System requirements: AAA Web site should run fine on a 3.x or higher version of browser software, such as Netscape 3.0 or MS Internet Explorer 3.0. Since it does not require any extra plug‐ins, the site could run on an even more basic browser
Hardware: PC with a 386 or higher processor running Windows 3.1 or higher or a Power Macintosh running System 7.1 or higher
The Official Web Site of the American Accounting Association (AAA) is an excellent resource for those in the thick of accounting education, research, and practice. The association was founded in 1916 as the American Association of University Instructors in Accounting. In 1936, the modern name was adopted. This Association “is a voluntary organization of persons interested in accounting education and research.” The site is housed at Rutgers University’s Web server, and included as a major link in the Rutgers Accounting Web (RAW) page.
The AAA provides an easy way for accountancy students, educators, and practitioners to obtain concise, relevant, and timely information about the profession. The links and data produced here convey that the AAA does not intend to be the ultimate resource for the
accountancy profession. (Look to www.aicpa.org for that!) Each page that is linked to the navigation section on the left side of the site’s template is restricted to one page (or screen) of text. All you need to know has been pared down into a useful, yet brief, selection. This can be a bane or a boon, depending on what you want to find; but I thank the AAA for providing such quality and succinctness in a cluttered and overpopulated Web world.
The pages are simple and contain the banner for the AAA at the top and a navigation list on each page. The site is consistent in its look and design throughout its pages. The Web site works efficiently and downloads quickly, since there are no fancy graphics or wayward applets or other techie treats to slow the transmission. This is a straightforward, information‐rich site that is ideal for accounting educators, students, and practitioners who are looking for continuing education opportunities beyond their state accounting societies.
The sections include Membership information, where to find Regional chapters and Meetings, and the AAA’s publications. This is an academic site; so there is plenty on Faculty Development, Awards, and Calls for Papers. It is here that AAA has buried information and links to the Big Five Accounting Firms, a questionable move in my opinion. I wonder why the AAA did not make a solitary link to a page for these firms under the Links and Organizations section where it seems more intuitive to find such a link. Regardless, I am glad to see the largest accounting firms represented on AAA’s site.
The Links and Organizations section demonstrates once again how good the AAA is at not going into a Web site frenzy in terms of listing relevant accounting sites. The breakdown of this page allows the accountancy aficionado a chance to taste what quality sites are out there for the … linking … Listed here are brief pages that provide links to meaningful sites from which the user can explore further. Leaving the AAA via a link provided by the AAA proves that the site has done its job. When the user comes back to the AAA site, she/he’ll know that this is an excellent starting point for accountancy research and information.
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