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It’s time to get your WISP in order

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Tax Season 2025 is approaching and, in case you missed it, recent updates to the Written Information Security Plan requirements have introduced additional complexities to the process. It’s crucial for accounting firms and tax preparers to reassess their current strategies with these changes in mind. The implications of non-compliance are significant, with potential consequences that could significantly impact your business. As we approach tax season, make sure you stay informed and ensure your WISP is robust and up to date.

WISPs and PTINs

The Preparer Tax Identification Number renewal and WISP compliance connection aren’t new. However, recent IRS modifications have expanded their scope and changed basic security protocols into more comprehensive requirements that demand careful attention and regular updates. 

That means every year, when you check off “WISP” before the December PTIN renewal deadline, it’s critical to make sure your practice is compliant with the latest changes. 

In the last round of modifications, the IRS mandated:

  • Enhanced risk assessment protocols:
  • Stricter data encryption standards;
  • Comprehensive incident response planning: and,
  • Expanded employee training requirements;

Consequences of noncompliance

The WISP requirement aligns with the FTC’s Safeguards Rule and IRS guidelines on protecting taxpayer data. It’s not just a regulatory requirement; it’s a crucial step in safeguarding sensitive client information and maintaining professional integrity.

“The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) is a US law that requires financial institutions to protect customer data,” says IRS Publication 5708. “In its implementation of the GLBA, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued the Safeguards Rule to outline measures that are required to be in place to keep customer data safe. Under the GLBA and Safeguards Rule, tax and accounting professionals are considered financial institutions, regardless of size. A requirement of the Safeguards Rule is implementing and maintaining a WISP. Your WISP must be written and accessible.”

Failing to have a WISP in place can result in:

  • Inability to renew your PTIN, affecting the ability to prepare tax returns for clients;
  • Legal penalties and disciplinary actions by the IRS; and,
  • Increased vulnerability to data breaches, which can lead to financial and reputational damage.

Though this might seem overwhelming, there is good news. To help simplify the road to compliance, several organizations offer WISP templates with varying features and levels of specialization. Some of these tools are free, some are not, some are made for accountants while others are more general, and some are specifically IRS compliant while others are partially so, but all can be used to help get a handle on WISPs. They include:

  1. IRS Publication 5708 
  2. Practice Protect 
  3. CPACharge 
  4. SANS Institute 
  5. AICPA-CIMA 
  6. Tech4Accountants
  7. Rightworks WISP

Compliance timeline

The PTIN renewal deadline of December 31 serves as a critical checkpoint for WISP compliance, but effective security planning requires a year-round commitment. Firms should begin their review and update process well in advance of the deadline to ensure adequate time for implementation, testing, and staff training. 

Key compliance elements:

  • Annual WISP review and updates with quarterly assessments of emerging security threats;
  • Comprehensive documentation of all security protocols, including access controls and data handling procedures;
  • Regular employee training sessions, with mandatory updates for new hires and refresher courses for existing staff;
  • Incident response plan testing through simulated security breaches and response drills;
  • System security audits covering both internal networks and third-party vendor integrations;
  • Regular backup testing and disaster recovery plan validation; and,
  • Periodic review of user access privileges and authentication protocols.

Your clients deserve secure data

A current, compliant security plan represents more than regulatory compliance—it demonstrates your firm’s commitment to protecting client data and maintaining professional standards. How you handle your clients’ sensitive financial and personal information is fundamental to your firm’s relationships and reputation.

The most successful firms approach WISP compliance not as a burden but as an opportunity to strengthen client relationships and differentiate their services. 

So, as we approach Tax Season 2025, ensure you remain up-to-date, compliant and secure with your firm’s data. This is not only a critical aspect of professional tax preparation services but also a standard your clients rightfully expect.

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Accounting

IAASB tweaks standards on working with outside experts

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The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board is proposing to tailor some of its standards to align with recent additions to the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants when it comes to using the work of an external expert.

The proposed narrow-scope amendments involve minor changes to several IAASB standards:

  • ISA 620, Using the Work of an Auditor’s Expert;
  • ISRE 2400 (Revised), Engagements to Review Historical Financial Statements;
  • ISAE 3000 (Revised), Assurance Engagements Other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information;
  • ISRS 4400 (Revised), Agreed-upon Procedures Engagements.

The IAASB is asking for comments via a digital response template that can be found on the IAASB website by July 24, 2025.

In December 2023, the IESBA approved an exposure draft for proposed revisions to the IESBA’s Code of Ethics related to using the work of an external expert. The proposals included three new sections to the Code of Ethics, including provisions for professional accountants in public practice; professional accountants in business and sustainability assurance practitioners. The IESBA approved the provisions on using the work of an external expert at its December 2024 meeting, establishing an ethical framework to guide accountants and sustainability assurance practitioners in evaluating whether an external expert has the necessary competence, capabilities and objectivity to use their work, as well as provisions on applying the Ethics Code’s conceptual framework when using the work of an outside expert.  

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Tariffs will hit low-income Americans harder than richest, report says

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President Donald Trump’s tariffs would effectively cause a tax increase for low-income families that is more than three times higher than what wealthier Americans would pay, according to an analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

The report from the progressive think tank outlined the outcomes for Americans of all backgrounds if the tariffs currently in effect remain in place next year. Those making $28,600 or less would have to spend 6.2% more of their income due to higher prices, while the richest Americans with income of at least $914,900 are expected to spend 1.7% more. Middle-income families making between $55,100 and $94,100 would pay 5% more of their earnings. 

Trump has imposed the steepest U.S. duties in more than a century, including a 145% tariff on many products from China, a 25% rate on most imports from Canada and Mexico, duties on some sectors such as steel and aluminum and a baseline 10% tariff on the rest of the country’s trading partners. He suspended higher, customized tariffs on most countries for 90 days.

Economists have warned that costs from tariff increases would ultimately be passed on to U.S. consumers. And while prices will rise for everyone, lower-income families are expected to lose a larger portion of their budgets because they tend to spend more of their earnings on goods, including food and other necessities, compared to wealthier individuals.

Food prices could rise by 2.6% in the short run due to tariffs, according to an estimate from the Yale Budget Lab. Among all goods impacted, consumers are expected to face the steepest price hikes for clothing at 64%, the report showed. 

The Yale Budget Lab projected that the tariffs would result in a loss of $4,700 a year on average for American households.

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Accounting

At Schellman, AI reshapes a firm’s staffing needs

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Artificial intelligence is just getting started in the accounting world, but it is already helping firms like technology specialist Schellman do more things with fewer people, allowing the firm to scale back hiring and reduce headcount in certain areas through natural attrition. 

Schellman CEO Avani Desai said there have definitely been some shifts in headcount at the Top 100 Firm, though she stressed it was nothing dramatic, as it mostly reflects natural attrition combined with being more selective with hiring. She said the firm has already made an internal decision to not reduce headcount in force, as that just indicates they didn’t hire properly the first time. 

“It hasn’t been about reducing roles but evolving how we do work, so there wasn’t one specific date where we ‘started’ the reduction. It’s been more case by case. We’ve held back on refilling certain roles when we saw opportunities to streamline, especially with the use of new technologies like AI,” she said. 

One area where the firm has found such opportunities has been in the testing of certain cybersecurity controls, particularly within the SOC framework. The firm examined all the controls it tests on the service side and asked which ones require human judgment or deep expertise. The answer was a lot of them. But for the ones that don’t, AI algorithms have been able to significantly lighten the load. 

“[If] we don’t refill a role, it’s because the need actually has changed, or the process has improved so significantly [that] the workload is lighter or shared across the smarter system. So that’s what’s happening,” said Desai. 

Outside of client services like SOC control testing and reporting, the firm has found efficiencies in administrative functions as well as certain internal operational processes. On the latter point, Desai noted that Schellman’s engineers, including the chief information officer, have been using AI to help develop code, which means they’re not relying as much on outside expertise on the internal service delivery side of things. There are still people in the development process, but their roles are changing: They’re writing less code, and doing more reviewing of code before it gets pushed into production, saving time and creating efficiencies. 

“The best way for me to say this is, to us, this has been intentional. We paused hiring in a few areas where we saw overlaps, where technology was really working,” said Desai.

However, even in an age awash with AI, Schellman acknowledges there are certain jobs that need a human, at least for now. For example, the firm does assessments for the FedRAMP program, which is needed for cloud service providers to contract with certain government agencies. These assessments, even in the most stable of times, can be long and complex engagements, to say nothing of the less predictable nature of the current government. As such, it does not make as much sense to reduce human staff in this area. 

“The way it is right now for us to do FedRAMP engagements, it’s a very manual process. There’s a lot of back and forth between us and a third party, the government, and we don’t see a lot of overall application or technology help… We’re in the federal space and you can imagine, [with] what’s going on right now, there’s a big changing market condition for clients and their pricing pressure,” said Desai. 

As Schellman reduces staff levels in some places, it is increasing them in others. Desai said the firm is actively hiring in certain areas. In particular, it’s adding staff in technical cybersecurity (e.g., penetration testers), the aforementioned FedRAMP engagements, AI assessment (in line with recently becoming an ISO 42001 certification body) and in some client-facing roles like marketing and sales. 

“So, to me, this isn’t about doing more with less … It’s about doing more of the right things with the right people,” said Desai. 

While these moves have resulted in savings, she said that was never really the point, so whatever the firm has saved from staffing efficiencies it has reinvested in its tech stack to build its service line further. When asked for an example, she said the firm would like to focus more on penetration testing by building a SaaS tool for it. While Schellman has a proof of concept developed, she noted it would take a lot of money and time to deploy a full solution — both of which the firm now has more of because of its efficiency moves. 

“What is the ‘why’ behind these decisions? The ‘why’ for us isn’t what I think you traditionally see, which is ‘We need to get profitability high. We need to have less people do more things.’ That’s not what it is like,” said Desai. “I want to be able to focus on quality. And the only way I think I can focus on quality is if my people are not focusing on things that don’t matter … I feel like I’m in a much better place because the smart people that I’ve hired are working on the riskiest and most complicated things.”

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