KEY ISSUES WITH THE IPAD

Even its proponents admit that the iPad has its drawbacks. Here are a few of them.

Security. The No. 1 issue with the iPad is security. The establishment of a new device connecting remotely to all kinds of company data from numerous apps creates the need for new policies and security measures to ensure that sensitive data doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

How do you ensure security? Boomer asserts that firms should approach mobile device security as its own initiative and that the key to success is passwords.

"Passwords should not be optional if you're using this device for business purposes and accessing client information," he said.

Also critical is the ability to wipe files remotely off lost or stolen iPads -- or other mobile devices containing, or connected to, sensitive client data.The iPad comes with a built-in remote-wipe feature.

"I think … a formal policy where you have the employee sign it and understand that if they are connecting to any of the business systems and they lose their phone, they risk everything being wiped off of that," Boomer said. "It's important that they back it up someplace else on a regular basis."

There's no mouse. The iPad's touch-screen interaction poses problems for many CPAs. While it's easy to add a keyboard, there currently is no corresponding wireless mouse option. That means you have to touch the screen to execute commands that you would do with your mouse on your computer.

"The lack of having a mouse to move around makes it … much more cumbersome," Freedman said. "You really have to get used to, without a mouse, being able to touch the cell you want to get into."

For example, to simply save a file, you have to use your finger to hit the save button on the screen itself. Sometimes, you have to expand the screen with your fingertips so you can make the save box big enough to tap, Freedman said.

No Flash. The iPad does not support Adobe Flash applications. That can be frustrating if you want to view content such as Flash-based videos and games. However, an app called Skyfire converts Flash videos to HTML5, a new Web standard that the iPad supports. That allows you to see Flash videos on the iPad.

Accounting software. While there are myriad iPad apps, there are relatively few accounting-specific applications. This hamstrings the CPA's ability to do a lot of heavy lifting on the iPad.

"The problem that I have is that the large vendors that provide us with our tax application, engagement management application, document management, portal, time and billing, etc. … have not created the ability to utilize an iPad to access their applications/data," said Jim Bourke, CPA/CITP/CFF, partner-in-charge of firm technology at WithumSmith+Brown, a 13-office firm with more than 400 employees. "Without this ability, my iPad acts like a desk weight, as I still need my laptop and I definitely still need my BlackBerry."

Large software publishers CCH, Intuit and Thomson Reuters have limited offerings for the iPad. Most of those apps provide access to content but limited-to-no data entry. Thomson Reuters' Mobile CS recently added the ability to do time and expense entry on the iPhone and iPad. Intuit Online Payroll Mobile is a free iPhone app that also works on the iPad and allows accountants to enter employee hours, review, approve and pay staff. To use the app, users must already subscribe to Intuit Online Payroll, QuickBooks Payroll for Mac, Intuit QuickBooks Online Payroll or Intuit Online Payroll for Accounting Professionals. Other vendors, including ADP, also offer online payroll apps.

But robust tax preparation, auditing and accounting apps? Those are not yet available.

The growth of the iPad as a tool for CPAs will depend on the development of core accounting software, Boomer said.