At the recent National Automotive Conference held by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, six major computer vendors answered tough Year 2000 questions and other concerns that CPA's and dealers had regarding third party interfaces, centralized accounting, and the migration to a client server technology.
The panel was moderated by Sandi Jerome of Jeff Sacks and Associates and included representatives from ADAM, ADP, Dealer Solutions, EDS, Reynolds + Reynolds, and UCS.
The questions, in addition to those posed
by the audience, included:
Year 2000 Issues
What is your current status of making your system compatible with the year 2000?
How many of your current customers have systems that you will not be upgrading and which systems are they?
Do you have any plans to have additional support staff working in January 2000?
If your system fails in certain areas, what remedy do you have to compensate the dealers for example if the dealer has to "hand write" service invoices, will you reimburse them for the cost of the handwritten invoices that would have to eventually be reentered into the system and reprinted?
What should dealers do to insure that all their computer equipment is compatible?
Other Topics
What tools do you have that enable outside accountants and internal audit staffs to use your system such as dial-up capabilities, training programs, and special support phone numbers?
What special internal control features does your system have such as override reports, system activity logs, passwords, and protection against changing records, etc.?
What operating system does your system use and what is your level of compatibility with Windows 95, Windows NT, and Windows 98?
Do you have any plans to certify accountants and consultants on your system similar to the Microsoft Certification Program?
Many of the attendees today are from mega dealer groups that own many different systems. What is your company policy and development progress regarding interfacing with other computer systems for example, if a dealer is on a manufacturer's system such as Saturn are you developing a way for dealers to upload trial balances and journal data into your system?
Discussion Highlights
UCS and EDS have both developed a posting upload that enables users of other computer systems to upload posting data from an Excel spreadsheet into their system. This is the first time that a tool has been provided by a computer company to automate bringing data into a DMS system from virtually any other source. This feature has been restricted in the past to manufacturers (uploading vehicle invoices and warranty credits) or authorized third party vendors that have made agreements with the computer vendors to accept their data.
Certification programs available from Reynolds + Reynolds, ADP, ADAM, and Dealers Solutions to enable CPA firms to provide consulting on these systems to their dealer clients after completing a certification program developed by the computer company.
The current status of the Y2K conversion. ADP is 90% complete and has only 6 applications that will not be Y2K converted. All Reynolds + Reynolds dealers that have completed their ERA 2.0 update are converted. EDS has 12 dealer clients out of 3000 who have not been converted yet and hope to have that completed by the end of the year. UCS has about 100 DX10 clients that were installed by Ford that cannot be updated to Y2K. UCS is offering a free update to their 7000 series systems. Both ADAM and Dealer Solutions' software is Y2K compliant but since they allow their dealers to have their own hardware, some might own hardware that is not. Although one or two workstations might fail due to older PCs, the server should operate fine and not cause any problems.
None of the computer companies agreed to reimburse the dealers for out-of-pocket expenses that might arise due to down time, personnel costs, or loss of data due to a Y2K issue. Each one would only provide the warranty that is included in their contracts and it was suggested that they contact their insurance companies for coverage.
Each company's current operating system and the status of their migration to Windows NT was addressed. Dealer Solutions was developed on a Windows NT platform and Microsoft's guide to applications so their product looks and operates like other Microsoft products like Word and Excel. ADAM will have their Windows NT product available by NADA. ADP recently switched to a hardware platform that can be converted to Windows NT but currently use a UNIX operating system. Reynolds + Reynolds has Windows NT products like ERALink Document Manager, and SalesVision that interface with their Unix based system. EDS uses the AS400 operating system but plans to announce at NADA an exciting Windows enhancement. UCS wants to protect their dealer client's current investment in their applications written in Cobol. They plan to do this with a new LAN system and PC Work Stations that maintain the current UCS server but enables the dealers to use PC products on a LAN.
There is a tape available of the session-you can order a copy direct from AICPA 717-775-0580 - tape #09.
Sandi Jerome is manager of the computer consulting department of Jeff Sacks & Associates, a member firm of Auto Team America. If you have specific questions or require more information about this subject, please check the appropriate box on the reader response form on page 3. e-mail: jeffsacks@aol.com