IT For Accounting Firms – The Ultimate Guide

When it comes to IT for accounting firms, there are many considerations you need to take into account. The modern landscape of technology has changed, and this may cause you to question, do IT consultants still have a place in the modern day? Or are they part of a legacy which the world has moved on from? 

To determine if an outsourced IT solution still has a place with your accounting firm, check out this guide.  

What does your Tech Stack look like?  

The first question you need to ask yourself when you are looking at IT services for accounting firms, is what does the technology stack look like?  

Within this context a technology stack refers to the type of software and hardware infrastructure you are using within your business.  

In the past 10 or so years the landscape of what you need to have in your firm has changed significantly. I am sure many of us can remember the days of having a physical server in your office, or even loading CD’s full of software onto your computer. This made sense to have an IT guy to manage all this aspect, it was a lot more complex and a lot more technical. 

But the modern accountant’s technology stack has moved away from them. It is now a lot more cloud-based technologies – which means no more servers are required to manage and maintain the running of the business.   

If you still have servers then it does make sense to continue to work with an IT provider. It also makes sense to have an IT provider if you have more complex IT needs, such as large infrastructure upgrades or other more intricate issues. Depending on this, it may also make sense to instead engage an IT firm on a project-to-project basis depending on your technical needs.  

When you consider all of these aspects together, it makes the role of IT consultant a very different one. But does that mean you still need one? 

Do you still need IT in a modern accounting firm? 

So, the question is, does a cloud-based accounting firm still need a local IT guy to help them out?  

The value has shifted over the years. Some IT providers will still be worth their weight in gold, but for others the value proposition doesn’t make much sense anymore. In a cloud-based technology stack the issue becomes protection rather than maintenance.  

This is where you see your traditional IT providers beginning to offer cybersecurity as services, but are they really specialized enough for what you need as an accounting firm?  

Looking for specialization over generalization  

When it comes to looking after cybersecurity, we always recommend going with the specialists rather than the generalists. By this we mean specialists in both industry perspectives (aka. accountants and bookkeepers) as well as skills perspective.  

It is a very different skillset to properly manage the cybersecurity of accounting firms, than running the servers of one. Cybersecurity is a minefield with different threats and attacks occurring regularly. As one of the top 5 industries being targeted by cybercriminals accounting firms are in a unique but terrible position where cybersecurity cannot be an afterthought and needs to be handled by professionals who specialize in cybersecurity for accounting firms.  

Conclusion 

The landscape has changed for accounting firms, no longer does a one-size-fits-all solution to IT management and cybersecurity suit. When it comes to the safety of your client’s data there are very few IT firms which have the capability, skill and knowledge to fit your needs – this is where partnering with specialists in accounting cyber security makes the most sense.  

If you are interested in taking control of your cybersecurity needs, please book in time to chat with one of our cybersecurity consultants.