Are you prepared for the upcoming tax season? As one of the busiest times of the year for businesses, accountants, and financial teams, it’s crucial to have secure and efficient IT infrastructure in place. Businesses in Mississauga and Toronto must ensure their sensitive financial data is handled with care by ensuring that IT systems are optimized, secure, and compliant.
Let’s explore the essential IT strategies to prepare your business for tax season and how our expertise makes us a leading provider of IT support in Mississauga and Toronto, helping businesses navigate this critical period with reliable, secure, and high-performance IT solutions.
Strengthening Your IT Infrastructure for a Smooth Tax Season
According to an online statistic, in the third quarter of 2024, 422.61 million data records were leaked in data breaches globally, along with an increase in the average cost of a breach reaching $4.88 million USD. As cyberattacks continue to rise, businesses must take proactive measures to safeguard their financial data, improve IT performance, and maintain compliance.
Securing Financial Data: Protect Against Cyber Threats
A prime time for cybercriminals to strike, tax season usually sees businesses handling larger volumes of financial and personal data than normal. To prevent experiencing a security breach during this time, businesses must enhance their cybersecurity measures, including:
- Enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) to add another layer of security that requires more than just a password, preventing sensitive financial records from unauthorized access.
- Encrypting storage and backups means that tax-related files can remain safe within cloud storage and local servers. With regular data backups, critical financial files can instantly be recovered in the event of a cyberattack or disaster.
- To monitor for malicious attacks, employees must be adequately trained to spot suspicious emails and links so they don’t fall victim to phishing or malware scams. As an affiliated IT company, Anderson Technologies, promoted in a recent article, states that employee awareness is an essential component of cybersecurity. Delving into some key statistics of the cost of forgoing employee training, they back up how integral it is to keep your staff prepared.
- Important throughout the year, and especially during tax season, keep financial software updated to ensure that accounting software, ERP systems, and security patches don’t leave any risks. This avoids vulnerability gaps being left in systems for cybercriminals to exploit.
Improving System Performance: Avoid Downtime & Slow Networks
Every business wants to avoid missing deadlines, experiencing frustrated employees, and financial losses. During tax season, a slow or unreliable IT system can be detrimental. However, to maintain optimal performance, businesses should:
- Upgrade Hardware & IT Infrastructure: For all outdated servers, computers, and storage solutions, consider upgrading to improve processing speed and data handling capacity. Additionally, switch to solid-state drives for faster performance compared to traditional hard drives.
- Optimize Cloud & Remote Access: Cloud-based accounting and finance platforms like QuickBooks Online and Sage require connectivity that is high-speed and stable. Additionally, VPNs ensure that remote employees can safely access financial data from anywhere.
- Run Network & Performance Tests: Conduct IT system assessments to identify bottlenecks, slow response times, and outdated network configurations. Moreover, optimize bandwidth by prioritizing essential applications and restricting non-business-related traffic.
Ensuring Compliance: Meeting Data Protection & Industry Standards
Non-compliance with data protection regulations can lead to consequences like hefty fines, legal issues, and reputational damage. During tax season, businesses can stay compliant by regularly auditing financial IT systems to identify security gaps, encrypting all financial communications and using secure document-sharing platforms, and implementing access controls so only authorized employees can access tax-related data. Ensuring these protocols are in place, your business can meet compliance standards such as:
- Canada’s PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act): Businesses must safeguard personal financial data and implement proper security measures to prevent data leaks.
- CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) Regulations: Digital records must be secure, backed up, and easily accessible for audits or tax assessments.
- Cybersecurity Insurance Requirements: Many insurance policies require businesses to have security protocols in place to remain covered in the event of a cyber incident.
Prepare for Tax Season with VBS IT Services
With our IT support expertise, businesses in Mississauga and Toronto never have to worry about the looming tax season. At VBS IT Services, we ensure secure, high-performing, and compliant IT infrastructure.
- Cybersecurity Protection: We implement firewalls, endpoint security, and 24/7 threat monitoring to safeguard financial data.
- IT Performance Optimization: Our experts ensure fast, reliable networks and cloud solutions to prevent IT slowdowns during tax season.
- Compliance & Data Protection: We help businesses meet CRA, PIPEDA, and industry compliance standards with secure IT solutions.
- 24/7 IT Support: Our dedicated support team is available to resolve technical issues quickly so businesses can stay focused on their tax obligations.
Be IT-Ready for Tax Season
With a well-prepared IT infrastructure, your business can handle the preparations that come with tax season, from securing sensitive financial data to meeting critical deadlines. Don’t wait until a system failure or cyberattack affects your business—take proactive steps now!
Contact us today for expert IT support in Mississauga and Toronto, and let us help you navigate tax season with confidence.
