This is a fascinating little article: an analysis of over 500 job postings, showing which accounting programs are in demand. Thanks to Bill for the link.
The popular 'large programs' are SAP, the various Oracle apps like JD Edwards and Peoplesoft, as well as the Microsoft Dynamics / "Great Plains" system. On the small side, QuickBooks dominates.
Where do IT auditors fit into this?
If you have enough experience and exposure, you will likely be exposed to almost all the applications cited above, with the likely exception of QuickBooks, since the audits of small clients often won't include the services of an IT auditor.
As a result, a CA who works in this field will not only be able to demonstrate knowledge of various business processes, but they'll also be able to demonstrate the nimbleness and adaptability that is so in demand these days.
It typically isn't difficult to get students interested in applying to transferring to this field. This just made it even easier to make the argument.
Bridal registries make no sense. I'm going to ignore most of the economics argument, though if you're never thought about it, consider this: at a typical department store, markups can easily be 100 to 300% over the cost of the given item. Forcing everyone to pay a giant markup for something you can get online for much cheaper? Silly.
The reason we'll point out today is that the infrastructure to manage these things are insane.
The excellent IT Audit Security blog has an article on this topic. Read it. Here a sample.
Rather than being my elusive bridal shopping list, the pages were a list
of receipts of purchases that others had made from the kiosk. I saw
people’s names, product purchased, and the last 4 digits of all the
credit card numbers. At that point, I noticed the kiosk had a credit
card reader, touch pad, and the red glow of a UPC laser scanner. This
wasn’t just a bridal registry kiosk.
You may also be pleased to note that there are default passwords in use on many registries. So you can arbitrarily hack in and add or delete things for unwitting couples. I'm sure there are even more for someone willing to see who doesn't have all their ducks in a row.
