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With a high-profile cyber threat report finding malware increased 358% and ransomware increased 435% in 2020 from the year prior, accounting firms of all sizes need to increase their security measures as a top target for cyber criminals due to their access to sensitive financial information and other personal client data. [1]
One of the best ways to improve the cyber security protocols at your firm is to partner with a specialized managed IT service provider with the expertise to recommend and implement the measures needed to keep your business and clients safe.
Continue reading to learn more about the benefits of having specialized IT services for your accounting firm that go far beyond securing your network.
Your time is valuable, and every hour spent attempting to fix an IT issue is an hour spent not focusing on your core business functions.
Remember—you and your team are accountants, not IT experts. Partnering with a specialized IT team will help reduce the time you spend trying to resolve IT distractions yourself, and increase the time you and your team spend doing your actual job.
Your IT team should provide you with a Service Level Agreement (SLA) that will lay out how efficiently they will work to resolve your technology issues. They should provide IT support that is proactive and responsive, resulting in less technology issues for you and your employees.
Ultimately, this will increase your billable hours because you and your employees will be focusing on what you do best—being CPAs, accountants, and bookkeepers.
Calling your IT help desk every day for the same issue can be frustrating—and take up too much of your valuable time. Working with the right IT partner that is proactive means they will find the root of the issue and help you solve it for good, ultimately increasing employee productivity.
Your IT service provider will keep you current with technology updates, focus on cyber security, and get ahead of any roadblocks you may face. When there is an issue, the right IT partner will support you with a 24/7 help desk and experienced support—or you may be able to contract one of their technicians to work with you in-house to support your IT manager or to work as an outsourced CIO.
In the wake of increased cyber crime with nearly 50% of accounting firms stating they would only survive three days from a ransomware attack, partnering with a managed IT services partner to improve your IT security measures is crucial to your firm’s success. [2]
When your network security vulnerabilities are exploited, it can not only cause data loss and downtime, but it can potentially pose legal issues too.
Disaster recovery, network design and administration, and business continuity plans are just a few of the specialized IT services for accounting firms that an IT partner can provide that are vital to keeping your network secure. These measures are likely ones that your fim could benefit from considering 31% of accounting firms have no offline backups and 29% tested their written incident response plan more than six months ago. [2]
When you partner with an experienced team of IT professionals, they’ll begin by conducting an audit of your systems to identify any potential vulnerabilities and make any necessary improvements. These improvements will effectively work to prevent external cyber threats from happening before they cause any harm.
Why is this important? Because by identifying potential vulnerabilities and making necessary improvements, your IT partner will ensure that your client’s financial information stays confidential, which is crucial to maintaining your reputation.
In addition to making necessary improvements, your specialized IT team should also provide you and your employees with best practices and tips to protect your confidential information should a data breach occur.
Accounting firms are only as good as the systems and the people that support them. At NeverBlue IT, our focus is on supporting you in doing your job better than ever with our comprehensive range of managed IT services for business in Southeast Michigan and Central Florida.
We’ll handle the technology so you can focus on the finances, your clients, and your business goals.
Ready to achieve more with the right IT partner?
Schedule your free consultation today.
Sources:
1: Deep Instinct | Cyber Threat: Report on 2020 Shows Triple-Digit Increases across all Malware Types
2: CyberCatch | 2022 Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Ransomware Survey (SMBRS)
