Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Beyond Downtime: The Verito Advantage is the podcast for tax and accounting professionals who refuse to let IT issues interrupt their business. Hosted by the experts behind Verito.com, each episode explores the real risks behind "good enough" technology and how to build a firm that just works. Securely.
Join us as we dive into real-world stories, compliance must-knows (like the FTC Safeguards Rule, IRS Pub 4557, WISP), and emerging tech shaping the future of financial practices. From ransomware threats to remote work enablement, we’re here to help you work smarter, stay protected, and confidently serve clients.
Subscribe to learn how top-performing firms are building peak-season resilience and why they trust Verito to get them there.
It just works. Securely.
👉 Learn more at: https://www.verito.com
Welcome back to the Synergy Network desk where the news continues to be dominated by the evolution of technology. Here to talk more with us about all of it is the CEO from Verito, Narang. Welcome, Jatin. It's so good to see you.
Speaker 2:Likewise, Wendy. Pleasure being here.
Speaker 1:Listen, I have got you in the hot seat, and I have some questions for you. Because security, technology, these are some very big issues that a lot of our attendees and conference firms are facing right now.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:We have spent so much time this week discussing technology and its rapid, rapid evolution. How have you seen this increasing complexity of tax regulations impacting the technology needs of accounting firms?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. What I've seen so far is, you know, technology is ever evolving. As we know, it's so dynamic, and so are the regulations. You know, IRS and FTC keep coming up with more regulations, And it's for your own good so that you can protect your client data, you can protect your firm against all kinds of threats there are. They want to keep you proactive rather than being reactive about the data and especially about the security because it is top notch.
Speaker 2:You've got to have a top notch security, and it should be your top priority. You don't want to compromise on your security. When it comes to the regulations, you want to keep up with the regulations that and you have everything planned out so that you're not caught off guard. You don't want to be in a hot spot where people find you missing out on things, your client finding out, oh, a breach has happened. And it's so hard to recover from a breach.
Speaker 2:What we've seen the data tells us that 60% of the small businesses close shop within six months of a breach because they cannot really afford it. It's so hard to keep up. But if you have the right regulations, if you follow everything through, if you just do the basics, you know, you can protect yourself and your clients and your reputation.
Speaker 1:That is a wild statistic you just stated. Right. 60% I was blown away. That is was
Speaker 2:blown away when I found out.
Speaker 1:Wow. So this is a big deal. When you're talking about technology, you're absolutely talking about security. Those two things go hand in hand. What would you say are the most significant cybersecurity threats facing tax professionals today?
Speaker 1:And more importantly, I want you to spell out how they can protect themselves.
Speaker 2:See, what we've seen so far is just like technology, the threats are ever evolving. And what we see is ransomware hacks and then phishing attacks. I mean, there's not just another Nigerian prince trying to send you money. Right? That It's simple now.
Speaker 2:Your credentials are being stolen. You would find an email from Netflix. You would find an email from Amazon. You would think that this is a real email. And when you try to dig in, you still think this is a real email as an end user.
Speaker 2:So it becomes really complex, keeping up with how these threats are evolving. It's not just another hacker sitting in the basement with his hoodie on and trying to hack into your computer. It's a pretty sophisticated operation worldwide. They're doing this for a huge amount of money. And they do it day in, day out.
Speaker 2:They are ruthless about it. So you've got to be ruthless about your security precautions as well. You cannot be complacent. What we've found is what's really alarming is people thinking, you know what, Jathin? I'm not really that big.
Speaker 2:So why would the hackers be after me? They would be after these huge corporations like MGM. And there were so many ransomware hacks. They think they'll find boundary there. But it's not really the size of the firm or the business.
Speaker 2:It's the data that they're after. And unfortunately and fortunately, tax and accounting firms have all you know, data, all the these PIIs, all the rich data that they're after. So you're always a hot target. Yeah. So you gotta be keep up with the like, you know, like I tell all the people, like Yeah.
Speaker 2:Go back to the basics. Think of your data. You wanna protect it as a fortress. So go back to having moats. Go back to having drop bridges.
Speaker 2:Go back to having multiple layers of security. You cannot just rely on a complex password. You cannot just rely on two factor authentication. You cannot really rely on a third party thinking they're protecting You know, you gotta trust, but you gotta verify. That's what I tell.
Speaker 1:That's a powerful analogy. I like that castle moat, drawbridge analogy because they will take advantage of a soft target, and you Always. Want to be that soft target. Right.
Speaker 2:And like
Speaker 1:you said, they're working full time at this. So we've gotta be doing that as well in protection of your clients. You know, new technology means that every single industry is being forced to not only secure their data, but adapt, right, to new ways of working.
Speaker 2:True.
Speaker 1:How has cloud technology transformed the way that tax and accounting professionals are working, especially in recent years?
Speaker 2:See, what we've seen after COVID is remote work is not really a good to have option. It's a must have option. If you really want to grow your practice, if you really want to grow your business, you've got to have all the options available. If you want to hire somebody in a remote area, if you want to hire somebody in a different state, or if you wanna outsource your bookkeeping, your audit to another country, you could only do this with the cloud evolution. Right?
Speaker 2:It does revolutionize how how fast you can grow your practice. You are not really a small mom and shop mom and pop shop anymore. You have access to all the technologies because when you talk about new technology, it's always the barrier to entry into a new technology. If you have access to cloud, you have access to the entire world resources. But at the same time, you want to make sure you don't get complacent.
Speaker 2:Because there come challenges with the cloud hosting. You have access to all the resources. But at the same time, you want to make sure you have the security. Just like you said, it goes hand in hand.
Speaker 1:So you're the expert on this. And I'm gonna ask you this question. I liken it to the toilet paper argument, whether it's over or under. Right. This is this is an argument that continues across the board in the industry.
Speaker 1:What firms to consider when they're choosing between shared hosting or dedicated servers for their tech software. Weigh in. What's what's the final word?
Speaker 2:See, what I would say, it's like having a choice between flying economy and having a private jet. Oh, okay. If you take the cost out of the equation Mhmm. Of course, everyone would prefer private jet. You would wanna have the kind of meal you wanna have.
Speaker 2:You would wanna have complete control over the temperature. You would wanna fly whenever you like. You don't want you wanna cut all the other pieces out. Right? If given an option that dedicated server hosting is not as expensive as it is supposed as people think it is compared to shared hosting, everyone should would be and should be opting for dedicated hosting.
Speaker 2:Because there, you have all the resources dedicated to your firm, so performance is guaranteed. Then there's a security guarantee because you're not sharing anything with anybody else with any other firm. So you know everything is dedicated to you. And especially when it comes to tax season, when every minute of the hour matters, when every everything matters. You wanna have everything right away.
Speaker 2:So you've gotta have dedicated resources. You've gotta have that kind of predictability where you can rely on your server. You don't wanna have last minute hassles. You don't you never know. Your firm had four users, but the other firm had 25 users.
Speaker 2:The IT company didn't plan ahead, and they thought, because year round, they only had six users. So they planned for 10 users. But now all of a sudden, have 30 users logging in. So you are at their expense, and you are losing out on productive hours. So I would always recommend dedicated hosting.
Speaker 1:Jatina's spoken. The word is dedicated servers. Absolutely. We're gonna close that loop, keep it tight, keep it bespoke. Yep.
Speaker 1:This is great advice. Well, what about the general shift? You touched on that earlier, towards remote work. It's something that a lot of firms and employees are utilizing. How is that specifically affecting the IT needs, and more importantly, the security considerations of accounting firms?
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly. Like I said earlier, with the evolution of cloud, you have access to a workforce around the world. You could hire anybody anywhere. But again, at the same time, it becomes vulnerable as well. Your data is accessible to the entire world.
Speaker 2:So you wanna create, going back to the basics, you wanna create multiple layers of security. You wanna ensure, if you have a remote employee, that they should have the right credentials, and then they have multi factor authentication, so you know only the intended person is actually logging in. And then it becomes a challenge because they have their own laptop. You don't know how old that laptop is. You don't know what kind of security they have on their laptop.
Speaker 2:And you, as a firm, are only as strong as your weakest link. So if that person is your weakest link, you're only as strong as them. So your data is exposed. What I always recommend, do your due diligence. Take remote access of their computer, get a right IT firm like Verito on your side so that we can implement all the technology.
Speaker 2:You focus on your business, we focus on technology so that you continue to grow without having to worry about keeping up with the regulations and the security issues.
Speaker 1:Are you laptop agnostic, or do you have a preference?
Speaker 2:Myself? I prefer Mac, but I work.
Speaker 1:I just had to ask. Yeah, but those are important precautions that you point out and steps that people can Never
Speaker 2:been complacent that time, I would say.
Speaker 1:To make it easier and more seamless, that's always the goal. Mhmm. What would you say are the most common IT mistakes that you're seeing tax professionals making? And how can they avoid some of them?
Speaker 2:See, I've been in this industry for about a decade now. I mean, especially in the tax and accounting, but I've been a Microsoft certified engineer for over sixteen years now. The trends are almost the same no matter where you go. But in this industry, specifically, when you have this kind of data, you have PIIs and you have financial data of your clients, you have your social security information, you cannot be complacent. I would say never trust anybody who's saying that they would do something for you.
Speaker 2:Just verify everything. Go with the audit reports. What we've seen people being complacent, like I said earlier, a lot of firms think, I'm not really that big, so why would I be a target? Why do I need to spend on IT? Why do I need to spend on security when I'm just doing fine?
Speaker 2:And again, it's not a matter of if you would be attacked, it's a matter of when you would be attacked. So you've gotta be prepared for every eventuality. It's just having insurance. You never wanna use it, but you still have to have it.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah.
Speaker 2:Right? So it's just about being prepared for every eventuality. Think of yourself as a huge firm with huge data. Why think small? Think yourself that you're big enough, even though it's just the data that they're after.
Speaker 2:So what we've seen people do, they hire remote employees, but they don't do their due diligence. They go for new technology, but they don't do their due diligence. Like, a lot of people, what I've found recently, FTC safeguards was implemented and enforced last year, June 9. A lot of firms are almost 80% of the people I spoke to. They don't even know that these kind of regulations are there.
Speaker 2:And they don't know FTC could fine you up to $150,000 if you're not compliant. People don't even know that. There are FTC safeguards. People don't even know that there is a WISP requirement that you've got to have a written information security plan in order for you to renew your PTIN. A lot of people just check the box without even reading it.
Speaker 2:So I would say don't be complacent. Keep up with the technology. Keep up with the security because you cannot have a compromise.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And that's not something you wanna find out the hard way because it can really unravel very quickly.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:So this is some sound advice. We love partnering with Verito, and I love asking this question whenever I get someone here. How has your partnership and collaboration with Thomson Reuters served your customers to create some efficiencies and streamline your workflows?
Speaker 2:I love this question as well. Because, see, we love Thomson Reuters clients. We love our partnership with Thomson Reuters, mainly because of the values that we align with. We don't compromise on security. We don't compromise on performance.
Speaker 2:The clients that use Thomson Reuters products, they don't compromise either. They don't want to settle for less. They don't want to settle with just okay service. They want the best in class security. They want the best in class performance.
Speaker 2:They want their software to feel the best. They want their security zero tolerance with the security compliance. I mean, with the with the with anything. So that is what we love about Thomson Reuters. We keep working together to develop more solutions that are more secure and that are always available and keeping up with all the regulations and security, never compromising on that.
Speaker 1:Continued excellence of what brings us all together and keeps us coming back
Speaker 2:to Absolutely. The
Speaker 1:These are some really great insights and advice. Thank you so much, Dean. Thank you
Speaker 2:for
Speaker 1:joining us.