May 2011

Accountants can easily see patterns in numbers. When I look at a financial statement, say when I’m preparing a proposal for a potential client, I can study the report and in a short time get a good understanding of what is happening in the organization. That’s the goal of financials, isn’t it? To explain what happened.

Accountants and other financial types can look at a column of numbers and easily see the story. 

Here is the challenge: How do we, as accountants, help other people see the story that is so obvious to us?  How does anyone that works with a large volume of data help ourselves and others see the story?

That is what visualization of data is about.

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Visualization of data – a challenge for accountantsRead More »

(duplicate of post at my other blog, Nonprofit Update.)

Knowledge is power.  When we learn what is involved in location tracking on smart phones, we can then determine what impact it has on us and our organizations.  Then we can adjust to avoid bad results.

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What if your-situation plus smart-phone-location-tracking equals uh-ohRead More »

(duplicate of post on my other blog, Nonprofit Update.)

So bad things could possibly happen if someone gains access to the tracking data on your phone. How could someone get access to the file where that data is stored?

I attended the Christian Leadership Alliance conference in Dallas last week. Learned lots of new stuff and had fun visiting with lots of colleagues. Picked up info on location tracking that I wanted to mention.  Steve Hewitt of Christian Computing Magazine provided some information, which I will so identify.

Here are a few ways to get access to the location tracking data:

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Upping the ante on smart phones tracking your locationRead More »

(duplicate of post at my other blog, Nonprofit Update.)

What could be the problem with your phone keeping track of your location and sending that to Apple or Google?

What if someone hacks the Apple or Google site?  Or hacks your phone?  Or merely gains physical access to your phone for a few minutes to grab the file that has the tracking data?

“I’m not breaking the law” I hear your say.  Fine.  Let’s consider a few other scenarios.

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A few downsides to smart phones tracking your location – Worried yet?Read More »