Tapping the World Wide Web

Some of the best sites for accountants. The World Wide Web can be a baffling maze. It also can be one of the most valuable sources of business and accounting information. To become familiar with what the Web has to offer CPAs, follow this tour of some of the best accounting-oriented Web sites. To facilitate the tour, refer to the list of selected Web sites, organized by major topic, in the exhibit beginning on page 74. Many of the sites described in this article are known as directory sites: A directory site (also referred to as an index) contains hyperlinks--highlighted text or graphics that, when clicked on, transport the visitor to another, related site (hyperlinks are also referred to as hot links). Starting at a directory site is an excellent way to explore accounting information on the Web, because it allows you to browse through the indexed resources, read any available descriptions and then immediately link to any listed site. ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING There are several quality directory sites listed in the exhibit. A good place to start is Kaplanu0027s AuditNet Resource List. It contains an international smorgasbord of accounting and auditing resources on the Internet and other online services and bulletin boards. The list is updated monthly, with the latest additions highlighted. Another good directory site is Rutgers Accounting Web (RAW). It contains a wide assortment of accounting information. Each section has many hyperlinks. For example, if you scroll down to RAWu0027s auditing section and see an item of interest, simply click on that item and it will open up. Another interesting site is the Securities and Exchange Commissionu0027s EDGAR Database. It allows users to download at no charge publicly available electronic filings submitted to the SEC from 1994 to the present. The Internal Auditing World Wide Web page also contains a warehouse of information useful to accountants. TAXATION Perhaps the best tax directory on the Web is McNeilu0027s TaxSites. It contains a comprehensive list of tax resources-- including federal and state tax forms; legislative, judicial and administrative U.S. tax law; state and foreign tax laws; news groups; mailing lists; newsletters; discussion forums; information about tax software; and vendorsu0027 products. McNeil updates TaxSites frequently and highlights the latest additions. The Internal Revenue Service home page contains information about the IRS. Users can download tax forms, instructions and IRS publications. State and federal tax forms are available from the Taxing Times site. Schmidtu0027s Tax and Accounting Sites (the site is maintained by Dennis Schmidt, one of the authors of this article) and Omeru0027s Tax World are good directories with links to many federal, state and international tax sites, including a searchable version of the U.S. tax code. (See also the case study on page 76.) To keep up with current tax events, you can participate in any of the 21 special topic discussion groups moderated by Tax Analystsu0027 Discussion Groupsu0027 editors. FINANCIAL MARKETS The Web contains an abundance of financial information. WWW Virtual Library-Finance and Yahoo-Market and Investments are two good directory sites. The New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange and NASDAQ stock market all maintain Web sites. Current stock market data can be obtained from the StockMaster and Security APL Quote Server sites. The Holt Stock Market Report provides daily summaries of domestic and foreign markets. Information related to exchange-traded financial futures and options is available from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange site. The NETworth and GNN Personal Finance Center sites provide additional financial information especially useful to individual investors. LAW AND LEGISLATION The Internet contains a great deal of legal information. Although many of the accounting home pages provide links to important legal sites, there are more extensive legal directories available. …