IT support, cybersecurity, WISP compliance, and FTC Safeguards for CPA and accounting firms in Arizona.
Tax season phishing spikes 300% and your staff isn’t ready Between January and April, phishing attacks targeting Arizona CPA firms spike dramatically. Attackers impersonate the IRS, the Arizona Department of Revenue, major clients, and software vendors. They know your team is working 60-70 hour weeks and making fast decisions under pressure. That’s exactly when people…
Your tax software is only as reliable as the server it runs on If your Arizona CPA firm is still running UltraTax CS on a local server in your office, you’re gambling with your busiest season every year. Arizona heat degrades server hardware faster than manufacturer specs suggest. Monsoon-season power surges can corrupt databases in…
Why Arizona CPA Firms Are Prime BEC Targets Business Email Compromise cost American businesses over $2.9 billion in 2023 according to FBI data. CPA firms are disproportionately targeted because they handle exactly what attackers want: wire transfer authority, client financial data, and W-2 information. Arizona CPA firms face an especially intense window from January through…
Why CPA Firms Need a Formal Client Offboarding Process When a client relationship ends at your CPA firm, what happens to their data? If the answer is “nothing,” you have a compliance problem. Most Arizona CPA firms have a solid client onboarding process. New engagement letters, portal setup, document collection. But when a client leaves?…
Why Arizona CPA Firms Can’t Ignore the FTC Safeguards Rule If you’re running a CPA firm in Gilbert, Scottsdale, Mesa, or anywhere in the Phoenix metro area, the FTC Safeguards Rule applies to you. No size exemption. No grace period. Whether you’re a solo practitioner or a 50-person firm, the updated rule requires a documented…
Cutting Through the AI Hype for CPA Firms Every conference keynote, every software vendor email, and every industry publication is telling accounting firms the same thing: AI is going to transform your practice. And they are partly right. But between the breathless promises and the actual tools available today, there is a significant gap that…
Why Cloud Hosting Matters for Tax Season Performance Every tax season, accounting firms across Arizona face the same pressure: dozens of returns due simultaneously, staff working extended hours, and technology that needs to keep pace. For firms running UltraTax, Lacerte, or Drake, the hosting model behind that software can mean the difference between a smooth…
Tax season doesn’t care if your server is ready. It arrives on schedule, and your technology either holds up or it doesn’t. The firms that cruise through busy season without IT disasters are the ones that prepared in October, not the ones scrambling in February. Here are 10 things every CPA firm should do before…
A Written Information Security Plan is an IRS requirement for every tax preparer. Here is what a WISP should contain, how to tell if yours is adequate, and why a downloaded template is not enough.
The FTC Safeguards Rule requires CPA firms to maintain a written security program. Here is what Arizona accounting firms need to know about compliance, the Qualified Individual requirement, and getting ready before tax season.
