Identity theft, phishing, voice mail/phone scamming, social engineering, extreme weather damage for physical files and servers, and a myriad of other threats are all growing faster and larger every day. Everyone, not just IT consultants, needs to be knowledgeable, aware, and involved in security in this new digital frontier. This practical webinar will explain why and how accountants need to actively address IT, cybersecurity, and other related issues for their practices, for their clients, and even for themselves personally.

Clients need to understand the steps that they should take to secure their confidential and critical paperwork and electronic files and this webinar will discuss those steps including cybersecurity protection, password managers, and more as well as how to manage older paper documents in a digital age.

This webinar will cover what advice and services can and should advisers offer along with why and how to offer those solutions. Additionally, this webinar will cover why practitioners themselves need to understand what should be done in their practices to avoid the devastating effects of a hack and a data leak.

Some key questions this webinar will answer include what guidance/requirements the FTC and IRS advocate, what steps practitioners should take for their firms, how to create a response plan, how to have your IT protections reviewed, and most importantly, why is this topic something every professional needs to know about instead of merely relying on IT professionals.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify common methods cybercriminals employ to steal confidential information and steps practitioners can take to reduce those risks


• Recognize network and data storage points that may be breached by cybercriminals and protective measures to counter


• Review Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) pronouncements and regulations on technology and protecting confidential tax and other data


• Evaluate how to prepare a written information security plan


• Demonstrate how to corroborate that ethical obligations have been met regarding data security


• Outline steps to advise clients on safeguarding their data


• Identify ethical considerations and protective steps to take in a traditional, hybrid, or virtual office