How Should a Small Accounting Firm Set Up Cybersecurity Before Staff Use AI Tools?

By Camren Majors, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer, Verito

Start with what the IRS already expects from every paid preparer: a written information security plan (WISP) and the Security Six controls (antivirus, firewall, multi-factor authentication, backup, drive encryption and VPN). Then add AI on top in seven steps: list the tools, move them to business accounts, lock down logins, set data rules, write it into the WISP, train staff and review the logs.

Key takeaways

• AI tools don’t replace the cybersecurity basics an accounting firm already owes. They sit on top of them.
• Use business tiers of AI tools, with training on your data switched off and retention set as short as your workflow allows.
• Every AI account should sit behind the firm’s own login with MFA, not a personal email.
• Add an AI section to the firm’s WISP so the rules are written down, dated and shared.

Step 1: Which AI tools does your team already use?

Ask each person which AI tools they use for work, including browser extensions and features built into apps they already have. Most firms find more tools than they expected, and you can only set rules for the tools you know about.

Check three places:

• Standalone assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot.
• Built-in AI features in Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, practice management software and email.
• Browser extensions that read the pages staff have open, including client portals.

Write the list down with who uses each tool and what for. That list becomes the start of your AI policy.

Step 2: Which AI account settings should you change first?

Personal and free AI accounts give the firm no control over its data. Business tiers let an admin turn off training on your data, set how long conversations are kept and require the firm’s single sign-on. Change these once, at the account level, and they apply to everyone.

The FTC Safeguards Rule expects firms to oversee the outside services that handle client data, and an account the firm controls is how that oversight starts. These five settings matter most:

Step 3: How should staff sign in to AI tools?

Each AI account should use the firm’s Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace identity, with multi-factor authentication on every login. When someone leaves, you can then turn off one account and cut their access to every connected tool at once.

Skip shared logins entirely. A shared account can’t be limited by role, and nobody can tell from the records who typed what. MFA is also one of the Security Six, so this step covers an IRS expectation and your AI rollout at the same time.

Step 4: What client data should never go into a prompt?

Set a plain rule for client data. Most firms keep Social Security numbers, bank account numbers and full returns out of general AI tools. Section 7216 of the tax code limits how preparers can use and disclose tax return information, so check whether you need client consent before any taxpayer data goes into a third-party tool.

Make the rule specific enough to follow on a busy day in March. “Never paste a Social Security number, bank account number or full return into an AI tool” works better than “use AI responsibly.”

Step 5: How do the AI rules fit into your WISP?

Your WISP is where the IRS expects to find your safeguards, so your AI rules belong there too. Add a short section that lists the approved tools, the account settings you chose, the data rule from Step 4 and who reviews it. Date it, and update it when tools change.

If your WISP hasn’t been reviewed this year, this is a good time to check it against the full list of cybersecurity requirements for accounting firms, including the Security Six, the FTC Safeguards Rule and the breach notification timeline. Tax preparers fall under the FTC Safeguards Rule too, which asks for a written plan, a named person responsible for it, encryption and staff training.

Step 6: How should you train staff on the AI rules?

A 20-minute session works better than a long document. Show staff the approved tools, the data rule and how to report a mistake. Run it again when you add a tool and at the start of every tax season, so new and seasonal staff hear it too.

Cover three points: which tools are approved, what never goes into a prompt, and who to tell if something goes in by accident. A report that turns out to be nothing is always the right call. Fold this into the security awareness training the FTC Safeguards Rule already requires.

Step 7: What should you check in the logs each month?

Spend 15 minutes a month on the sign-in records in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace and on the AI tool’s own audit log, if your tier has one. Look for sign-ins from unknown devices, accounts belonging to people who have left and tools that aren’t on your approved list.

Who handles this if the firm has little or no IT staff?

Many small firms hand Steps 2, 3 and 7 to a managed IT provider. The firm keeps the decisions: which tools staff may use, what the data rule says and who owns the WISP. The provider handles the account settings, the sign-in controls and the monthly monitoring.

Firms that already have an IT person, or a partner who handles IT on the side, can split the work instead. The internal person keeps user changes and the WISP. A co-managed IT provider takes the account settings, the sign-in controls and the monthly monitoring.

Verito is one example. Its VeritGuard managed IT service (identity management comes with the Pro and Elite plans) configures the firm’s Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace setup (MFA, identity and access controls, data loss prevention and logging) and helps make the one-time, account-wide settings changes on the AI tools themselves. Every device it covers gets antivirus and EDR threat detection, and a support engineer picks up in under 60 seconds.

“I feel like my systems are much more secure and well-supported by the team at Verito.”

Julie W., Owner, Julie Wilson CPA PLLC · G2, Apr 2025

Verito’s client list is limited to tax and accounting practices, so a business outside the profession should look for a general IT provider.

About the author

Camren Majors is co-founder and chief revenue officer of Verito, which provides cloud hosting, managed IT and cybersecurity for tax and accounting firms. Camren works with small tax and accounting practices on security basics, written information security plans and setting up AI tools for staff.