If the word cloud computing weren't so prevalent, I could ignore it entirely because at best, it's a techy word that represents Internet-based computing and at its worst it's a techy word that confuses people about Internet-based computing. But two companies that often toss around the C word, NetSuite and Intacct, are both in the market seeking the loyalties of accountants. Accountant programs have been around for many years. Some, like Intuit's ProAdvisor program, are huge successes. And there are others which fall way short and there is  usual mix in between.

Can accountants effectively perform the same tasks as part of accountant programs for these two purveyors of Internet-based financial applications as they do for on-premise applications? Actually, the key question is whether accountants want to learn enough about these companies products' to refer them to clients, which gets down to just how willing clients are to make the jump to Internet-based accounting.

Intacct has a different angle on this. It is seeking accounting referrals and resellers. But it also provides its software to that the firms themselves so they can provide outsourced accounting services. And it has the link to CPA@Biz, the AICPA's for-profit arm, to interest CPA firms.

Some answers lie in the size of the firms' customer bases. NetSuite targets a much larger customer than Intacct. It also has a far more mature product than Intacct. So it seems that Intacct would fare better with smaller firms that server smaller clients, and NetSuite, should do better with larger, more technology adept accounting organizations.

These aren't the only two cloud players - SAP just launched its Business By Design - and we may see more. How accountants react to any programs from such vendors says a lot about how quickly Web-based products are being adopted.
It's a new day for an old game.