Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/146073
FEATURE Securely Mobilizing the Accounting Profession A By Rama Kolappan ccounting professionals are like any other information worker – currently trying to keep their head above water and fght the incoming tide of digital documentation. Te worldwide volume of data is expected to grow 44-fold between 2009 and 2020, according to EMC, part of which can be atributed to people uploading more than a billion fles into online sharing and syncing solutions every single day. Tese online fle-sharing platforms are now part of everyday life. The problem facing the accounting industry is that the files shared by CPAs are full of clients' sensitive personal information, including bank accounts, social security numbers and work history. What could happen to a frm's liability insurance if that sensitive information was leaked and misused? Te disclosure of a client's personal information could bring about a number of legal issues for a frm found in violation of the FTC information security laws and other privacy regulations. A nother factor affecting the industry is an increasingly mobile workforce; rather than being tied to a desk, the typical worker is now working remotely on multiple mobile devices. In 2013, more than 75 percent of the workforce will be mobile, according to Cisco. And work output is booming because of it; three out of fve workers in the U.S. say they no longer need to be in the ofce to be productive. So now you have productive accountants who are working on the go – sharing, syncing and editing client documents on their mobile device of choice, but it's a nightmare for the IT and security departments. Fortunately, there are secure filesharing solutions that meet the security and liability regulations that apply to accounting practitioners. Secure mobile productivity solutions for enterprises should provide the convenience of a public-cloud solution and the ease-of-use of a consumer-grade app, with additional layers of encryption and admin security controls that reduce the risk of data leakage. T here are a number of ways accounting firms can improve the mobile security of business content, without slowing down productivity. Here are fve key best practices that accounting firms should follow to ensure confdential data shared via mobile devices is secure: • PROTECT CONFIDENTIAL FILES ON ALL DEVICES. Deploy a fle sharing solution that runs on all the mobile devices and OSs that employees are carrying. Even if a frm has deployed a Mobile Device Management (MDM) or Mobile Applications Management (MAM) solution for the basic provi- SECURITY AND YOUR F IRM sioning and network management of devices, it should also deploy a secure Mobile Content Management (MCM) solution, so mobile security can be controlled at the device, application and fle level. Ten employees can truly work wherever they want on their device of choice, improving productivity without risking data security. • CENTRALIZE CONTROL AND MONITORING. Firms should deploy a flesharing solution with centralized access controls and logging and audit features. Centralized monitoring also allows IT administrators and security ofcers to monitor the distribution of fles and to detect anomalous behavior before it leads to data breaches. Logging also enables accounting frms to demonstrate to clients or regulatory bodies that confidentiality has not been breached. • CONNECT TO SHAREPOINT AND OTHER ECM SYSTEMS. Many frms have invested in ECM systems such a s S h a r e Po i n t o r i M a n a g e . Accounting frms should choose a fle sharing solution that integrates with these ECM systems, so that secure fle-sharing becomes a natural part of doing work, and so that workers in remote locations always have access to the critical fles they need. • USE PRIVATE, NOT PUBLIC, CLOUDS. Cloud architectures are scalable, mobile-friendly and cost-efective— ideal atributes for any frm. However, public clouds are unsafe for confdential data. By deploying a private cloud fle sharing capability, IT has complete control over the location, access to, and availability of data. • BLOCK RISKY SERVICES. By providing a secure mobile file sharing service, frms can eliminate most of the temptation for employees to try a service like Dropbox or iCloud for business purposes. By also proactively blocking consumer-grade fle sharing services, frms can be confdent that users won't atempt to circumvent the IT department, jeopardizing the confdentiality of the frm's data. Another way to secure mobile data is through "open-in" features, which control what apps can access data. Finally, there is the "carrot and stick" approach, which provides employees with a generous amount of online storage space to store work, making the cost and complexity of a public service significantly less atractive. By following these fve best practices, accounting firms can ensure they're improving the mobile productivity of their workforce, without sacrifcing the security of sensitive customer information. Mobile file sharing and synchronization is here to stay, and frms that fgure out how to do it securely will be positioned to win more business, and grow their mobile-enabled organization. Rama Kolappan is the director of mobile product marketing and product management at Accellion. Kolappan is an accomplished leader with more than 12 years of experience and a successful track record of developing innovative technological solutions and new business opportunities. August 2013 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 17