Maintaining Data Security While Outsourcing

Outsourcing is a common practice these days. From front desk to back office, human resource to accounting. Outsourcing comes in many different approaches – which provide a positive aspect on the cost savings front. But with the benefits of cost reduction, better efficiency, the expertise of outsourcing comes a requirement to provide outsourcers with access to our most susceptible corporate data assets. So, with the bigger benefits of outsourcing comes a bigger risk to data.

The main uncertainty while choosing accounting outsourcing is data security. Companies feel comfortable in sharing data only with employees whom they trust or who are bounded by the contractual commitments to keep the data undisclosed. Majority of the outsourcing firms sign a strict non disclosure agreement with the companies which guarantees that the data would be kept in top secret and any breach on the agreement would be punishable under the law. If you are unable to protect the companies data, the business is at risk. But if you restrain the use of data too much, you can paralyze the outsourcing effort – and your business. Successful outsourcing necessitates successful risk management. It also needs a new view of data security.

Outsourcing firms take following measures to ensure data confidentiality-

• Encrypt all data in storage and in transit.
• Sending/Receiving any data is monitored, limited to no access of email and web
• Physical security controls to lessen the risk of data leaving the facility via recording devices, cameras and hard copies (Paperless work floor )
• At the desktop, disabled CD, DVD, floppy drive, SCSI, parallel or any of the other ports
• Employees sign Non Disclosure Agreements (NDA) with stringent data security clauses, punishable under law
• No or restricted fax and printing capabilities at the processing site
• Network security is maintained through Symantec Antivirus and firewall protection Segmented LAN with firewall protection
• Employee checks for criminal records, references from past employers, registrations with nearest police station, and family background verification.

Outsourcing companies believes that they are liable for the client’s data security. Therefore they take extra safety measure to make sure optimum security is maintained while transferring data from client’s office to their office. All the data transfer is through secure connections. Also the server hosting the data is backed up regularly.

Majority of the outsourcing companies will tell you about the security measures they take for your accounts data. But if they don’t read all the terms and conditions and ask them about the security condition before signing the contract.

The rising market accounting outsourcing is sign about how considerable impact this decision can have on company’s accounting costs and processes. This makes it even more important to give your work to that outsourcing vendor who guarantees the security along with well-timed fulfillment of your work commitments.