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The last of our five-part series looks at software programs designed for creating financial documents.
The previous articles in this series have discussed various financial documents with which the legal assistant may be required to gather, create and analyze information. This final article will look at some of the most commonly used computer software programs for generating these documents.
Before the age of personal computers, most financial documents were prepared the old-fashioned way: by hand, on green ledger paper and with (if lucky) a financial calculator. As may be apparent, this method was quite tedious and time-consuming. Even worse, a simple mistake could produce a costly result. Computers (usually manufactured by IBM) could perform these calculations back then, but these mainframe computers cost millions of dollars and required a computer scientist to operate.
With such clumsy tools and methods, it's no wonder that accountants and financial professionals embraced the personal computer. For a fraction of the cost, you could run a spreadsheet (an electronic ledger that can perform a wide variety of financial calculations) that could calculate information ranging from a loan payment schedule to the amount stored in a client's trust account. It's no wonder that the personal computer revolution was started by business' widespread use of spreadsheets like VisiCalc and Lotus 1-2-3.
Selecting Your Software
In determining the most appropriate software for a particular use, two basic defining factors among the different products available must be considered. First, the speed of the computer hardware necessary to run the program must be considered. As both software and hardware become more sophisticated, speed becomes a key factor. The most recent spreadsheet programs require a great deal of computer speed and memory in order to operate. If the user's computer is several years old, current programs (especially those made for Microsoft Windows) may not be able to work. Consequently, the user must either upgrade the computer, if possible, or use one of the older software programs which would require less speed and memory.
Second, decide what type of application works best for you. The two most common types are spreadsheets (e.g., Microsoft, Excel, Corel Quattro Pro, Lotus 1-2-3, etc.) and accounting systems (e.g., Intuit Quicken or Quickbooks, BestWare M.Y.O.B., Peachtree Complete Accounting, etc.).
Spreadsheets are...