AICPA announces Top Technologies for 2006.

• Position: News briefs

Initial results on the AICPA's Top Technologies for 2006 are in, with information security taking the top spot for the fourth year in a row. Four new technologies made the list for the first time this year: assurance and compliance, IT governance, privacy management and spyware detection and removal.

Voting was held Nov. 21 to Dec. 9, 2005. For the first time the AICPA reached out to ISACA members along with members of the AICPA IT Section. Through a combination of increased IT Section members and ISACA members, the total number of votes increased to 2,049 from just over 300 last year. Voters were asked to rank the technologies they felt would most influence the accounting profession in the next 12 months from among 39 options.

Here are the 10 most important issues named by respondents (details appear in this month's public accounting and government member-segment supplements):

1. Information Security

2. Assurance & Compliance Applications (e.g., SOX 404...