine how powerful the computer should be to handle the expected volume of your audience.

If you're looking for a complete turnkey operation-- software and hardware--there are vendors which supply that, too (see exhibit 5, above). Your Web server hardware should be either a Unix or a Windows NT server. Unix has been the most popular operating system over the last few years; however, the number of Web servers based on Windows NT is rapidly expanding. There also are Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Sun and Hewlett-Packard software products.

INNOVATIVE BUSINESS

Organizations could use their Web servers to provide an innovative client or customer service. For example, on a relatively small scale, a CPA firm could become an Internet provider--that is, clients could pay a fee for placing their proprietary Web pages on its server for distribution across the Web.

CPA firms could promote creative business concepts to clients. For example, from the home page of White Rabbit Toys of Ann Arbor, Michigan (http://www.toystore.com), customers can shop for toys all over the world. Another example is Egghead of Issaquah, Washington (http:// www.egghead.corn), a nationwide chain of computer equipment retail outlets. Its customers can get information about software products and make purchases.

Once clients begin to understand how a presence on the WWW can serve their business interests, a CPA firm can offer management advisory services such as Web page construction, consulting, training and host services.

Accountants should begin experimenting with Internet services as soon as possible to figure out the most effective way to exploit this new technology.

[TABULAR DATA OMITTED]

Home Page:

A Do-It-Yourself Project

Setting up your own home page can be as simple as, well, pointing and clicking. Here are your options:

* If you subscribe to one of the major Internet access providers, you don't even have to locate special software to do the job. The three major providers, America Online, CompuServe and Prodigy, invite their subscribers to set up home pages, and they even provide the necessary tools--all at no charge. Once constructed, your home page will be resident on that Internet provider's computer at no charge. But although it's on the provider's computer, nonsubscribers still can access it as they would any other Internet Web site.

One drawback: You cannot use your own name domain, which means your home page address must have the provider's name attached. Thus a typical address with CompuServe would be http://ourworld.compuserve. com/homepages/yourname

Although the technology is simple to use, it can create reasonably sophisticated home pages--with sound, handsome graphics and hypertext--so the visitor can jump to related Web pages. A simple design would take you an hour or less to do. The services provide ample storage space for reasonably sophisticated graphics and data--from one to two megabytes. If you need more space, the services levy a charge.

The CompuServe service is called WebCentral. On America Online go to Personal Publisher. And for Prodigy go to Personal Home Pages.

* If your Internet provider does not offer such a service, you can still do your own home page--only now you will have to locate the necessary software as advised in this article.

Once the Web site is designed, you will have to locate an Internet-access provider to host your page. Check with your own provider and see if such a service is available. Otherwise, call one of the organizations listed in this article.

Recommendation: It's to your advantage to experiment with Web sites now. Even if you do not see any immediate commercial value, there is a strong likelihood that opportunities will open up. So a little investigating now--which also could be fun--could turn out to be priceless.

--Stanley Zarowin

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

* GAINING A PRESENCE on the Internet's World Wide Web with your own home page--analogous to a billboard on the information highway--used to be an expensive and arduous task. Today, the project has become much simpler.

* WHILE MANY CONTRACTORS are available to do the job at relatively modest prices, it can be a quick do-it-yourself project.

* THE LANGUAGE OF THE WEB is called Hypertext Markup Language--a complicated program. But there are programs that let you use most popular word processing programs to write the programming code that goes into creating a Web site.

* TO GET ON THE WEB, users can either pay a monthly fee to an Internet service provider or build their own Web sites.

* A PROPRIETARY WEB SERVER could serve to host your Web pages. Organizations could turn their Web server into an innovative client or customer service.

* ONCE CLIENTS BEGIN to understand how a presence on the WWW can serve their business interests, a CPA firm can offer Web-related management advisory services.

* ACCOUNTANTS SHOULD BEGIN experimenting with Internet services as soon as possible to determine the best way to exploit this technology.

CHARLES HOLLEY, CPA, DBA, is an accounting professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the American Accounting Association and the Institute of Internal Auditors. JAMES E. HUNTON, CPA, PhD, is assistant professor of accounting at Virginia Commonwealth University. He is a member of the AICPA, the AAA and the Information Systems Audit & Control Association.

CASE STUDIES

CPAs Who Profit from Home Pages

Carolyn Sechler's home page is only about a year old, yet the Internet already generates nearly 20% of her billing. And she expects the business from that source will double by year's end. Sechler, a partner of Schwartz Cohen & Co., Phoenix, created the home page in early 1995. It can be viewed at http://www.indirect. /www/carolyn

The home page has produced other benefits for the firm, too: It has improved the level of accounting and auditing services the firm provides clients. For example, when clients ask the firm to help with research about a product or company, the staff can efficiently wade through large amounts of information in a short time on the Web. Clients accept this time as billable charges.

Alan Friedman, a partner of Friedman, Kannenberg & Co. in West Hartford, Connecticut, reports as many as 2,500 visitors on its home page in six months, resulting in 5 to 10 new clients. Its home page can be seen at http://www.csiworld.com/ friedman

While not every firm experiences the same success at attracting new clients, most still view their home pages as successes because they increase name recognition. For example, J. Christopher McGrath, a CPA who maintains a home page for Caldwell & Bodenheimer of Baltimore, says solicitations were not the firm's main objective. "We don't expect our Web page to bring us new clients immediately," he explains. "Our marketing plan is to get people to add their names to our newsletter mailing list." McGrath's home page is at http://www. covesoft.com/caldwell

Gart Huygen, information system administrator with Rowbotham & Company, San Francisco, designed his firm's home page using a software package called HoTMetal Pro that cost $149. "It took me about a week to learn the software and four weeks to design and upload about 21 pages," Huygen says. Maintenance, he adds, is now about an hour a week. The home page is viewable at http://www.rowbotham.com/~cpas

It's not necessary to be a computer wizard to design a home page. Paula Gilles Maurano, CPA, of Paula Gilles Maurano & Co., Menlo Park, California, says her 13-year-old son Matthew designed her home page (viewable at http://www.maurano. com). He used Microsoft Word and tools downloaded from the Web.

Some accountants got into home pages almost by accident. "Initially I was just looking for e-mail capability to better communicate with some clients in Florida, Georgia and Kansas," says Patricia H. Kaufman, CPA, a sole practitioner in Ohio. "However, once I got online and began to browse the Net, I saw a tremendous business opportunity and began to realize that our profession no longer needs to be limited by geography;'

What advice would experienced users give to colleagues thinking about putting up a home page? Gary R. Gomola of Coughlin & Gomola, Middletown, Connecticut, recommends designing a page that not only looks good but is packed with useful information. "I have seen a few sites that are nothing more than a name, address and phone number. Our site offers clients a lot of business-related links," he says. His site can be seen at http://www.connix.com/~garyg

"Remember 'location, location, location,'" says McGrath of Caldwell & Bodenheimer. "Think about paying to advertise your Web page in a place that gets a lot of traffic." That it could be a newspaper or magazine or a local popular Web site.

David Hardesty, a CPA with Markle Stuckey Hardesty & Bott, Larkspur, California, adds this advice: "Don't just create an online sales brochure. People want information they can use. We offer good tax planning articles, worthwhile advice on dealing with the IRS and industry-specific accounting and tax ideas. Design for content, not graphics. Hire an Internet marketing firm to help promote your page." His site is at ttp://www.mshb.com/mshb.com

DAVID M. COTTRELL, CPA, PhD, is a assistant professor at the School of Accountancy and Information Systems, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. He is a member of the American Accounting Association. MARSHALL B. ROMNEY, CPA, PhD, is a professor at the same university. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, AAA and the Institute's information technology executive committee.