CaseWare Working Papers: 3 Tips for an Even Faster Year End
- Darryl Parker
- Tips and Tricks
- minute(s)Whether you are doing quarterly SEC filings or annual PSAB / GASB financial statements, you want to get your financial reporting tasks done as quickly as possible. Who has time to wait while their computer struggles to keep up? You read about how so many others have automated their financial reporting with CaseWare. You bought CaseWare Working Papers to get these same results. But is your computer preventing you from achieving an even faster year end? The official minimum requirements can be found here. This article will further investigate these requirements, give you 3 tips to improve CaseWare's performance and give you a list to send to IT so they can order you the perfect workstation. Operating System Working Papers runs on the Microsoft Windows operating system. Windows 7, 8, and 10 can all be used. If you are using Windows XP, you should make immediate plans to upgrade. At the time of writing, (October, 2015) Windows 10 is fully supported by CaseWare International, but there have been some issues with compatibility. Users should be cautious about using Windows 10 with mission-critical software which has not had a chance to be fully vetted against the new operating system. Further, if you have the opportunity, selecting the 64-bit version of Windows 7 / 8 will facilitate improved performance as these operating systems can take advantage of larger quantities of RAM. Users with Apple or GNU/Linux cannot run Working Papers natively; you will need to run a Virtual Machine system with one of the supported versions of Microsoft Windows installed in it. Hardware At the date of writing, CaseWare International lists these as the minimum technical requirements of the program: 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor. Minimum 1 GB of RAM for 32-bit Wroking Papers or 2 GB of Ram for 64-bit Working Papers. 4 GB and 8 GB respectively are recommended for improved performance. Program requires 500 MB free hard drive space. A monitor with 1280 x 1024 resolution or higher. Internet access is required during the installation of Working Papers. Additional Components Microsoft Internet Explorer 11.0 or higher, as per the Internet Explorer life cycle. Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10.0 or higher. Microsoft Office 2007 Service Pack 3, 2010, 2013, 2016, or the desktop version of Microsoft Office 365. Security and permissions Installation requires local administrative rights to the workstation. Use of Working Papers requires read/write access to the program folder and any folders containing client files. However, in FHBINC's experience, these minimum specifications may provide very poor performance if you are working with larger or more complex files (especially those files containing a large number of consolidation entities). Key Factors in Working Papers Performance The following are key considerations for performance of Working Papers: Location of the Data File Many people work with their CaseWare Working Papers file located on a remote, networked file system. This has many advantages, most importantly the ability to backup and protect the files. However, networked storage is often much, much slower than the hard drive located on your computer. TIP #1: For users working on their files located on a remote file system, the number one thing you can do to improve performance is to move the file on to your local computer. This can be accomplished either by: Using CaseWare SmartSync Using a Thin Client solution Using CaseWare's Sign-Out feature. Processor CaseWare Working Papers is not written to take advantage of multiple cores in your computer's CPU. Frequently, modern processors are designed with many lower-speed cores, and Working Papers does not perform well on these chips. TIP # 2: For optimum Working Papers performance, focus on maximizing single-core speed. RAM 32-bit operating system: As the operating system is limited to utilizing 4 GB of RAM, there is no benefit to having more than this amount. Note in the near future, CaseWare will require the use of 64-bit operating systems. 64-bit operating system: 64-bit versions of Windows are able to make use of a much larger amount of RAM. Although Working Papers 2014 (and earlier versions) are 32-bit applications and only able to use 4 GB of RAM, your computer will benefit from the additional memory for all of the other programs you are running. For this reason, we recommend at least 8 GB of memory. CaseWare International has released a 64-bit version of Working Papers. Thus, the application itself will be able to make much greater use of RAM. Tip # 3: Plan for the future. Considering the low cost of RAM, follow the "More is Better" rule. Hardware specifications for IT Desktop: To maximize the performance of large / complex Working Papers files running on the desktop: Opt for the 64-bit version of Windows 8 or Windows 10 Get a 4th/5th Generation i5 or i7 processor with a base clock speed of 3.2 Ghz or higher Order 16GB or more of RAM Ask for a SSD (solid state drive) if the Working Papers data file is going to be on the local computer Thin Client: If you will be using a thin client approach to providing large / complex Working Papers files to end users, recommendations become a little more complicated. For simplicity in our recommendation below we assume potentially 20 concurrent CaseWare users: Opt for Windows 2012 R2 Standard or better. Get a Xeon E5-xxxx v3 or newer processor with at least 8 cores, no slower than 3 Ghz in a dual processor setup. Order 64GB or more RAM. Ask for an enterprise-grade SSD (solid state drive) in a RAID array and the Working Papers data file hosted on this local computer. Some assumptions about these Thin Client recommendations: As user count increases, systems resources must also increase No virtualization is anticipated in the above specification. If virtualization is to occur, more RAM may be required Network interface must be at least Gigabit
To get the most from CaseWare Working Papers, upgrade from the minimum hardware requirements. A faster year end will likely be the result.
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For Canadian CPAs , what qualifies as CPD?
- Darryl Parker
- Continuing Professional Development
- minute(s)As the dreaded year-end looms, a lot of CPAs are scrambling for Continuing Professional Development credit to fulfill their annual obligation. With the consolidation of CA, CGA & CMA into the new CPA designation, have the rules for CPD changed for you? CPA Canada standards for CPD are now the same nationwide and fall in line with the International Federation of Accountants’ (IFAC). Annual Requirements: 20 hours for all members - ½ must be verifiable* 3-Year Rolling Total: 120 hours for all members - ½ must be verifiable* CPD Exemption: The exemption criteria is based on activity - be sure to check the the Exemption Decision Model for the latest criteria. Verifiable and Unverifiable CPD – What Qualifies? Verifiable Continuing Professional Development credit is earned by participating in an activity that has a verifiable record proving you completed the activity. Tests, exams, publications, attendance records and reports all fit the bill. Some examples of verifiable activities: Publication of papers or books. Research leading to publication. Public speaking at sessions or groups pertaining to the profession. Formal study. Study leading to a designation, diploma or degree. Teaching a course relevant to the profession. Unverifiable Continuing Professional Development credit is earned by participating in an activity that doesn’t produce a product (i.e. paper or book) or keep a record. Some examples of unverifiable study: On-the-job training that pertains to the professional role. Self-study. Reading of professional journals magazines, not part of a specific research application. Where can you get CPD? There are many places to look. Each province's CPA association offer Continuing Professional Development training on their sites (click on any province or territory below):
As a CPA (Chartered Professional Accountant), what qualifies as CPD (Continuing Professional Development)?
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CaseWare 2015 User Interface: Why move from menu to ribbon
- Jamie Black
- What's New
- minute(s)Working Papers 2015 uses a ribbon-based interface. Why is this better for you and your team? "A user interface is the language a program uses to communicate to a user what it is capable of." -Jensen Harris, User Experience Developer Microsoft To understand the Why of CaseWare's recent upgrade, consider Microsoft Office. For Office, top level menu structures were set way back in 1992. In the first version of Word, there were less than 15 menu items. More than twenty years later, in 2003, the top menu selection was the same, despite all the increases in technology. It was the dropdown menues and toolbars that experienced upgrades. Ultimately there were movable menus, animated office assistants, and personalized or intelligent menus that changed their content and ordering every time they were clicked. From the birth of Word to 2003, menu items increased from 15 items to 19 task panes and 30 tool bars featuring hundreds of items to navigate! In 2003, Microsoft’s user experience design team heard time and time again that the user interface (menu layout) was “good enough”, but each upgrade added more complexity. Ultimately, the product and users were being limited by the menu style interface. What did this mean? menus and toolbars were designed for simpler program function and far less full-featured programs; that twenty to thirty years after the toolbar first made its appearance in the user interface, it was no longer practical. all the task panes, menus and toolbars were making the usable document windows smaller and smaller. The solution - Microsoft introduced the "Ribbon" to their Office products. It evolved out of tons of research and innovation, evaluation and redesign. It improves discoverability of the features and simplifies use of the product. To see Jensen Harris, the developer of the Office Ribbon share his story, click here. The ribbon is now considered a very successful shift BUT the ribbon release was not met with universal approval. Long-time Office users found it difficult to learn new ways to get to their end destinations, it was like re-learning how to use Office from scratch. CaseWare Adopts Ribbon in 2015 Much of the Microsoft story could be shared by CaseWare International. What started as a DOS-based program in 1988 has evolved over the last 25 years to become a full-featured, multi-faceted, robust software. The simple top menu style of navigation was no longer adequate to meet the end-users' needs. In fact it could be said that it impaired users. Notice how much better the CaseWare Ribbon (above) is. It logically groups common features and the icons increase understanding of what the feature does. This year, CaseWare Working Papers users may experience the same frustration that Office 2007 users did. Users may have to take a step backward to move forward; to relearn how to navigate the software in order to utilize its full potential. To reduce frustration, headaches and inefficiency caused by this change, we’ve created a training session on the new interface and the most important new and improved features to get you ready before you install. Attending this 2 hour session will provide attendees with: Training on all the major new features Detailed review of the new interface A map showing where features and options moved to in the ribbon A recording of the training session for review up to 90 days later This Webinar has now passed. Why not sign up for notification of future Webinars and Training sessions? You'll be the first to know of upcoming sessions.
CaseWare Working Papers 2015 update to ribbon-based user interface
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