CaseWare IDEA, a privately held software development and marketing company, and Audimation Services, which provides data analysis expertise and technology to accountants, announced new enhancements to its IDEA Version Eight, which was developed to help simplify and improve the quality of data analysis work.

Scheduled for release in March 2009, IDEA Version Eight offers multiple ease of use enhancements including a Visual Script that allows users to build their own scripts without any programming. Visual Scripts can be used to rerun standard analysis processes and build continuous monitoring applications. IDEA Version Eight also enables users to create their own functions and easily share them with others using the Custom Functions feature.

IDEA Version Eight also aims to simplify the importing of documents by offering a drag-and-drop import feature, along with rerun capability and faster PDF import. In addition, users can individually select records they wish to extract, allowing them to concentrate on specific areas for more in-depth review. New usability features include alternating row colors, calendar pop-ups, and the ability to sort field names by ascending, descending, or original order.

IDEA Version Eight is Vista compatible and offers increased flexibility with network and standalone licensing. Loading and sharing the software has also been simplified with features such as an automatic search for quarterly updates and auto-install functions.