A growing reliance on cloud computing is one of the most important trends in accounting today, according to a new accounting software review published exclusively by the Certified General Accountants Association of British Columbia (CGA-BC).

The review, prepared by Alan Salmon, Canada's leading authority on accounting technology, identifies some of the key considerations for those who opt to move accounting functions to the cloud.

"When accounting moves online, it involves a major shift in how organizations deal with data," Salmon says. "It does not stay in its own cubicle and it naturally wants to link to everything else such as payroll, CRM, your website and your other business applications. Inevitably, online accounting will evolve into broader business management."

The CGA-BC software review also identifies other trends in the accounting software world in 2012, such as the demand for:

greater integration to provide transparency across multiple aspects of the enterprise

specialty-specific solutions rather than "generic" accounting applications

systems that support consumer technologies and trends, such as remote access with mobile devices, integration with social media, and open (and standard-based) systems.

The 2012 review ranges from software packages that are best suited to small businesses—those with a handful of employees and less than $1 million in annual revenue—up to larger enterprises that tend to seek out industry-specific or integrated solutions. It provides detailed analysis of the following software applications:

Adagio by Softrak

Blue Link Elite

Connected Accounting & ERP by Accountek

Microsoft Dynamics GP

Microsoft Dynamics NAV

Microsoft Dynamics SL

Sage 300 ERP

Sage BusinessVision 50 Accounting

SYSPRO

AccountEdge Pro 2012

Intuit QuickBooks

Sage 50 Accounting-Canadian Edition 2013

Wave Accounting.