irs and ftc cybersecurity expectations of tax practitioners

your tools for a cybersecurity compliance check-up.

by donny shimamoto
cybersecurity for accountants

in august 2019, the irs published its list of “security six” steps to protect taxpayer information.[i] these described the six “basic protections” that it expects tax prepares to utilize.

more:  how hacker-proof is your firm? | unleashing the power of technology: transforming accountants into trusted advisors | future firm growth requires a mindshift | ai, ocr, nlp & cpas: oh my!   |  accounting nerds, unlock your super powers  | early adopters gain an edge in audit | dustin wheeler: for serious cas success, hire tech teams | csr for cpas: the missing ingredient | donny shimamoto explains how ‘agile’ applies to cpa firmsstaff retention for remote workers | why the future is in risk advisory |  ready for non-cpa “cpa” firms?
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these include:

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bill penczak: stop forcing smart people to do stupid work

challenge your people and keep the work interesting or risk losing them. 

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the disruptors
with liz farr

too many accounting firms have “smart people doing stupid work,” according to bill penczak, a veteran sales and marketing professional. the founder and chief insights officer for mica ventures said to think about the effort it takes to get an accounting degree and get your cpa, and contrast that with the years of mindless work that many new hires are required to do, especially if they go into audit, he said. “one of the reasons why there’s such a talent shortage is because the market has figured this out,” and no one wants to do that stupid work, penczak said.

more podcasts and videos: sandra wiley: staffing problem? check your culture | scott scarano: first, grow people. then firm growth can follow | jody padar: build a practice that works for you, not vice-versa | ira rosenbloom: with m&a, nobody wants a fixer-upper | peter margaritis: the power skills every accountant needs | joe montgomery: find the sweet spot of the right clients, right services and right pricesmarie green: your bad apples are ruining youmegan genest tarnow: hire for curiosity rather than complianceclayton oates: one way to keep clients for liferandy crabtree: follow these three rules to keep employees happyerik solbakken: yes, you can work less and make more | donny shimamoto: future firm growth requires a mindshiftjennifer wilson: empower young workers to build the firm everyone lovesmike whitmire: re-think your hiring and training practiceshector garcia: success strategies of a quickbooks youtube superstar | blake oliver: why tax work yearns to be freeprivate equity explodes in u.k. | brannon poe: the status quo must go  | accounting nerds, unlock your super powers  | disruptor: jason statts shakes up the status quo | think small to think big with matt wilkinsonwhen financial statements go extinct with corey schmidtcan geraldine carter save accountants from themselves?re-inventing accounting with tyler anderson

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besides making smart people do stupid work, penczak said many of the firms he works with are realizing that they need to do a better job with mentoring and career development, as well as simply having more conversations with their people.

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cybersecurity exemptions for orgs with less than 5,000 clients

you may be off the hook, but not out of the woods.

by donny shimamoto

management consulting company aon described an exemption for some of the ftc requirements for firms that handle the personal identifiable information (pii) of less than 5,000 consumers.[i]

the safeguards rule provides an exception from certain requirements if the covered financial institution maintains customer information concerning fewer than 5,000 consumers. a consumer is defined in section 314.2(b)(1) of the safeguards rule as “an individual who obtains or has obtained a financial product or service from the financial institution that is used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, or that individual’s legal representative.”

more:  how hacker-proof is your firm? | unleashing the power of technology: transforming accountants into trusted advisors | future firm growth requires a mindshift | ai, ocr, nlp & cpas: oh my!   |  accounting nerds, unlock your super powers  | early adopters gain an edge in audit | dustin wheeler: for serious cas success, hire tech teams | csr for cpas: the missing ingredient | donny shimamoto explains how ‘agile’ applies to cpa firmsstaff retention for remote workers | why the future is in risk advisory |  ready for non-cpa “cpa” firms?
goprocpa.com exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

essentially if you handle less than 5,000 social security numbers, then it would appear that you can take advantage of this exemption. aon went on to report that if you fall under this exemption, then you do not need to address the following requirements:

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congress: tax prep companies shared private data with google, meta for years

former ftc chief says this data breach is a “five-alarm fire.”

by rick richardson
technology this week

a seven-month congressional investigation found that three of the biggest tax preparation firms in the country may have shared americans’ private financial information with google and meta for years in a possible violation of federal law. the information, in some cases, was used for targeted advertising.

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the investigation’s findings reveal a “five-alarm fire” for taxpayer privacy that, according to legal experts, could result in public and private lawsuits, criminal penalties or even a “mortal blow” for some major industry players like taxslayer, h&r block and taxact.

“on a scale from one to 10, this is a 15 … this is as great as any privacy breach that i’ve seen other than exploiting kids. this is a five-alarm fire if what we know about this so far is true.”

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