IT Security & Managed IT for CPA Firms in Charlotte, NC

Yes, if your firm prepares tax returns for a fee. The FTC treats paid tax preparers as covered financial institutions, so the firm needs a written information security program (WISP). Firms holding data on fewer than 5,000 consumers are exempt from a few written items: the written risk assessment, the written incident response plan, the penetration-testing schedule and the annual report to leadership. Since May 13, 2024, a breach of unencrypted information on 500 or more consumers must be reported to the FTC within 30 days of discovery.

A WISP is your firm’s written plan for protecting client data: who can reach it, how it is secured, and what happens if something goes wrong. The IRS asks about it directly. When preparers apply for or renew a PTIN, line 11 of Form W-12 has them acknowledge that paid tax return preparers are required by law to create and maintain a written information security plan. IRS Publication 4557 explains the safeguards and Publication 5708 provides a WISP template. Our guide Your WISP Is Not Optional walks through what yours must contain.

We support UltraTax CS, CCH Axcess, Lacerte and Drake, along with the Microsoft 365 tenant, devices, network and backups they depend on. Access to each sits behind multi-factor authentication, and we plan updates around your filing calendar so maintenance does not land on a deadline week.

Yes. Busy-Season Priority Support is an optional add-on for CPA firms. It covers your firm’s own busy periods, tax season and your extension deadlines, not a fixed calendar. During those weeks every support request from your firm is handled first, and urgent issues reach an on-call engineer 24 hours a day, including nights and weekends. We set the dates with you each year.

With layers that work when nobody is at a desk: multi-factor authentication on every login, email filtering, endpoint detection and response watched by a 24/7/365 security operations center, and encrypted backups that we test by restoring them. Staff get phishing training before the season, when fake client emails with tax-document attachments ramp up.

Yes. Many insurers now ask for proof of multi-factor authentication, endpoint detection, tested backups and security training. We document what is in place so your answers match reality. An answer that does not match your actual controls can put a claim at risk.

Our managed IT engagements start at $2,000 per month. The final price depends on your number of users and your compliance requirements. We start with a free IT audit and give you a clear, written proposal with no obligation.

Right after the October 15 extension deadline. Switching between mid-October and the end of the year means the new setup is running and settled well before the January rush. Changing providers in February or March puts risk on your busiest weeks.

No. Small firms have fewer people to handle security and compliance work, which is where managed IT helps most. Tell us your headcount and we will tell you honestly whether we are a fit.

We put in place the technical controls examiners commonly request, including access management, multi-factor authentication, endpoint protection, email archiving and incident response planning, and we keep the written evidence current. The 2024 Regulation S-P amendments add a written incident response program and 30-day client notification; smaller advisers had to comply by June 3, 2026.