It’s hard to imagine anything an accounting firm does is not tied to technology and processes; however, with so many firms still stretching the limits of dated technology, it is one of many reasons to consider utilizing managed IT services.
Cybercriminals become incredibly sophisticated, and it’s been made clear accounting firms—with all of the sensitive information they potentially have access to—remain a key target. In fact, according to IBM’s 2024 Threat Intelligence Report, professional services, including accounting, ranked among the top five most attacked industries, with an average breach cost of $5.9 million.
Another survey by the AICPA found that 91% of accounting firms experienced at least one attempted cyberattack in the past year. In the middle of this storm, the IRS tightened its own data security requirements.
Under IRS Publication 4557 and the FTC Safeguards Rule, every tax professional must maintain a Written Information Security Plan (WISP) and demonstrate ongoing security controls. This isn’t advisory anymore; it’s mandatory.
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Other common challenges include:
- Limited or delayed access to real-time data: Many firms still operate on outdated IT systems that cannot sync or process data fast enough. This delay creates inaccurate records, slows audits and tax workflows, and increases the risk of mistakes in financial reporting.
- Software integration and compatibility issues: Most firms use multiple applications such as QuickBooks, UltraTax, Office 365, practice management software, CRMs, and more. Without a robust IT foundation, these systems conflict, fail to integrate, or expose vulnerabilities when new updates or security patches roll out.
- Frequent system downtime and slow support: Old servers, fragmented support channels, shared IT responsibilities, and unmanaged devices increase downtime. This directly impacts client work, delays filings, breaks workflows during tax season, and opens doors for cyberattacks.
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If all this sounds familiar, let this be your signal to re-evaluate your approach and finally modernize your IT infrastructure.
Benefits of managed IT services for accountants
All these challenges have pushed firms to confront an uncomfortable truth: modern accounting requires enterprise-grade IT, security, and compliance, but building this internally is overwhelming, expensive, and often unrealistic.
This is where managed IT services have quietly become the backbone of successful accounting firms. Instead of hiring a full internal team—a security engineer, network admin, cloud specialist, helpdesk staff, and IT manager—firms can now outsource the entire operation to a team that works 24/7, monitors every device, protects every endpoint, patches every server, detects threats in real time, and keeps accounting software running without disruption.
What used to be a burden has turned into a predictable monthly service that covers everything from security to compliance to helpdesk support.
The following are seven benefits of managed IT services for accounting firms:
1. Enhanced security: Managed IT service providers are equipped with the latest technologies and expertise to ensure that the accounting firm operates securely and efficiently.
A good managed service provider helps you build a stronger security setup while offering expert support, modern technology like EDR and SIEM, continuous monitoring, cost savings, and more efficient operations.
2. Predictable IT costs: Every business aims to maintain strict control over its budgeting and planning. This is especially true for accounting businesses. Any deviations from the budget are frowned upon. Firms with in-house IT security will find it difficult to stick to the budget and will inevitably exceed it by a substantial margin.
However, embracing managed IT services makes your IT security expenses very predictable and foreseeable, helping keep budgets under control. After all, nobody likes a budget shock mid-year.
3. Cloud-based infrastructure: Firms are switching to the cloud everywhere for well-known reasons. However, cloud migrations can be complex and challenging. If not done properly, they can be very risky and expensive. It’s best not to do them alone but with a partner that has the experience of doing this the right way.
An experienced managed service provider will help you with planning, data migration, cloud setup, user provisioning, and on-demand scalability, among others.
4. Zero downtime: Downtime is a real threat, especially during tax season. Tax professionals are already under a lot of stress due to fast-approaching deadlines and last-minute reconciliations. A downtime incident could really wreak havoc in such a volatile situation.
However, those who have adopted managed IT services can breathe a sigh of relief as their IT services partner will ensure automated backups, disaster recovery solutions, proactive maintenance, and 24/7 support.
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5. Better client experience: Clients today have high expectations. Accounting firms cannot reasonably expect clients to overlook issues that arise during filings, onboarding, or other engagements.
A well-managed IT environment supports quick responses to clients, seamless document sharing, accurate filings, smooth onboarding, secure communication, and round-the-clock support. All this is only possible with managed IT services for accounting firms.
6. Adherence to compliance: For accounting firms, staying compliant often involves dealing with a series of regulatory hurdles. There is a long list of compliance requirements, including IRS publications, FTC safeguard rules, and state privacy laws. This list isn’t exhaustive, as the requirements are constantly changing and can be challenging to keep up with.
A managed service provider enhances accounting firm operations by maintaining a comprehensive checklist of requirements, ensuring data protection controls, logging and monitoring, implementing access restrictions and encryption standards, providing audit support, and maintaining policy documentation.
7. Remote and hybrid work support: In today’s global and connected economy, accounting firms have clients located in different geographical locations. Hence, secure access from anywhere is the need of the hour.
Your managed service partner can help you make your remote access setups compliant, secure, and smooth, through cloud desktops, secure VPNs, zero-trust access policy, mobile device management, and encrypted communication. Your staff can work from anywhere without worrying about exposing client data to the insecure public Wi-Fi.
Managed IT is no longer optional but essential
At the end of the day, accounting is about trust. Managed IT helps protect that trust by ensuring your systems stay secure, your data remains protected, your team stays productive, and your clients feel confident that their most sensitive information is in safe hands. For modern accounting firms, this isn’t an upgrade; it’s a necessity for survival and a foundation for growth.
What are your views?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dr. Sangeeta Chhabra, co-founder and executive director of Ace Cloud Hosting, is a leader and innovative entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in the IT sector. She has positioned the company as a leading global provider of IT and managed cloud services, celebrated for its QuickBooks hosting tailored for the accounting sector, managed security services, Desktop as a Service, and public cloud offerings for SMBs and enterprises. Under her leadership, Ace Cloud Hosting was honored as the Best Outsourced Technology Provider at the CPA Practice Advisor Readers’ Choice Awards 2023, among other accolades. Beyond her professional successes, Dr. Chhabra is a passionate advocate for women’s empowerment and is committed to fostering an inclusive environment at Ace Cloud Hosting.
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