CaseWare International – Working Papers
Apr. 25, 2005
Working Papers is a very well developed
and flexible program designed to
coordinate and manage accounting
engagements, as well as provide
a complete trial balance program,
basic write-up capabilities and
financial statement production.
The system integrates with external
programs and provides real-time
updates, drill-down linking to supporting
documents and strong analysis and
paperless engagement support. In
addition to its built-in word processor
“CaseView,” the program
utilizes Microsoft Word and Excel
for financial reporting, and can
store any type of document in its
virtual folder system. Working Papers
costs $499 for a single user version,
which includes 60 days of support.
An office license of the product
costs $1,299 for up to five users.
PROGRAM USE/NAVIGATION – 5 Stars
Working Papers opens to an intuitively
designed interface that provides
quick access to various components
of engagements. A nicely structured
Explorer-style menu tree in a left-hand
panel provides direct access to
workpapers, including financial
statements, completion documents,
engagement acceptance and planning
documents. It also provides more
detailed financial documents within
the Financial Statement Area, which
includes sections for asset, liability,
equity and income statement data.
When selected from this menu, workpapers
appear in the primary window of
the program, which is bordered by
several function and feature icons.
This window defaults to a “getting
started” help screen when
a document is not selected. The
system allows notes and tickmarks
to be used for annotation of workpapers
and documents, enhancing communication
between team members.
Transaction data can be entered
manually or imported using the system’s
import/export feature. During the
transaction entry process, Working
Papers includes a function that
can automatically create a bank
reconciliation statement. Electronic
review of engagements is greatly
enhanced by the system’s real-time
updates, which keep all linked documents
up-to-date with changes, as well
as task management features that
streamline work processes. Version
control at the document, cell and
account level help to ensure document
integrity when being worked on by
multiple staff. Working Papers enables
drill-down from financial statements
through all supporting schedules
and documents, as far as necessary
in order to reach detailed data.
Financial statements are in accordance
with GAAP.
The system includes several templates
for workpapers and offers pre-designed
checklists that assist in standardizing
engagements and increasing efficiency.
Firms using Working Papers can also
create shareable libraries of customized
templates and checklists, as well
as create an index to define the
meaning of individual engagement
tickmarks. Although initial setup
of engagements requires establishing
relationships by mapping information
and grouping appropriate documents,
the program is intuitive because
it follows a standard engagement
organization process; users simply
need to think of it as a standard
engagement system without the paper.
IMPORT/EXPORT CAPABILITIES – 5 Stars
CaseWare allows data import from
more than 50 accounting programs
as well as export of trial balance
data to most popular tax preparation
systems. Through its import wizard,
the system can acquire transaction
detail in addition to totals, providing
greater depth of documentation.
Information can also be drawn from
ASCII files.
REPORTING – 4.5 Stars
Financial statements are created
through the Intelligent Document
Generator, which automatically updates
changes made to a client’s
trial balance. This system integrates
with Microsoft Word and Excel for
report production, enabling the
creation of client-ready electronic
documents that contain cross-reference
and index information. Documents
can be previewed prior to printing,
and the system supports *.PDF output.
Reports and financial statements
are customizable, including the
addition of header, footer and text
manipulation.
PAPERLESS MANAGEMENT CAPABILITIES – 4.5 Stars
CaseWare provides strong storage
and document management functions,
enabling all types of documents
to be stored and linked to from
within the system. File structures
mimic paper-based engagement file
structures, easing the transition
from paper to paperless offices.
RELATIVE VALUE – 5 Stars
CaseWare is very reasonably priced
for either single or multi-user
environments. It provides a powerful
solution for managing and standardizing
workpapers, offering timesavings
and resulting in less reliance upon
paper. Its ability to streamline
work processes and its built-in
trial balance capabilities should
benefit small or large firms.
2004 OVERALL RATING: 5 Stars
Program Use/Navigation covers ease-of-use; number of clients and form recipients; primary navigation tools; and general operation of
the program, including data entry.
Workflow Management addresses how the program streamlines engagement processes via workflow and communication tools, customization and other features.
Integration with Other Software is considered a very significant factor since drawing information from GL accounts is an integral
part of the trial balance process,
and the ability to export the data
into a tax program greatly reduces
preparation time.
Reporting functions of the software, including analysis and client deliverables such as financial statements is essential. This section looks at the availability of standard reports, customization capabilities and integration with word processing and spreadsheet applications for preparation of the final product.
Relative Value provides the reviewer’s subjective opinion of what the user gets for the price. There is some variance
in the pricing of the programs in
this review, but it is not very
wide.Value,
of course, is not exclusively related
to cost. Sometimes the best deal
is not the cheapest, and sometimes
the most expensive option does not
provide the best function.