Not all accountants are about debits and credits. David Cieslak uses his accounting skills to assist companies in putting together software packages to improve their operations. He has lectured on computerized accounting topics, information security, handheld computing, and electronic commerce. He has taught micro-computer courses at California State University, Northridge. Question: How did Arxis get into the nexus of accounting and technology? Answer: We got started with technology right when the first PC wave was taking place. We looked at it as an opportunity for businesses of all sizes to enjoy the benefits of technology. We said, ‘We’ll take our CPA background and our passion for the new technology and help small businesses deploy that.’ That has been our specialization ever since — helping small and medium business identify the right technology solutions. Q: Where does the accounting background come into this? A: What has been our entree to our clients is enterprise resource planning. That really is not just a financial accounting module; it moves across the organization and includes inventory, warehouse management, human resources. We take our accounting background and our business process expertise and put all that together to try and help the client, not only identify the solution, but help them optimize how they run their business. Q: Does Arxis look for new employees with accounting backgrounds? A: I can teach them specifics about a particular application. I’d rather not teach them accounting. I want them to have an understanding of the fundamentals of accounting from school or experience. Our best employee candidates are those who have in the field experience — not necessarily from an audit perspective but from a real life business. They must be able to pull in all the pieces (and ask) what are the accounting needs, what are the business needs, and weigh the importance of the different pieces and come up with a solution that is balanced. Q: What is the one piece of technology clients need to be successful? A: There is a big shift happening. One is in mobile and the other is in cloud. Mobile is everything from a smart phone to a tablet — all the portable technologies. People are becoming so comfortable, so familiar with them. They are looking at that and saying, ‘How can I bring that into the workplace?’ The cloud is what’s going to help tie that all together. Q: Did you ever have a traditional accounting career before going into the technology side? A: Price Waterhouse is where I got my beginnings. For the first four or five years (at Arxis) I was doing the traditional accounting services. We do have some of the traditional CPA services still being offered. About 70 percent of the work is technology.
