As soon as thought-about to be merely “bean counters,” accountants now play an necessary function within the defence, investigation and safety in opposition to cybercrime.
Fashionable cybercrime consists of stealing private data, hacking into methods, spreading viruses and tricking individuals into freely giving cash or knowledge by way of their enterprise electronic mail addresses.
In Australia, the typical price of a single cybercrime report in 2022 was A$39,000 for small companies, $88,000 for medium companies and $62,000 for giant companies.
In New Zealand, direct monetary losses from cybercrime reached NZ$6.6 million within the first quarter of 2024.
Though there may be basic steering on cybersecurity, there may be restricted details about the particular function accountants can play in its detection and prevention.
Historically targeted on monetary parts of a enterprise, accountants are sometimes now the frontline of responding to cybercrime.
Our analysis examined the function of accountants in cybersecurity and the way professionals in these roles can shield companies from on-line threats.
Because the keepers to delicate knowledge, together with tax data, payroll data and enterprise transactions, accountants can play a necessary function in decreasing the impacts of cybercrime.
We performed 21 interviews with administration accountants, cybersecurity specialists, authorized professionals and senior executives in Australia and New Zealand.
Our findings spotlight the next roles accountants can take.
Frontline Protectors
We discovered accountants are on the frontline of defending their organizations from varied types of cybercrime, akin to enterprise electronic mail compromises.
Many interviewed accountants described how they rigorously reviewed electronic mail content material and attachments, verified the legitimacy of senders, and checked domains to stop fraud. Additionally they reported confirming particulars with electronic mail contacts earlier than taking motion.
Past emails, accountants managed entry to delicate methods and knowledge. For instance, interviewees mentioned their jobs concerned guaranteeing solely approved staff had entry to monetary data or payroll methods.
By integrating cybersecurity practices into their every day work, accountants helped cut back the danger of cybercrime.
Strategic Choice Makers
Accountants didn’t simply shield knowledge – they helped strengthen cybersecurity via strategic selections.
In line with our interviewees, accountants typically labored with their group’s IT crew to determine on cybersecurity investments. Utilizing their monetary experience, accountants performed cost-benefit analyses to make sure restricted budgets are spent correctly.
Moreover, they performed a vital function in strengthening cybersecurity by making strategic selections in areas akin to threat identification, threat administration methods, threat protection and premiums for cyber insurance coverage.
Cyber insurance coverage helps cowl prices akin to fixing methods, notifying prospects concerning the breach and even coping with authorized claims.
As one analysis participant defined, accountants can help the enterprise management in answering essential questions posed by insurers. These can embrace queries akin to:
What threat you are attempting to mitigate? And what kind of threat administration you could have for cyber safety. What sort of threat administration in cybersecurity have you ever received? Have you ever received correct encryption, and have you learnt whether or not it’s {hardware} or software program encryption?
Managing Knowledge
Accountants play a key function in serving to organizations develop knowledge insurance policies. These insurance policies set up guidelines and pointers for managing knowledge, akin to how lengthy to retain data, tips on how to shield it and when to delete it.
Why is that this necessary? Retaining pointless knowledge will increase the danger of a knowledge breach.
Accountants leverage their monetary experience to display how decreasing saved knowledge can decrease dangers whereas nonetheless retaining helpful data. For instance, they may suggest deleting outdated payroll data or buyer knowledge that now not serve a enterprise objective.
Importantly, knowledge insurance policies additionally assist organizations adjust to privateness and knowledge safety rules, which have gotten more and more strict throughout Australia and New Zealand.
As cybercrime evolves, accountants should keep updated. Interviewees really helpful a number of methods to do that, together with collaborating in coaching programs, boards and seminars.
Programs on cybersecurity, programming and rising applied sciences like synthetic intelligence (AI) have been highlighted as significantly helpful. These programs assist accountants higher perceive tips on how to handle methods, shield knowledge and reply to new types of cybercrime.
In-house coaching tailor-made to accounting and finance groups can also be essential. Simulated cyberattacks – like phishing emails or faux bill fraud – assist accountants acknowledge and reply to threats in real-world situations.
To stay efficient on this altering panorama, accountants must continue to learn. By constructing their technical information and collaborating in tailor-made coaching, they’ll proceed to guard their organizations from the ever-evolving world of cyber threats.
Subjects
Fraud
