Accountants On The Internet 2000

(RIVERWOODS, ILL., August 23, 2000) – Here are some additional findings from the CCH Accountants on the Internet 2000 survey, released today by CCH INCORPORATED (CCH), a leading provider of tax and business law information and software.

85 percent of accountants who use the Internet for business reasons say that they have visited the Internal Revenue Service site and it is, far and away, the personal finance site they recommend for their clients (49 percent). Other highly recommended sites were CNNfn and Money.com.

Ease of navigation (42 percent) and ease of access (29 percent) are the most important aspects for accountants using the Internet for business.

A large majority of accountants say they have been on the net for more than two years – 63 percent. Twenty-seven percent said they first started using the Internet one to two years ago.

Women accountants, in general, have a more positive attitude about the Internet’s impact on accountants, with 65 percent agreeing that the Internet has created new opportunities for accounting professionals, as compared to 47 percent of men. Also, women more strongly agree that the Internet has helped them better manage their practice or business, is an effective marketing tool, improves communications between clients and colleagues and is an effective resource for purchasing products and services.

However, when it comes to application, men and women had similar responses. On a fairly equal basis, both men and women use the Internet to communicate with clients and colleagues, to conduct business research, to access CPE training, to store and manage client data and to e-file tax returns.

Fifty-two percent of all accountants said they had made business purchases via the Internet, compared to 27 percent in 1996.

More than half of the accountants surveyed (53 percent) said that they did not think Internet transactions should be taxed.

Not surprisingly, Windowsâ is the overwhelming operating system of choice for accountants. Twelve percent said they were in a Windowsâ NT environment.

DOS is not totally dead; 3 percent of accountants surveyed said they use the older system. Only three respondents out of 600 reported that they used a MacIntosh operating system.

Fifty-six percent of those surveyed said their primary browser was Microsoftâ Internet Explorerâ ; 20 percent said they used Netscapeâ ; and 11 percent said they were AOL users.

About the Survey

Harris Interactive conducted the CCH Accountants on the Internet 2000 survey for CCH during June and July of 2000. Six hundred accountants participated in the live telephone survey; 400 were from accounting firms, with the remainder employed by corporations with $10 million or more in annual sales. Accounting firms ranged in size from sole proprietorships to regional and international concerns. The confidence factor for the survey is plus or minus four percent.

The complete CCH Accountants on the Internet 2000 is available for sale. Survey results, contained in of one loose-leaf volume (approximately 450 pages), include a summary report, charts for selected data, raw data tables and the 1996 survey report, and are available by calling 1-800-248-3248. Price is $200, plus applicable tax, shipping and handling.

About CCH INCORPORATED

CCH INCORPORATED, headquartered in Riverwoods, Ill., was founded in 1913 and has served four generations of business professionals and their clients. The company produces more than 700 electronic and print products for the tax, legal, securities, human resources, health care and small business markets. CCH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wolters Kluwer U.S. The CCH web site can be accessed at www.cch.com. The CCH Federal and State Tax site can be accessed at http://tax.cchgroup.com. The CCH Tax Compliance sit can be accessed at http://www.prosystemfx.com.

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EDITORS NOTE: Complete survey data, the survey questionnaire and selected charts and graphs illustrating the data are available to members of the press. Contact Neil Allen at 847-267-2179 or allenn@cch.com.