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Three Ways to Protect Client Files from Cyberthreats

Technology Security with Internet Digital Signature as Art

Make technology your ally.

By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud

Have you ever been contacted by the IRS with the FBI involved? I can tell you from firsthand experience that it’s a bit alarming when that happens.

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We were once contacted by the IRS because they thought our server had been compromised. When the field officer who came to our office asked to see our server, we explained that we didn’t have a server. She was a little surprised by that information and then asked where we kept our files. We explained that we use cloud storage and programs designed specifically for encryption and security.
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PRO Member Exclusive

How Niches Make Your Firm Stronger

hand circling silhouettes in red

Become the only firm that matters to the clients worth keeping.

By Hitendra Patil

Specialization is the single decision that will do more for an independent firm’s long-term position than anything else. I know that is a strong statement. I also know it is the recommendation that gets the most pushback in the room.

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The pushback usually sounds like one of three things. “We cannot afford to turn away work right now.” Or: “Our market is too small to specialize.” Or the version I hear most often: “We already serve a fairly focused type of client, we just have not put a name on it.” That last one is usually true, and it is also the starting point for everything.
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Bissett Bullet: Meet the Decision Maker

Today’s Bissett Bullet: “If the prospective client you’re meeting with needs to ‘recommend’ your proposal to others, they are not the person who can make the decision.”

By Martin Bissett

In a number of cases in growing our firms, especially in larger businesses, we can sometimes be palmed off with recommenders and not actual decision makers and yet we treat them as if they are. Do not waste time with people who cannot authorize a payment to you.

Today’s To-Do:

Make sure in a new business meeting that you are meeting with at least one of the decision makers in the business. Also, make sure that any meeting that you have with a recommender is based purely on getting a meeting with a buyer next time.

See more Bissett Bullets here

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ACCOUNTING ARC

AI Can Fix Your Workflow—or Break It in Seconds | ARC

Deliberate experimentation can unlock value—without creating costly mistakes. 

Sponsored by True Advisor: The Definitive Success Guide for Client Advisory Services by Hitendra Patil |
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The step-by-step operating guide for firms building, pricing, and scaling advisory services that clients value—and pay for.

Accounting ARC
With Liz Mason and Byron Patrick
Center for Accounting Transformation

Artificial intelligence is moving fast—fast enough that even the people experimenting with it daily admit they’re still figuring it out in real time. On the latest episode of Accounting ARC, Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, and Liz Mason, CPA, take listeners inside that reality: a profession eager to unlock AI-driven efficiency, but still learning how to manage the risks that come with it. 

The conversation centers on a deceptively simple idea—just because AI can do something doesn’t mean it should. And in accounting, the consequences of getting that wrong can be immediate. 

MORE Accounting ARC: Efficiency Is the Wrong Goal for AI | Accounting’s Hidden Talent Risk: The Sandwich Generation | Built Fast. Sold Faster. Broken Later? The Truth About Accounting Tech | Recognize When You Need to Recharge Before You Burn Out | Valuing More Than the Balance Sheet | Accounting’s “Untalked-About” Frontier | Why Happiness is Hard-Fought for High Achievers | The Fastest Way to Lose Talent Is “Dick Leadership” | Post-Holiday Fatigue Isn’t a Failure; It’s a Signal | OCR, Research Bots & Meeting Assistants: What Actually Helps Now | Return Season is the New Stress Test | Small Firms May Have the Biggest Advantage in 2026 | Downgraded: What the DOE Said About Accounting |

The discussion begins with a practical example: integrating AI tools like Claude into everyday workflows, particularly in systems such as QuickBooks or Excel. 

What makes these tools powerful is also what makes them risky. 

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