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The sad truth is that SMEs are prime targets for cybercriminals. Limited resources, minimal in-house IT expertise, and reliance on cloud services can leave gaps for attackers to exploit. The financial and reputational damage following a breach can be profound, from regulatory penalties under UK GDPR laws to customer loss and costly recovery.
For accountants, the stakes are particularly high, as you handle payroll data, financial forecasts, tax filings, bank details, and other personally identifiable information (PII). As a result, a breach not only disrupts operations but could quickly undermine trust with clients that’s been built over years.
Given that accountants are already trusted advisers, there is clear opportunity to extend into cybersecurity preparedness. Accountants should:
1. Start proactive conversations: Ask clients about their current cybersecurity approach. Do they have firewalls, anti-virus software, multi factor authentication (MFA)? When was the last risk assessment or internal preparedness audit?
2. Include cyber risk in business reviews: Integrate high-level cyber risk discussions into quarterly or annual client review meetings.
3. Benchmark maturity: Use simple questionnaires or maturity models so clients can gauge their current security position.
Once you know where your clients are in terms of their cybersecurity approach, you can take a more proactive advisory role. For example, in the UK Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus offer accessible frameworks that SMEs can adopt. Cyber Essentials is a government backed certification focusing on key controls like firewalls, secure configuration, access control and patch management. Cyber Essentials Plus also offers additional internal and external vulnerability testing.
Accountants can easily recommend certification as part of a risk management plan. The benefits of certification include possible reduction in cyber insurance premiums and demonstrate client seriousness to suppliers. For larger or more complex clients, accountants can consider recommending ISO/IEC 27001 as a longer-term roadmap to structured security management.
Driving clarity and consistency
Many SMEs lack documented policies, yet policies drive consistent behaviour across functions and seniority. Accountants can support clients by either drafting or guiding them to draft policies that define acceptable use, access control, incident response plans, and data retention and destruction.
There is no need to reinvent the wheel with these as templates exist that can be adapted to many businesses. The goal for policies is to promote clarity of expectations and consistency in their application.
For example, weak authentication processes remain a leading cause of breaches. With so much of accountancy work conducted online and data held in the cloud, accounts should be leading by example when it comes to advocating for multi-factor authentication (MFA) and strong passwords.
Adding a second factor like a text code from an authentication app to the sign-in processes can stop many automated attacks. Ideally, this would be in place for all software and remote access tools across the business, but finance is a key place to start.
Accountants already advise on GDPR and data protection compliance, so it makes sense to embed cyber risk into this by:
1. Integrating cyber risk into DPIAs (data protection impact assessments)
2. Ensuring secure data handling practices in payroll, HR, and finance workflows
3. Highlighting legal obligations under UK GDPR to protect personal data
This positioning helps clients see cybersecurity as core to compliance, not a separate IT issue.
People in glass houses…
Don’t forget about your own practice! Whether you’re a sole trader or run your own firm, you should take the same advice you give your clients. SMPs are rich targets, holding client data, financial records, and confidential tax information which must be safeguarded with the same rigour you recommend to others.
For SMPs, start by appointing a cybersecurity lead. This could be a partner, senior manager, or if you are a sole trader, an external consultant who is responsible for oversight of cyber risks and policies.
Once that role is in place, be sure to conduct regular risk assessments to identify which data and systems are most critical and where vulnerabilities exist. You could also hire someone to hold regularly run penetration testing to ensure your systems are protected.
Once you have that information, core security controls (CSCs) should be implemented:
1. Firewalls and endpoint protection to keep software up to date and patched regularly
2. MFA for all staff accounts
3. Encryption for data at rest and in transit
4. Secure backups that are isolated from primary systems
It’s important to remember that human error remains one of the biggest cyber risks. In their own practices, it’s vital that accountants regularly train and test their team. As cyber threats are constantly evolving, we recommend quarterly updates or micro-learning in order to help retention and ensure policies and procedures are still fit for purpose. Phishing simulations, secure working practices, and incident reporting procedures should be part of onboarding and ongoing training.
Into the breach
SMPs must develop and test their own incident response plans. If your firm suffers a breach, this plan can be activated immediately to mitigate damage done to your clients and your reputation. The plan must include information about regulatory obligations – for example when to notify affected clients if require – and information to engage forensic support early. Understanding how and why a breach happened is crucial.
Practising these response plans, through team drills, simulations and regular training, can dramatically improve reaction times and preserve client trust.
However, don’t assume that having your own house in order is enough. Accountancy practices use numerous cloud services and third-party vendors (practice management, payroll, banking APIs etc.).
A breach at a cloud provider, for example, can have a cascading impact if not anticipated. We recommend vetting vendors’ security practices, ensuring contractual protections for data, and periodically reviewing third-party risk as a minimum.
Cybersecurity as a strategic advantage
Cybersecurity is no longer just a technical challenge – it’s a business imperative. For accountants in the UK, it presents a strategic opportunity to deepen client relationships, differentiate services, and reinforce the role of accountants as trusted business advisers across the board.
By asking the right questions, recommending practical controls, embedding cybersecurity into broader risk and compliance conversations, and protecting your own practice, you will help clients survive and thrive in the digital world.
In the end, cybersecurity isn’t about eliminating risk. It’s about managing it intelligently. Good governance turns cybersecurity from an ad hoc IT issue into a leadership priority, and accountants are uniquely positioned to lead that charge for the UK’s SME community.
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