As accountancy practices grow, technology becomes increasingly critical to how the firm operates. Larger teams, multiple systems, higher client volumes, and tighter delivery expectations all place greater demands on IT and cyber security. What may have worked for a smaller practice often doesn’t scale without introducing risk, inefficiency, or exposure.
Mid-sized and enterprise accountancy firms are also attractive targets for cyber threats, holding high-value financial data across complex environments. Operational pressure leaves little tolerance for downtime, data loss, or security incidents that could disrupt service delivery or damage client confidence.
Regulatory and operational changes like Making Tax Digital (MTD) add another layer of demand. While these firms typically have the tools to comply, the increased reporting frequency and data movement multiplies reliance on systems, processes, and people. This makes robust IT and cyber security foundations essential for managing risk and maintaining client trust at scale.
Below are five IT and cyber security checks we recommend every medium and enterprise accountancy practice reviews regularly. Each one is designed to reduce operational risk, improve resilience, and ensure technology supports the firm’s growth — keeping workflows smooth, clients confident, and teams productive, whatever the reporting cycle.
1. Secure and Controlled Access
As reporting becomes more frequent, more people interact with client data more often. That makes access control increasingly important, particularly for cloud accounting systems and HMRC integrations.
Ensuring that only the right people have access to financial systems, files and submissions reduces the risk of errors, delays and security incidents. This includes reviewing user permissions, enforcing strong authentication and removing access for leavers or role changes promptly. Multi-factor authentication and role-based access should now be considered baseline controls rather than optional extras.
From our experience, access issues are one of the most common causes of last-minute disruption during reporting periods. Tight, well-managed access controls protect sensitive client information and prevent avoidable bottlenecks when time is tight. They also support audit readiness and regulatory expectations.
2. Reliable Cloud Systems and Data Protection
Most accountancy firms now rely heavily on cloud software for bookkeeping, tax, and document management. The question is no longer whether your systems are cloud-based, but whether they are actively managed to remain resilientduring quarterly reporting pressure.
Reliable cloud platforms alone aren’t enough. During busy reporting windows, firms need properly designed, monitored, and regularly tested backup and recovery processes. When systems fail or data is lost, the impact is immediate and often affects multiple clients at once. As MTD drives higher data volumes and tighter turnaround times, the margin for error continues to shrink.
A commercial-grade setup ensures data can be restored quickly, downtime is minimised, and reporting continues even when the unexpected happens. This level of resilience doesn’t happen by accident — it requires ongoing oversight, testing, and accountability. For MTD-ready practices, tested backups are just as critical as the accounting software itself — and something your IT partner should be proving, not assuming.
3. Staff Awareness to Prevent Cyber Threats
MTD has increased the volume of digital communication between HMRC, firms and clients. Unfortunately, this has also increased the opportunity for phishing and fraud, particularly around submission deadlines. HMRC-themed phishing emails remain one of the most common attack vectors we see.
Cyber security is not just a technology issue; it is a people issue. Regular staff awareness training helps teams recognise suspicious emails, fake HMRC messages and social engineering attempts before they turn into costly incidents. This is especially important for junior staff who may handle client data daily.
Preventing a breach protects more than systems. It protects client trust, firm reputation and the time your team would otherwise spend dealing with the fallout from fraud or data loss. In an MTD environment, recovery time is rarely available.
4. Efficient Workflows and Time-Saving Tools
Quarterly reporting amplifies inefficiencies. Tasks that felt manageable on an annual cycle can become a significant burden when repeated four times a year. Manual work does not scale well under MTD.
This is where workflow automation, document management tools and system integrations make a real difference. Reducing manual data entry, streamlining approvals and automating routine processes frees up your team to focus on advisory work rather than administration. Integrated systems also reduce the risk of inconsistent or duplicated data.
Firms that invest in efficiency are better placed to absorb MTD demands without increasing pressure on staff or sacrificing service quality. This often becomes a key differentiator when recruiting and retaining talent.
5. Proactive Support and System Monitoring
When reporting deadlines are fixed, reactive IT support is a risk. Waiting for something to break before acting can lead to missed submissions, stressed teams and unhappy clients. Under MTD, even short disruptions can have a cascading effect across multiple deadlines.
Proactive monitoring and support means systems are watched continuously, issues are identified early and fixes happen before they affect your workflow. During key reporting periods, this kind of oversight can be the difference between a smooth quarter and a frantic one. It also reduces reliance on last-minute firefighting.
For many firms, having trusted IT specialists keeping an eye on critical systems provides peace of mind and allows partners and managers to focus on clients rather than technology. This becomes increasingly valuable as MTD scales across income tax.
Final Thoughts
MTD is as much an operational challenge as it is a compliance one. As quarterly reporting becomes the norm for more clients, the firms that cope best will be those with secure access, resilient systems, informed staff and efficient workflows. Technology readiness will directly influence profitability and client experience.
At Everything Tech, we work with accountancy practices of all sizes, including a top 20 UK firm, supporting them across security, cloud, automation and proactive IT support. Whether you already have an internal IT team or rely entirely on external support, we can act as a reliable extension of your practice, helping reduce risk and smooth the pressures that come with MTD. Our experience supporting MTD-ready firms gives us clear insight into what works in practice.
If you are using January as a reset point and want to sense-check whether your technology is ready for what is coming next, now is a good time to get in touch. Early preparation is far less costly than last-minute remediation.
