Cloud solutions have revolutionized the accounting industry in recent years. While the cloud may seem like a simple concept at first glance, few people fully understand the depth and range of the cloud options that are available today.

All cloud technologies serve the same basic function at their core: the delivery of computing resources over the internet. Beyond that, however, there are vast differences in today’s cloud offerings. Contrary to what many users envision, cloud computing is not simply one amorphous network where all users access all the data they need. Instead, there are a number of different kinds of cloud computing available, including public clouds, private clouds, community clouds, hybrid clouds and SaaS cloud solutions.

While it has been predicted that 83% of enterprise workloads will be in the cloud by 2020, how can you know which cloud solution is right for your firm? The answer lies in understanding the differences between the various cloud options in the industry and the specific business needs they’re best suited to meet.

Public Clouds                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  A public cloud is what many people think of when they envision the cloud. It’s a basic cloud computing model through which a cloud service provider offers resources like storage and applications to the public at large via the internet. Typically, the infrastructure of a public cloud is shared by many users from a large number of different firms or companies, each of which purchases a cloud subscription on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Because public clouds usually involve huge servers in numerous locations around the world, they offer users maximum scalability to meet their needs as companies grow or shrink. Their sheer size also means they provide high levels of flexibility and reliability, and because the user pays only for the resources actually employed and doesn’t need to hire IT staff, they’re typically a highly cost-effective cloud option.

The biggest drawback of public clouds is their inability to offer advanced security and privacy measures. Because many users are sharing a single infrastructure, public clouds are often unable to meet regulatory requirements. Public clouds are best suited for large data storage and processing, access through web browsers or for companies that have minimal security concerns.

Private Clouds                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Unlike public clouds, private clouds run on proprietary infrastructure that’s provisioned for exclusive use by a single organization. Usually, a firm will deploy its own platforms, software and applications and partner with a vendor that specializes in creating and managing private cloud environments or pay for cloud service on a fee-per-unit-time model. 

Private clouds tend to be very scalable to the user’s needs and shift the IT burden from the client to the private cloud vendor. One of their main advantages over public clouds is enhanced security and privacy. Because the cloud infrastructure is tailored to a single client, it usually sits behind a dedicated firewall and is accessed over an encrypted connection with multifactor authentication. The enhanced security and data encryption measures make compliance with privacy and security regulations possible.

Private clouds tend to be more expensive than public clouds and may take longer to set up. In addition, companies typically require internal IT staff to oversee deployment and maintenance, or they rely on their private cloud vendor which supplies management and maintenance of the private cloud.

Community Clouds                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Community clouds are a recent development and essentially a variation on private clouds that are shared by a specific, discrete business community. While multiple businesses share the infrastructure, each has its own private cloud space designed to meet the data privacy, security and compliance needs of the specific community the cloud is serving.

Community clouds are most popular among companies in industries that are subject to strict regulatory compliance requirements. They’re also beneficial for users working on joint projects within a defined business community that involve the sharing of applications and software specific to that community.

Hybrid Clouds                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Hybrid clouds are exactly what they sound like: a mix of private and public cloud infrastructure. They offer the best of both worlds, because sensitive data resides in the private cloud where the user can maintain high privacy and security standards, while work of a nonsensitive nature can be handled in the public cloud, which offers increased scalability and data storage at a lower cost. Hybrid clouds are ideal for firms that have a mix of sensitive operations and nonsensitive projects involving large amounts of data that are better stored in a public cloud infrastructure.

SaaS Cloud Solutions                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Software as a service is one of the newest subsets of cloud computing now being offered, and it’s a market that’s quickly growing. SaaS cloud services deliver software directly to the consumer over a cloud platform that’s entirely hosted and managed by a third-party vendor. In most instances, SaaS cloud solutions require no hardware installations or purchases, making it easy for users to get started even if they’ve not previously made the move to the cloud.

SaaS cloud solutions are highly cost-effective because, in addition to the user not having to purchase hardware, there’s no need to hire IT staff to manage a network of software, servers, firewalls, routers or anything else. All software support is provided by the vendor as part of the SaaS offering, meaning that applications are constantly maintained and updated with no effort from the user.

A SaaS subscription price often includes the ongoing technical support and program maintenance, but the user does not actually own any of the software to which it is subscribing. While SaaS solutions tend to be highly scalable and secure, they may be more limited than private clouds when it comes to customization and functionality. SaaS solutions may be ideal for firms that want a simple, seamless cloud computing experience with little hands-on maintenance responsibility.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to choosing the right cloud technology. With the options available today, however, there is a right cloud solution for every firm. Determining what you need in terms of security, scalability, IT support and cost will help you choose the cloud solution that best benefits your individual firm.

Emburse has been formed by six companies that market expense and AP software. The companies that have combined are Abacus, Captio, Certify, Chrome River, Nexonia and Tallie, according to an announcement this month.

Emburse, which has 750 employees and 14,000 customers, is led by CEO Eric Friedrichsen, previously global head, commercial, SMB, and growth markets for Marketo from January 2019 through this month .The aggregation of vendors is designed to challenge SAP Concur. 

In a prepared statement, Friedrichsen said the six participants will be able to accelerate development through technology sharing while maintaining their individual software packages.

Before working at SAP Concur,  Friedrichsen was with SAP Concur from April 2008 through December 2016. From January 2017 through January 2019, he was with SAP as SVP and GM for mid-market and ecosystems, North America

 When a cyberattack strikes an accounting firm, it impacts the firm’s data and, more importantly, can expose critical client data. Keeping your business data and applications safe and secure from ransomware attacks while increasing your clients’ awareness of malicious software requires collaboration with your internal IT department and managed IT provider. 

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that blocks access to computer systems and then requires an anonymous payment to the hackers for return of the data. A ransomware attack is typically delivered via a phishing email. Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that there will be a ransomware attack on businesses every 14 seconds by the end of 2019 and every 11 seconds by 2021, incurring global ransomware damage costs as high as $20 billion by 2021.

In addition to providing services to clients, a firm’s top priority must be keeping its IT infrastructure and client data safe from any cybersecurity threats, including ransomware. Ransomware isn’t going away anytime soon – if anything, these types of malware will continue to become more dangerous. Here are six things firms can do now to better protect client data:

1. Build and test a disaster recovery plan.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Perform a security audit to test and identify vulnerabilities in your organization’s IT infrastructure. Close the gaps to ensure that your information assets are fully protected. Conduct monthly disaster recovery plan drills to ensure quick response times. 

A disaster recovery plan can help your firm get systems back up and running after a cybersecurity attack. A business continuity plan enables staff to remain productive while cybersecurity issues are being resolved.

2. Use secure methods of document sharing.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       How does your firm exchange important financial documents with clients? Do clients send earnings statements and tax documents by regular mail or as email attachments? The insecure nature of mail makes it relatively easy for others to intercept, monitor or tamper with critical information. Instead, use a secure client portal to reduce the risk of data breaches. Accountants and clients can log in on a portal to upload, share and view documents, files and messages in a highly secure, encrypted environment.

3. Implement multiple backup protection.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           When ransomware infects an organization’s IT infrastructure, it can restrict access to critical information stored within the computer system. Effective backup of firm data will enable restoration of all files, documents and data right up to the time of a ransomware infection or other breach.

Best practice is to have data stored on multiple servers with multiple backup solutions in place, secured with the latest and most advanced technology, to make sure no one can access or delete stored data. Backups should be on a separate network, completely isolated from your main network and off-site.

4. Increase levels of security.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Hackers tend to focus on systems that are easy to access. So the more levels of security they encounter, the more likely they will move on to avoid wasting time and effort. By implementing network wide security solutions, such as anti-virus, web filtering, firewalls and password protection, your hardware and employee devices will have the same level of security. 

Additionally, data should never be protected by a single password, no matter how creative or complex that single password may be. With this in mind, you should consider implementing multifactor authentication. It requires two or more forms of authentication in order to access critical data and applications hosted in the cloud. New AI-based technology solutions can analyze and model network behavior, improving threat detection to better protect firm and client data from cyberthreats.

5. Educate staff and clients.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Anyone who has access to network files and data, has individualized passwords to log in on business applications or uses any type of device to get to the cloud must be trained to identify potential threats. To spearhead education, think about developing and implementing cybersecurity training courses to educate your staff on the different types of ransomware threats as well as teach them easy tips to avoid attacks, such as exercising caution with suspicious emails or losing mobile devices. Send weekly reminders to your staff on security best practices (e.g., don’t click on links or attachments from unknown senders). 

Conduct research using websites like ID Ransomware or MSSP Alert to keep on top of IT-related current events in order to alert your staff and clients about new threats on the horizon. 

6. Monitor activity.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Smaller businesses tend to fall victim to ransomware attacks because they do not monitor ongoing activity. Network monitoring tools can provide visibility into existing weak entry points that have allowed past breaches to occur and using that information to avoid possible future breaches. Track activity by creating a log of past security events and input the data into a security information and event management (SIEM) system. This system will offer a holistic view of your entire organization’s security. 

A final recommendation is to assemble and rely on a strong security team. Enlist the assistance of technology service providers. Hosting partners and accounting firm document management professionals understand the cybersecurity environment and have experience in implementing the solutions outlined here. The use of both preventive and predictive security practices will allow your firm to mitigate the risk of ransomware and better secure client data.

A study by Paychex has one 27 percent of business owners do not use any kind of data security software. The recently released results were published in a survey of 500 business owners with one to 500 employees who were queried about data security.

Of the other 73 percent of respondents, 48 percent use on-premise software; 11 percent, cloud-based software; 14 percent both.

Some of the businesses not utilizing data security software must feel secure because 81 percent of respondents said they were confident their company and customer data are as secure as possible. Similarly, 84 percent of the total believe they would be able to recover from a data breach or cyberattack.

Paychex also found the following from those surveyed:                                                                                                                                                                       *81 percent say employees recognize the importance of data security;                                                                                                                                               *72 percent regularly review their data security approach to ensure they are following best practices;                                                                                               *70 percent believe they have a clear data security policy;                                                                                                                                                                    *60 percent trains all employees on data security.

Larger companies are more likely to provide employee training. Eighty-nine percent of companies with 100 to 500 say they provide training, compared to 59 percent of those with one to 19 employees.

For resellers, the issue now is meeting user needs and making money, not worrying about whether software is in the cloud. Certainly, there are many thousands of on-premise mid-market accounting systems in use and a decent number are being sold. But the action is in the cloud and it is a matter of features, which is what users really care about. The issue is which product is better at handling nonprofits, which is good for businesses with inventory, which best suits professional services and which delve into highly specialized markets. In the fact, the thought did not even occur this year to count how many of the Top 100 2019 VARs carry cloud products. It was just assumed they all do. That is why this year’s theme is “The Cloud Rules”  If you are not in the cloud game, you are not really in the game.

2018 Report: Getting a Handle on the Cloud

Buyers and sellers are talking less and less about cloud software. The discussions increasingly center around how the software, which happens to be cloud based, helps companies solve business problems, not on the technology used. Read more how this is happening.

Sponsored by:

Report: Payroll Gets Easier: Running payroll, whether for a company to pay its own employees or to pay clients’ employees, has rarely been easy. But it is necessary, which is why the question of whether tax and accounting firms should offer services as a line of business has had some firms moving into the business and others moving out. Read more and find out where your firm falls.

Sponsored By:

Report: Using the Cloud to Protect Your Data

The handwriting is in the cloud. And given some real barriers to adoption of cloud-based software, the move remains a question of when, not if, for most businesses with the purchase of web-based applications picking up speed. Download this free special report and read how.

Sponsored By:

Jeff Siegel is the owner of Siegel Solutions, an 11-person firm that provides outsourced bookkeeping solutions usingJeff Siegel is the owner of Siegel Solutions, an 11-person firm that provides outsourced bookkeeping solutions usingQuickBooks to over 300 clients. Jeff knows what it takes to grow a business: efficiency of scale, real-time insights thatbuild strong customer relationships, and a secure data environment. He gets all three from Right Networks.

In this ebook, we’ll examine:In this ebook, we’ll examine:

• Why DIY (Do-It-Yourself) accounting systems created forsmall businesses cause undue pain for both small businessowners and for accountants
• How the right cloud-based professional accounting systemcan not only eliminate that pain, but also open up newopportunities for accountants to better serve their clients

Steven Brewer, CPA is the President of Steven Brewer and Company, CPAs, located in Salem, IN. He talked to AccountantsWorld about how he’s grown his accounting practice without needing to increase his number of clients – and how those improvements have eased his tax season crunch.

BooXkeeping: How White Label Bookkeeping Services Provide Scalability to Your Firm When it comes to running a business the main thing that every business owner wants to do is sell their products or services, create brand awareness and generate profits that they can enjoy later in life. The last thing a business owner wants to do is to worry about bookkeeping, taxes, and the rest of time consuming accounting tasks needed to run a successful business, with limited resources and time, often the bookkeeping ends up being the last on the list of things that need to be completed.

The Internal Revenue Service has suspended Installment Agreements with payments due between April 1 and July 15. The agency said taxpayers unable to comply with terms of an Installment Payment Agreement, including a Direct Deposit Installment Agreement, may suspend payments due in that period.

Liens and levies, including seizures personal residence, initiated by field revenue officers will be suspended for the same period as will new automatic, systemic liens and levies.

The IRS will  ot default any Installment Agreements during this period, although by law, interest will continue to accrue on any unpaid balances. Taxpayers unable to pay tax liabilities can still enter new agreements.

The rules are also being loosened for Officers in Compromise. Taxpayers have until July 15 to provide requested information to support a pending OIC and the IRS will not close any pending request before that date without a taxpayer’s consent. Similarly, payments can be suspended with interest continuing to accrue on unpaid balances. The IRS will not default and OIC for those delinquent in filing returns for tax year 2018. But they should file any delinquent 2018 return and their 2019 return before July 2015.

The IRS will not send certifications to the Department of State for taxpayer who are “seriously delinquent” during the period. Certifications prevent taxpayers from receiving or renewing passports. New delinquent accounts will not be forwarded to private collection agencies.

During this period, new field, office and correspondence examinations will also not generally be started.

A Jacksonville, Fla.-based tax preparer faces 59 counts that stem from alleged tax return fraud over a four-year period. The preparer, Kenyan Shondre Scott, has been indicted on 55 counts of aiding and assisting others with the filing of false tax returns and four counts of filing false tax returns on his own behalf.

Each count carries a maximum of three years imprisonment. The United States will seek restitution for tax losses, although the total was not spelled out.

Scott is accused of filing returns that had itemized deductions for which clients were not eligible, reporting non-existent business losses and fraudulently claiming general business credits and education credits for clients between February 2014 and April 2018. The indictment specifies that he allegedly filed 55 false returns for 13 taxpayers for tax years 2013 through 2017.

Scott is also accused of reporting fake wages and a disproportionate amount of taxes being withheld from purported wages, trying to lower the amount of taxes owed by clients. He also lowballed income on his own returns. The indictment charges he under-reported income by roughly $635,000, most of it under-reported business income.

The number of returns received by the Internal Revenue Service is falling into a normal range. The agency reported that returns received through March 8 were up .1 percent over the 2019 season ended March 6.

The industry generally expects most seasons to see an increase of 1 percent of less in the number of returns fired.  For the most recently reported period, there have been 67,998,000, returned received, up from 67,721,000 in last year’s corresponding period

Efiles rose .8 percent to 64,806,000 from 67,721,000. Self-prepared efiled returns continue to product the growth while those submitted by tax professionals narrowed their gaps from 2018.  There have been 31,430,000 efiles submitted by paid preparers through March 6 down 1.9 percent from 31,942,000 a year earlier. There were 33,376,000 do-it-yourself efiles, an increase of 3.1 percent from 32,357,000 for the period through March 8, 2019

For the prior cumulative report ended March 1, efiles from paid preparers were off by 2.2 percent and those that were self-prepared were up 2.9 percent from the corresponding period in 2019.

The number of refunds issued also improved. There were 52,721,000 issued for the through March 8, a drop of 1.4 percent from 53,487,000, compared to a drop of 1.9 percent for the report through March 1, The average return of $3,012 was virtual unchanged, up $4 from a year ago.

The House Ways and Means Committee wants the Internal Revenue Service to say if the April 15 tax filing deadline should be extended. The committee this week sent the IRS the letter asking about a possible extension because of the coronavirus outbreak.

In the letter, the committee said “we are concerned about the ability of the IRS to provide taxpayer assistance and process returns, as well as the ability of taxpayers, free tax preparation sites, and tax professionals to meet the filing deadline.”

The committee also asked the IRS to consider penalty relief from “certain filing and payment penalties for taxpayers and communities impacted by COVID-19.”

Wipfli has hired Thomas Wojcinski to leadits cybersecurity practice in the Chicago and Eastern Wisconsin market.  Wojcinski specializes in cybersecurity, IT risk management and IT governance initiatives for American and multinational organizations. 

He worked with Baker Tilly Virchow Krause from July 2003 until taking the new job. From September 2012, he was a director who was responsible for the firm’s growth and development of cybersecurity, IT process assurance, and IT governance services nationally.

Frazier & Deeter has hired CPA James Dawson as a tax partner with a focus on international tax. He will serve American and foreign enterprises in a wide range of tax areas.

Dawson will focus on subjects such as tax efficient global supply chain management, structuring of international business models and operations, cross border transactions, project management and coordination of services in foreign jurisdictions.

He was previously a partner of international tax for accounting firm Crowe from May 2015 through October 2018. Before that, he was national leader of international tax services at Cherry Bekaert from January 2012 through April 2015 and was a partner in international tax for RSM McGladrey from 2006 through 2012.

Xero has named Hubdoc’s co-CEO Jamie McDonald as executive general manager of product, accounting and global services.  McDonald, who will continue his Hubdoc role, will oversee development of core accounting tools in the newly created position.

Xero acquired Hubdoc in August. Hubdoc go-to-market teams will continue to report to Jamie Shulman, Hubdoc’s other co-CEO. McDonald said he would be continuing work in harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning for the benefit of Xero customers around the globe.

Val Steed, widely known as a consultant and CPE presenter in the accounting community, has accepted a position as director of accountants for Zoho. Steed, a shareholder, is best known for his work with K2 Enterprises since January 1989.

“I’ll be responsible for maintaining industry relationships with national and international accounting organizations and top accounting experts,” Steed said in a LinkedIn post. He said he will also work to initiate partnership iwith accounting technology companies. Zoho is interested in connecting with all kinds of finance professionals, including bookkeepers, accountants, PAs, CPAs, CAs, CFPs, CFOs. Zoho markets a range of web-based applications, including accounting, CRM, HR and IT management.

“Social media is not about the exploitation of technology but service to community.” - Simon Mainwaring

Remember, a new leaderboard with updated rankings is generated every two weeks, so keep up the great work on social media and watch your ranking climb! Think you’ve got what it takes to make the Top 100? Join for free today!

“Social media is a much more personal approach to marketing than more traditional tactics like placing an advertisement in a local newspaper, and lends itself to a more human approach. You should always err on the side of professionalism, but sharing a few details about the person, or people, behind your company can give your brand more personality – something that works very successfully in the world of social media.”  

 Here are some highlights from the newest Top 100…