Do you know who is driving your car? It might not be you!
The newest generation of cars are much more than just four wheels and a steering wheel. They contain more software-controlled features than the USS Enterprise, and in times of people being online at all times, so a
re their new cars’ onboard systems. This seemingly useful addition to our road journeys, however, also bears a risk that any online device potentially faces: being accessed (read: hacked) by a third party. As the American car manufacturer Tesla recently found out, a lack of control who is able to access (and manipulate) the onboard software may lead to severe ramifications, as this BBC article details. Ultimately, it demonstrates that everything that could go online (like fridges, clothes, watches or vehicles) needs to have a plethora of control features attached to it.
Accounting firms and cybersecurity
Accounting fi
rms working for businesses have access to a myriad of internal customer data critical to their decision-making and business success. As such, cybercriminals might not only target the businesses themselves, but also the accounting firms that harbour crucial data of their customers. In this highly interesting technology feature of the Journal of Accountancy, three experts on this issue discuss the responsibility of accounting firms to safeguard their customer data against cyberattacks, and the rising need to spruce up their own technology knowledge.
Ways for accountants and CFOs to keep up with technology
Technological change has always been one of the common issues faced by accountants. What can accountants do to keep up with the pace of change. An article from CGMA provides some useful tips.
A basic security tip
Very often there are media reports on security breaches and identity theft. And quite often companies get the blame. Mostly however it is the user that is the weak link. Take for example this article where many U.S. taxpayers online details were compromised. The article notes how details were hacked from other websites and these same details were used to gain access to the IRS online tools. So how can such breaches be prevented. Simply have different passwords for each site. But that’s tricky! Well not really, use a password manager like Dashlane which randomly generates passwords. It will also auto fill them in your browser and remind you to change them at regular intervals. Simple, and more secure than reusing the same password.
PowerPivot – more analytical power in Excel
In the last blog post, we have introduced PivotTables as a powerful analytical tool in Excel to manipulate large amounts of data into decision-useful reports. Microsoft introduced an enhanced PivotTable tool called PowerPivot that is available as an add-in for Excel 2010 and 2013. The PowerPivot add-in is now able to process even larger amounts of data, from internal and external sources, to create dashboards that even work online, moving PivotTables to the cloud. This website provides an introduction and working examples of the PowerPivot add-in.
PivotTables explained – CIMA series on spreadsheet skills
The standard user of Microsoft Excel is often staying at a very basic level, inputting data in cells, performing basic operations like sums and averages, or just adding two or more cells using the +sign. However, Excel is a very powerful analytical tool that boasts functionalities to slice and dice large data tables according to the specific information requirements that managers and management accountants might have.
In the spreadsheet skills series by CIMA, there is a very comprehensive explanation on PivotTables for the first-time user. Although this particular post is from 2009 (and therefore does not include additional functions introduced with Excel 2010 and 2013), it provides a good introduction to what PivotTables are all about.
Merging PaaS and SaaS to provide a new cloud accounting offer – SAGE and Salesforce
Here is a good example of two companies that use SaaS and PaaS in a strategic partnership to provide a new cloud accounting offer to businesses. SAGE is a provider of accounting software, already offering cloud-based products in their portfolio. In this particular case, however, they decided to enter a partnership with Salesforce that provides a strong PaaS, using the unique capabilities of the Salesforce platform to improve their product.
Data security as means to data privacy in the cloud
All to often, when it comes to cloud risk, there is no clear distinction between data security and data privacy. Accordingly, they are often used synonymously or all-encompassing. As this post by Brian Anderson details, this is not the case. Data security comprises of concepts and instruments that are put in place to ensure that sensitive data is not accessed, modified or taken by unauthorised parties. Data security instruments are therefore data protocols, access level rights, firewalls and even antivirus software that picks up on trojans or key loggers that may enable a third, unauthorised person to access data that they should not. At the same time, data security ensures that the data is reliable, integer, available and confidential.
Distinct from that is the concept of data privacy that details the adequate use of sensitive data. Companies in the UK, for instance, are required to follow the Data Protection Act that requires companies to use sensitive data fairly and lawfully, for limited, specifically stated purposes, and in a way that is adequate, relevant and not excessive. At the same time, the information embodied in the data needs to be accurate, kept for no longer than is absolutely necessary, handled according to people’s data protection rights, kept safe and secure, and not transferred outside the UK without adequate protection. Therefore, data security protocols need to be in place to ensure the privacy of sensitive data, mostly customer-related data. Often, companies are criticised on how they treat the data they are supposed to protect. Facebook, for instance, has been heavily criticised (and even sued) for their data security protocols, impacting the data privacy of their users’ personal data.
To summarise the relationship between data security and data privacy, data security is the means to ensure data privacy. They are certainly not the same, but typically come together.
Could your small business benefit from using cloud services? [The Guardian]
On June 5, 2014, the Guardian offered a live online Q&A session on the question “Could your small business benefit from using cloud services?”. Although 9 months old, it is very enlightening to read the comments of users at the bottom of the page. Cloud experts, providers and users discussed the benefits and drawbacks of the cloud on small businesses, and the main themes that emerged revolved around the well-known issues of security, privacy, performance improvements, cloud hosting and content editing, as well as the “next thing on the cloud”. It is worth a read even 9 months on.
A History of Computing: From CPU to Cloud [Infographic by Geeky Globe]
Infographics are all the rage these days, and a quick Google search revea
ls that there are many on cloud technology out there. The nice people of Geeky Globe have published a very detailed infographic that summarises the history of computing all the way to the cloud in a very comprehensive manner – it’s worth printing out and pinning it to the wall.
Business information systems for accounting students 