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Cpa2biz Gets $50 Million From Microsoft and The Thomson Corp. NEW YORK, Jan. 19, 2001 (SmartPros) Tech giant Microsoft, which recently announced it would buy Great Plains Software, and The Thomson Corp., publisher of ElectronicAccountant.com and Accounting Today, have committed $50 million to help build cpa2biz, the controversial Web portal being sponsored by the American Institute of CPAs.
The portal, approved by the governing Council of the AICPA in May, is set up as a for-profit business that will deliver business services to AICPA member firms and provide software and services that those firms can make available for sale to their clients. The portal's structure raises concerns among the accounting community over whether the non-profit AICPA should be involved in setting up a for-profit venture. Members of AICPA management, including AICPA president and chief executive Barry Melancon, institute members and state societies all receive an equity stake in the venture, which is planned to eventually go public. The portal, which is also backed by 52 state, district and territory CPA societies, is set for launch this spring. A transition portal, Cpaweb.org, went live in July. Members of the portal's management team are already in place. Among them are: Brett Prager, chief executive officer; AICPA vice president for strategic planning and knowledge management John Hudson, who now serves as senior vice president of strategy and new product development for the portal. Consultant and former Great Plains vice president Wayne Harding was named as director of business development. Melancon serves as chairman of the board. -- SmartPros News Staff Send comments to information@smartpros.com. 2001, Smartpros Ltd. All Rights Reserved. |
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