DEV Community: Fernando Catacora

AWS Offerings 2025

Fernando Catacora — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 05:26:20 +0000

With all the different cloud providers, it is quite challenging to have a visual idea about what the offerings are. In this short post I just want to share with all users the December 2025 AWS of cloud services in two versions, English and Spanish, so the community can value all the different alternatives that can be tested for a variety of use cases.

Spanish Version
https://www.redcontable.com/aws_servicios_cloud_2025_espanol.pdf

English Version
https://www.redcontable.com/aws_cloud_products_2025_english.pdf

Enjoy it !!!

Fernando Catacora
AWS Community Builder - Five year's member

Simple Code for ML with SageMaker Studio Lab (For CPAs)

Fernando Catacora — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 03:41:53 +0000

I am a CPA and technology has been always around me. I learned over the years that simple examples can clarify abundant abstract and heavily theoretical concepts. In the case of machine learning area, the technical material is overwhelming and sometimes difficult to digest especially for the professionals in the accounting and finance fields.

I do not intend to be too technical in this post however I will provide a very basic concept of machine learning for CPAs and professionals in the area of business finance.

AWS offers at least the next services in the group of Machine Learning services, 24 in total:

In this post I picked up Amazon SageMaker Studio Lab because all the features and what you can do with this specific service. Amazon SageMaker Studio Lab is intended to "Learn and experiment with ML using free no-configurations Jupyter Notebooks in the cloud". You do not need to have an AWS account however I would assume if you are reading this post you already have one. I will provide the specific steps you need to follow in order to run the notebook I am going to share with you. Let's explain the steps to understand with an example the concept of Machine Learning:

Step 1: Create an account with SageMaker Studio Lab. Go to the next URL: https://studiolab.sagemaker.aws/ and click on the upper right corner "REQUEST ACCOUNT" just follow the process and you will need to confirm with your mobile #.

Step 2: Click on Start Runtime. This will initiate your virtual server ready to create your first notebook.

Step 3: Click on Open project. This will create an area where you can start creating your notebooks.

Step 4: Open a new notebook in this case choose Python.

Step 5: The file notebook is now ready to copy the next code. Copy/paste the next code into your Notebook.

!python -m pip install tensorflow !python -m pip install numpy !python -m pip install matplotlib import tensorflow as tf import numpy as np inventory_units = np.array([300, 400, 200, 100, 800, 300, 400, 200, 100, 800], dtype=float) inventory_balances = np.array([35600, 42000, 21000, 11100, 89000, 35600, 42000, 21000, 11100, 89000], dtype=float) capa = tf.keras.layers.Dense(units=1, input_shape=[1]) model = tf.keras.Sequential([capa]) model.compile(optimizer=tf.keras.optimizers.Adam(0.1), loss='mean_squared_error' ) print("++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++") print("The learning acquisition has started just wait for the output !!!....") print("++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++") historial = model.fit(inventory_units, inventory_balances, epochs=5000, verbose=False) print("**********************************************************************************************************************") print("Hello Community Builders !!! ¿How is your AWS learning process going ? ") print(" This is a pretty simple example for a Machine Learning model that can predict the value of X Units of inventory based on two simple vectors:") print(" - inventory_units and inventory_balances") print("I hope this code can provide you an idea of a simple application of Machine Learning.") print("Fernando Catacora") print("**********************************************************************************************************************") import matplotlib.pyplot as plt plt.xlabel("# of Model Iterations") plt.ylabel("Loss for the model") plt.plot(historial.history["loss"]) print("+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++") print("Let's run an estimation for training, applying statistics") print("+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++") inventory_value = model.predict([95]) print("Inventory value based on the model is: " + str(inventory_value) + " USD")

Step 6: Click on Run the code and analyze the results. The above source code predict the monetary value for 95 units of inventory based on two vectors provided at the beginning of the code. At the same time, we can deduct the model is learning approximately below the 2,000 iteration.

Step 7: Change the epoch to 2000. In this case the amount predicted changed and the curve will show you approximately the point at where the model acquires the relationship/correlation between the two data points used as a dataset in other words "learn from the data".

Step 8: Change the epoch now to 2500. The value of the inventory slightly changed and the curve as well.

Conclusion

The above example can show you in a simple way the concept of Machine Learning where a computer basically will process a dataset, image, numbers, text, "data" in general and try to make predictions based on previous data that the model previously analyzed. This is in simple plain English the concept of Machine Learning for CPAs and business professionals.

*Fernando Catacora
Community Builder since 2021
Founder of REDContable.com *

10 Suggestions for CPAs to enter into AWS World

Fernando Catacora — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 22:29:53 +0000

This post is not about Kubernetes, CLI, EC2, VPCs and many many services or functionalities you as a CPA can learn from AWS Cloud. I have been using AWS technology and services and for me as a CPA and it has been just an amazing journey of non-stop learning. Like in accounting we use debits and credits all the services are based on hardware and software and the binary language for computers. As CPAs we know debits and credits are the fresh air, we breadth every day in our daily journey, it would be helpful to initiate a second career in learning technology and AWS is the best way to start, so here are my top 10 suggestions after being two years as an AWS Community Builder:

1. Open an account with AWS: well, this seems obvious but not all colleagues hear this first step the way should be. For the experts from this community, I am pretty sure this first suggestion is too basic, but you have to open your account in order to move forward. Just the benefits you get for one year are enough to try it.

2. Don't get scared with the number of services AWS can offer you: As of the moment I write this blog, AWS has more than 250 services. One of the facts impressed me is the number of services available from AWS. All services are like lego or a puzzle pieces where you can build whatever you want and bring live your ideas with the application of all these technologies. Although they are too many to mention in this post, I will recommend the ones you have to try it and learn the basics:

Route 53: in plain English this service will help you to administer a DNS system. For example, if you want to setup a dedicated server for mail services, this is the AWS service that will help you to configure the proper records. If you want to point a domain to a specific IP address, Route 53 is the service that will do that for you and of course you can buy your own domain using Route 53.
EC2: There is too much information on the internet about EC2 however I just want to share with you that is similar to the server your accounting application is running in-house, but the offering is huge meaning you can reserve a cheap server or a very very expensive one. There is practically no limit on the technical specifications for EC2 servers. You as a CPA may not be the one administering the server, however acquiring a basic expertise is mandatory these days. At the end of the day all business applications are running on servers, in this case virtual servers such as EC2.
Lightsail: If you do not want to go over the EC2 step by step configuration, lightsail is the one for you. You can launch and manage virtual servers with lightsail and I will leave to you to discover it.
AWS Managed Grafana: CPAs are professionals that deal with numbers, however more and more every day we need to switch to a more graphical approach to detect anomalies from data and Grafana is one of the best services that can help you out to visualize not just financial data but also operational figures. You don't have to go over complicated configurations because this is a managed service.
Amazon Quicksight: if you want to use a powerful BI/Analytical tool this is the service you may want to try it as a CPA. This can read pretty much any source of data and transform your data and create powerful visualizations, so you have to deep into the details for this amazing application.
S3: in plain English S3 is one of the most if not the most popular service for object storage. You have plenty of choices, is not expensive and is always available. S3 should be used instead of your shared drive and some SAAS apps use S3 for storage service.
VPC: This is for the professionals in networking field, however you need to learn the basics, Why? simple, every single EC2 will need to be attached to a VPC, look a VPC like your local network in your company nothing else, each computer connected to your LAN.
AWS Audit Manager: If you are a CPA in the field of technology beyond the financials, this is a service you need to explore. With AWS Audit Manager you can continuously audit your AWS usage to simplify how you assess risk and compliance.
IAM: There is no doubt IAM, Identity Access Management should be one of your favorites basically because as a CPA our minds are trained to implement internal controls and IAM can deploy all different permissions to create, approve and authorize access to different layers of your organizations and the services related each user can run individually.

3. Debits and Credits are similar to 0s and 1s: It is absolutely correct, the binary language which is used by computers are similar to our debits and credits. It is not a coincidence that the language of business is a combination of accounting theory supported by the binary language from computers. Why this is so relevant? It is because the more you understand the binary logic the better your understanding will be in matters such as IPs, DNSs, local IP address, IPV4, IPV6, etc.

4. Start installing some SAAS applications: there are many business applications you can install as SAAS. This means you pay for what you use both hardware and software. I will provide you just two suggestions:

ODOO: This is an opensource ERP.
Alfresco: This is an ECM with many features that can be used to store all business documentation for your company.

5. Study, read and repeat the cycle: Don't expect you will learn everything in one day. Your brain can only process little pieces of information, so do not assume you will learn everything in one hour. Give some time to your brain to accommodate the pace of acquiring new information.

6. AWS Cloud is similar to the number of applications available to CPAs: Think about all the applications as a CPA you have at your disposition: ERPs, CRMs, ECMs, Fixed Assets apps, EPM apps, ETL Software and many more. It is the same for AWS services with just one difference: all AWS services are new for you however is up to you to learn about them.

7. Use the free layer AWS offers you in the first year: Yes, is true, AWS offers you a free layer of services. As long as you are learning and testing this is an advantage you may not want to miss it. You don't need to spend money for learning, is your decision to learn and the free layer is enough to try different services.

8. As you are going through your learning journey take notes: is ok you have your own study preferences, however, make notes, jot down all acronyms, terms, words that are new for you. There is too much to learn and your memory need some training, so the best way is to take notes, that way your hand is connected with your brain.

9. Try as much labs as you can: Theory without practice is just useless, you will not grasp the foundations without practicing and working with labs. There are many resources, and the best advice is to go through AWS documentation which is just amazing. You will find all answers in AWS documentation. If you want to practice, Youtube is a good choice but discover yourself all free resources others are sharing for the community.

10. Start now: Finally like every special or important event in your life, set a date to start, otherwise your learning curve will be impossible to tackle.

Good luck in your journey !!

Fernando Catacora Carpio, AWS Community Builder
REDContable.com Founder, www.redcontable.com
Social Professional Network for CPA Spanish speakers.

What a CPA is doing in this Community? - Part II

Fernando Catacora — Mon, 02 May 2022 20:41:45 +0000

This is the second part of an article I previously posted to motivate more accountants and CPAs participation in this Community and after one year as an AWS Community Builder. This article has been written using some accounting specialized terms in order to motivate other peers to participate and apply to be part of this great professional community.

1. Debits, Credits 0's, 1's
Accounting knowledge is based on the foundations of debits and credits which composed can create all the concepts, techniques, theories and rules from simple to very complex levels for companies and our profession.

Computers are similar in this regard since the binary language of 0's and 1's are the mathematical concepts from where all the hardware and software elements are built, v.g. a bit, byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte, petabyte, and so on so forth.

Both above concepts are really interesting to analyze for further exploration by comparing how similar they are. We can confirm computers and accounting foundations are extremely similar and both can fit and complement each other like lego pieces.

2. Tangible vs Intangible
When you participate as a Community Builder it is not the tangible gifts and goodies you get that are valuable, it is the intangible value of connections, networking with other peers and knowledge you get from folks all over the world. Anybody participating in this community can guarantee you that the knowledge you get is the most valuable part of your involvement. If you are an accountant you may agree intangibles is still a gray area for the accounting profession where one of the many challenges is the valuation of this elements of the financial statements.

As a participant for the builders community the real value you get is from the intangible part of your tenure. There are so many folks willing to help and teach you without asking you anything in return. Just imagine having a consultant and technical department available 24x7x365 for free, that is one of the intangibles you get for being part of the AWS Community Builder.

3. IFAC Educational Guidelines
IFAC is the premiere worldwide accounting organization, from www.ifac.org:

"We are the global organization for the accountancy profession, comprising 180 member and associate organizations in 135 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 3 million professional accountants."

For many years IFAC has issued Educational Standards and the latest update in the area of technology has been expanded:

https://www.ifac.org/system/files/publications/files/IAESB-IES-2-Techical-Competence.pdf

Cloud computing is inserted under above learning outcomes. For example, CPAs should learn all foundational concepts from cloud such as AWS elements of Computing, Storage, Security, Networking and many others. As an example the typical internal controls theories as we learned in college are not valid anymore because of the dramatic impact of cloud computing in all business activities.

4. Cloud Computing for Cloud Accounting

There is no question all major ERPs are running in the cloud, it is not just the accounting system in the cloud but also all applications around accounting as a main repository for the corporate data. Companies are not willing to trade confidentiality, public access and other advantages to corporate assets and information is the most valuable asset.

In this context, data is valuable as long as it is flowing in the right cloud computing infrastructure and AWS is the most comprehensive offering in the cloud. As of the time this is published an according to AWS official information, there are more than 200 services offered by AWS Cloud infrastructure and that may be growing in the next few years as technology is getting more complex.

https://aws.amazon.com/es/what-is-aws/

From an accountant perspective my final recommendations is that you have to get involved an acknowledge the impact cloud computing is creating in our profession. These days is not just about how debits and credits are flowing through an application but also the cloud computing facilities used by your company. As part of your own personal journey, getting involved and apply to be part of this community is a huge step to help others to promote the education and development for future CPAs.

Fernando Catacora
AWS Community Builder
REDContable.com Founder
fcatacora@redcontable.com

Thanks Mr. Bezos

Fernando Catacora — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 19:21:45 +0000

Is 3:00 PM September 29 in Washington DC and I am almost leaving the AWS Washington DC Summit held at Walter E. Washington Convention Center in the US Capital of a great country. First of all this post is neither about technology nor any AWS service created by brilliant human beings you have empowered with your company. What you have created is one of the most impacting and inspiring organizations worldwide. If you have not noticed yet, you have not built a technological company, what you have accomplished is the creation of a company where people are empowered to give the best of their skills and abilities. Your company is not about EC2s, Cloudformation, Route 53, Direct Connect, RDS, S3 and many more services which I am pretty sure you have no idea how to use and configure them. Your company should be one of the most studied and analyzed companies for all Ivy League schools, is about the model you have created and the values associated with that impact in a positive way to our society. I am the parent of 4 kids, immigrant like you and still working to get them educated. Here are some ideas and memories I wanted to share with you from the last two days in Washington DC:

Education: please spend more money on Education do not wait for the Government to spend tax dollars on this and BTW this message is for all Corporate America. There are many kids that need computers with 64 GB RAM and at least 1 TB HD and the most powerful CPUs. Create new software for education, help to improve the quality of internet connectivity and more. Your corporate crew may say we are already "investing" in Education but put this way: Education should never have a limit on your company budget.

Think globally: I know you already think that way but change the perspective, think globally with the best positive impact your company can do with a social approach. The kids are your future employees and you need the kids from all countries so think globally with a positive social impact in the future lives of those kids who AWS will hire in the future. You have no idea how you can change other human being lives if you provide the main directions to your corporate folks. Don't forget, there should not be limits on this line item of your budget.

LATAM: I was very happy when one of your VPs announced the expansion of operations in South America, as an immigrant with Peruvian and Venezuelan roots and now living more than 20 years in the US that was a good new. Repeat the model you created in the US for those countries and you are going to receive all the rewards sooner or later. You made my day with this announcement.

Karen Knausenberger US Air Force CIO: Wow, this is the type of human beings you have to bring for this type of Summits, what a brilliant lady !!! Honestly I am biased on this because I wanted to pursue a career in the air force but it was a truncated dream. Now I have 25 years career in what is called "Corporate America", I do not complain but again keep bringing more people like Mrs Knausenberger. Just one suggestion, also invite people that are not in the top of your organization, I mean invite mid management and even lower levels from AWS to the big audience who are the real stars of your company.

Technology to empower people: I think this idea is not new at all for you and your folks at Amazon but as you may know there is always room for improvement specially in a company like Amazon, put the best brains to work on ideas that can radically change this. Yesterday when I was driving back home from DC to Northern Virginia where I live, I was thinking on a kind of "Brain Technology Map" idea but this is just a blog so I don't want to write a long boring post on this idea.

Critics: Well you know many people are critics of your space adventure but what you can do? just keep moving and do what your common sense and brain guide you for your next challenge. On this I just have one suggestion don't forget your roots and remember you are not a lucky man you are a human being that was at the right time in the right place with the right people so don't forget your roots.

Fernando Catacora - AWS Community Builder
REDContable.com Founder
First Spanish Speaking Professional Community for CPAs, founded in 1995.

What a CPA is doing in this Community? - Part I

Fernando Catacora — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 02:05:52 +0000

You may ask what a CPA is doing in this AWS Community? There are many reasons a CPA could be curious about the challenging work of learning AWS technologies and services. My journey and first interaction with computers and technology was in the 80's when I started working for an IT outsourcing company in my former days in Venezuela and the "Cloud" concept was there but in a very early days and development. I remember that company for different reasons, at the beginning I went through a technical training to be one of the night operators for a console of an IBM S/34, the experience was really new for me just right after high school graduation. The minicomputer configuration for that IBM S/34 was quite impressive based on the computers similar companies had back in those days. The RAM was 256Kb, yes, 256Kb... storage for the hard drive was a schema of dual disks with a total of 512 MB, yes, you read it right 512MB and the system also had two slots for a magazine of 10 floppy disks each of 10 inches floppy disks which were used to "upload" data in batch mode, after all, that was computing resources in the 80s, three additional single slots were also part of the batch mechanical system.

That computer configuration was enough to process the payroll and accounting transactions for 30+ companies including one big financial institution from the small town I used to live in the 80s. The next two pictures are for the minicomputer I was referring to with the above technical specifications.

The next one is a picture showing the two hard drives each with 256MB storage capacity, yes 256MB !!

My second interaction with computers in that company was with a desktop PC computer a Hewlett Packard touch screen PC with a word processor and Visicalc installed and ready to use it, Visicalc was one of the early spreadsheets applications for the desktop market. I will never forget how impressed I was with that first interaction and I started feeling an interesting attraction between the binary language and the debits and credits accounting rules which for me are both more similar than many people may think. The next picture shows the desktop computer I am referring in this case:

But, let's start to explain why I am here in this community using some of the AWS services available?

Internal Controls and IAM
AWS folks, there is nothing more important for a company from an accountant or auditor perspective than a robust, healthy and solid "internal control system". Internal controls are the first line of defense to prevent and deter accounting errors or recording of unauthorized transactions into an accounting GL applications.

Most of the global accounting scandals before and after the Enron failure were fueled by weak or non-existing accounting internal control systems and IAM is one of the services that AWS offer to make sure proper authorization exist for the access of computing resources which at the end are the bones used to build all the financial operations for a company. For example, under the "Access Management" Console, AWS IAM service includes the next functionalities:

User Groups: in terms of financial accounting Groups or similar terminology, I can create groups for organizational departments such as General Accounting, Payroll, Treasury, Billing, Manufacturing, Operations etc. By creating specific group of users the "Internal Control Environment" is stronger because each Group can be assigned specific permissions in terms of resource access. In AWS terminology a user group is a collection of IAM users.
Users: this functionality is the specific approval for a user to be assigned the administration and management of resources based on a "policy". Under an "Internal Control" perspective an employee should be accountable for the resources he or she is granted but based on approved "roles" and "policies" established by the organization. For example it is well known from the theory of internal controls that a person running "bank reconciliations" should not have access to book "journal entries" because an incompatibility of roles. In AWS terminology "An IAM user is an identity with long-term credentials that is used to interact with AWS in an account."
Roles: for companies it is common to assign different "roles" or "functions" based on pre-approved policies to specific employees. For example, in a billing department a group of employees can be assigned the task to issue invoices to customers but not the "approval" process of credit limits which should be assigned to a different group of employees with that "Role". In other words, the employee who approves a credit limit - Role 1- to a client cannot be the one preparing the invoice - Role 2 - and vice versa, the employee who prepares the invoice - Role 2 - cannot assign or approve the credit limits - Role 1-. Examples of AWS IAM Roles are:
- ApplicationAutoScalingForAmazonAppStreamAccess
- ecsTaskExecutionRole
- AWSServiceRoleForRDS

In AWS terminology an IAM role is an identity you can create that has specific permissions with credentials that are valid for short durations.

Policies: the term "policy" is well-known in the accounting world, for example the existence of "accounting policies" is required to apply the recognition, booking and disclosure of economic transactions. A company requires the creation of "internal control policies" because of transactions should be approved and processed based on proper authorization. For example, if a digital signature is required to approve a wire transfer, that should be based on a specific "policy" approved by upper management. Some examples of AWS policies are:
- AmazonEC2FullAccess: Provides full access to Amazon EC2 via the AWS Management Console.
- AWSCertificateManagerReadOnly: Provides read only access to AWS Certificate Manager (ACM).
- AlexaForBusinessReadOnlyAccess: Provide read only access to AlexaForBusiness services.

There are more than 800 AWS predefined policies so the user can customize a profile in a very detailed way.

In AWS terminology, "a policy is an object in AWS that defines permissions".

There are two more choices under "Access Management" that are beyond the goal for this article, these are Identity providers and Account Settings. The second set of options are related to Access reports

Compliance and AWS Artifact
One of those services that are not explored too much under AWS service offer is "AWS Artifact" but for accountants is one of the most comprehensive source of technical materials to validate compliance of AWS Cloud infrastructure. In AWS terminology, "AWS Artifact provides on-demand downloads of AWS security and compliance documents, such as AWS ISO certifications, Payment Card Industry (PCI), and Service Organization Control (SOC) reports. You can also use these documents as guidelines to evaluate your own cloud architecture and assess the effectiveness of your company's internal controls."

I picked up this service because of the importance that is given by auditors to the internal control system that relates to company's infrastructure and how this relates to the "Shared Responsibility Model" proposed by AWS, https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/shared-responsibility-model/:

It is important to mention that AWS artifact provides documentation only for AWS services or related to them. This is important to mention from an "internal control perspective" because there could be business processes that are not being delivered under AWS Cloud infrastructure and the security and compliance are not covered. There are approximately 80 solid and detailed documents that are extremely valuable materials for those that are in the field of compliance. AWS even includes for example its W-9 form which is quite surprising but a proof of total disclosure of documentation for total compliance.

If you want to get full familiarity with AWS services with a very concise and precise description of the services, I have one final recommendation at this point, download and read the next report:

System and Organization Controls 3 (SOC 3) Report - Report on the Amazon Web Services System Relevant to Security, Availability, and Confidentiality.

The Independent Service Auditor's Report provided by Ernst & Young includes a comprehensive inventory and explanation of AWS service offer. Ernst & Young is one of the big 4 worldwide CPA firms.

Stay tuned for Part II

Fernando Catacora
email: fcatacora@redcontable.com