SOX Expert Karla Sasser Publishes the Definitive Guide to Best Practices for Accounting and IT Projects

LOS ANGELES - May 29, 2015 - PRLog -- Karla Sasser has discovered two essential facts while solving information technology and accounting problems for small business­es, non-profit healthcare organizations and Fortune 1000 companies. One, the accounting department is usually the largest consumer of a company’s information technology resources and services. Two, accounting and IT are often at odds with one another due to their inability to communicate. These two facts can lead to wasted time and money and increased audit risk for companies of all sizes.

To help the IT department work better with accounting, Sasser has written the essential guide to collaborations that meet the professional, legal and regulatory requirements of companies in today’s global economy. “FRIGGIN’ BEANCOUNTERS: Navigating the BS-infested Cubicles of the Accounting Department,” is now available as an e-book from Amazon.com.

Sasser begins with an entertaining history of the accounting and IT relationship as it developed from ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt through the Italian renaissance to personal computers to today’s Internet-enabled global economy. She pays particular attention to the evolution of information technology and its role in accounting and corporate governance. Using client case histories, she outlines a practical approach to better communication and cooperation between accountants and IT managers.

Chapter titles include:

Who Makes the Rules?

Every Business Entity Needs to Count Beans

Decision Makers Rely on Bean Counters

We are Not Going to Jail

In “FRIGGIN’ BEANCOUNTERS,” project managers and IT managers will learn how to:

Understand the regulatory and accounting requirements within the corporation Implement systems and controls that satisfy such crucial regulations as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the European Union Data Protection Directive

Improve IT project success rates by ensuring that new applications can be properly controlled and documented Overcome project-killing objections like “We can’t do that, because Sarbanes-Oxley does not allow it.”

Reduce the risk of financial statement fraud by building a solid partnership between the IT and accounting departments.

“I have seen many times how failure to communicate can cause frustration for an organization’s IT and accounting departments," says Sasser. "But when these two essential departments work together effectively, businesses get the maximum value out of their IT projects while avoiding mistakes of corporate governance that can cause enormous problems and jeopardize the bottom line.”

"FRIGGIN’ BEANCOUNTERS” provides the information and inspiration needed to understand the accounting/IT relationship and make it more efficient, more effective and even more fun.  With “FRIGGIN’ BEANCOUNTERS” as your guide, developing a more efficient accounting/IT partnership will be easier than you think!

For more information visit www.frigginbeancounters.com.

About the Author

Karla Sasser is an accomplished internal auditor, accountant and author with more than 20 years’ experience in information technology and accounting. Her areas of expertise include Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, corporate governance, enterprise risk services and IT auditing. Karla specializes in helping organizations identify and solve problems involving business processes and controls.

She is a licensed certified public accountant (CPA) in Florida and California, a certified information technology professional (CITP), a certified internal auditor (CIA) and a chartered global management accountant (CGMA). She is currently a senior associate with Aviva Spectrum, Inc. of Los Angeles, the premier provider of internal audit, SOX compliance, and risk management services on the West Coast.

For more information, please visit www.karlasassercpa.com.