Putting data security at the top of your checklist
By Ian Cooper, Head of UK Operations, FYI
It’s impossible to avoid data protection messaging in accountancy today.
With the introduction of GDPR in 2018 and the increasing sophistication of the bad actors, data security is at the forefront of the financial sector, with many accountants facing the question of keeping client data safe.
This is essential business practice, it’s a good thing. It shows an awareness within the sector of the responsibility that accountants and their vendors hold towards clients, and of compliance and transparency.
It also acknowledges the increasing sophistication of data security threats.
However, this still leaves us with the question of how firms protect client data.
The answer lies in viewing data security and protection as a holistic exercise – not only protecting data from leaks or breaches, but from loss, system downtime or misuse by the platform host.
The elements of data security
Data security is not a fire and forget. It has a number of elements which work together to protect client data and ensures best practice around data security. These include:
- Authentication of users and those accessing data
- Backups of data stored in a system
- Transparency and accountability for the host/provider
- 24/7 uptime and security
- Building a culture of security within your team
- Disaster recovery in the event of catastrophic loss.
Accountants need to consider each of these points in a comprehensive data security strategy, particularly as they typically hold highly confidential financial data on clients.
The good news is that achieving this holistic approach is far more accessible for firms across the spectrum of size and location with the advent of security-first cloud platforms which can collate, store and analyse client data, job information and firm financials while minimising the need to store data in multiple locations.
Using technology to your advantage
It may seem like hosting data online in the cloud increases its security risk.
While this is a valid concern in certain circumstances, cloud-based data management is also one of your most effective protections against data leaks and breaches.
We developed FYI with security in mind from the very beginning, we wear our badges with pride. We…
- Publish our uptime and availability
- We are accredited to ISO27001 standards
- We comply with the Microsoft Essential 8
We have published a full security information sheet to show you the lengths we go, to protect your data.
We prioritise three core messages in our approach to security:
- Secure – The highest levels of data encryption
- Reliable – 99.99 per cent uptime
- Future-proof – Engineered for long-term scalability.
This approach allows our clients to offer enterprise-grade security from day one to their own clients, helping them to build trusting relationships and a reputation for transparency and accountability.
We know that this provides a real boost to client satisfaction and retention rates – as well as regulatory compliance efforts.
Compliance is key
Regulatory compliance is the bedrock of a successful and trusted accountancy firm but is particularly important in the digital sphere.
Legislation such as GDPR requires data to be viewed and processed on an as-needed basis, with every reasonable step taken to avoid unlawful handling of data by third parties or software providers.
With secure, fast and reliable hosting, we’re able to assure clients that compliance with the law is one of our top priorities – but we strive to go beyond that.
With our approach, compliance is essential, but it is incorporated into security as a core value, helping accountants and their clients to achieve an efficient service which keeps data safe.
If you want to book a demo of our security features, get in touch and we can help!