Look back just 15 years ago and you most likely had no Internet access, no local area network, no wide area network, no virtual private network, no online research, no integrated practice management application and, most of all, no Microsoft Office.

Think back to your first real personal computer (PC) in the practice. If you're like many of us, it most likely was an IBM-PC with an 8088 processor, 4.77 MHz, 16 kilobytes of memory expandable to 256 kilobytes, with an optional color monitor. The price tag started at $1,565, or $4,000 in today's dollars.

It was just 14 years ago when Microsoft released Windows 3.0. With 16 colors and drop-down menus, it was the beginning of Microsoft's dominance in the PC operating system marketplace. And it wasn't until June 1998, when Microsoft released Windows 98 with its first fully integrated Web browser, Internet Explorer 4.0.

Unlike most industries, the accounting profession hung on to DOS-based applications well into the '90s. In fact, I bet if you searched your file server today, you'd find a couple of DOS-based applications that still serve some useful purpose within your practice.

Don't get rid of those DOS-based applications so quickly. If the other technologies affecting our practices are any indication of things to come, you may soon be going back to simple technology concepts conceived of many years ago.

Today, most firms have come full circle with how they use some of the older technologies. Take tax processing, for example. Back in the '80s, most small- to medium-sized firms used service bureaus to process their returns. In the '90s, they then purchased tax preparation software, bringing both the data and the applications in-house. Now many firms have reverted back to the '80s, realizing that the service bureau, or application service provider (ASP), as it is known today, as well as the highly publicized -- and often criticized -- outsourcing of tax return preparation, is much more efficient.

The stability and 24/7 accessibility of the Internet has clearly transformed the way we conduct business, do research, and process the flow of transactions though our practices.

In addition to the tax preparation applications, think about the capabilities of today's online research. Within seconds, you can query a database containing every single federal and state regulation known to mankind. Gone are the days of the dreaded yellow envelopes containing tax code updates that would accumulate week after week, waiting to be inserted into their appropriate section in the tax research binders, only to be replaced a few weeks later.

How about tax forms? When was the last time you pulled out Package X? Today's online tax forms are always updated, allow for online completion and can easily be saved for future reference.

Long spared the onslaught of new technological implementations, auditors are now both surrounded and aided by a slew of technology. Today, most auditors camp out at client locations with their laptops, portable printers and scanners, while connecting remotely to their offices, where they can download email, client spreadsheets and documents. The more technologically savvy auditors can even synchronize real-time with electronic engagement management packages that have the capability of generating, among other things, draft financials at any point in time during the engagement.

And that's not all -- over the past year, data extraction applications, such as ACL and Caseware, have gained in popularity, as auditors have designed new electronic ways to help test data in accordance with SAS 99.

Practice management applications have also been influenced by technology. Although most of the dominant players in this field have not yet brought their applications under an ASP environment, many have alpha and beta projects to test this same concept. Although not Web-enabled, many firms run their practice management applications on SQL systems, use technologies such as Citrix, and allow for rapid off-site access by their staff 24/7.

Document management applications are another new "must-have" technology. If your firm has not yet contemplated implementing a state-of-the-art document management application, chances are that most of your competition already has. A number of players have recently entered this arena, many with ties to either the banking or legal professions. It helps to view document management technology as an electronic version of your old, manual file room. The Web-based solutions for this technology also offer a level of security, redundancy and reliability that most firms could not afford to implement if such technology were to be maintained internally. In addition, by choosing a Web-based solution, you don't need to worry about maintaining storage area networks and other large network storage devices to house the ever-increasing quantity of documents and images that accumulate once you implement the technology.

Document management applications tend to take a good bite out of a firm's technology budget. But don't skimp on things like Adobe licenses, portable scanners and dual monitors for your staff. Before moving ahead in this new area, do your homework. Talk to other firms, find out what works and what doesn't and learn from others' mistakes. Questions such as, "Do we back scan our existing file room?" and "How do we follow and adhere to our records' retention policy in an electronic environment?" have already been answered and discussed by other firms.

It pays to stay on top of the technology changes affecting our profession. There are many resources available out there for firms of all sizes. Resources include the American Institute of CPAs annual "Top 10 Technologies" survey, annual technology shows, and consultants who can assist CPA firms with their internal technology needs.

Firms have come a long way over the past 15 years, and I'm sure 15 years from now, we'll be saying the same thing!

JAMES C. BOURKE, CPA, CITP is a Shareholder and Director at WithumSmith+Brown, Red Bank, and Director of Firm Technology. He is responsible for overseeing all technology issues and operations for the firm's seven offices. Bourke can be reached at bourke@withum.com.