Ep. 230: Tom Woolley - Connecting the Dots: Technology, Security, and the Future of Accounting

In this riveting episode of the Count Me In Podcast, we dive into the complex world of cybersecurity within the accounting profession. Join us as we sit down with Tom Woolley, CEO of Today CFO and Founder of Today Cybersecurity, who has navigated the transitions from corporate industry to founding his own cloud accounting firm, and then into cybersecurity for accountants. Discover the biggest challenges faced by organizations today, from integration headaches to the buffet of software solutions. Whether you are a Fortune 100 company or a mom-and-pop shop, you'll gain insights into striking the right balance with technology to ensure information security. With regulations tightening, get ahead of the curve with expert advice and real-world solutions. Don't miss out on this episode – tune in now!

Connect with Tom:
* Website: www.todaycybersecurity.com
* Tom's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-w-2b6256173/
* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/todaycyber
* Twitter: https://twitter.com/todaycyber_
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/todaycybersecurity/
* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/today-cybersecurity/

Full Episode Transcript:
Adam: Welcome to another enlightening episode of Count Me In. Today we have an exceptionally exciting conversation lined up for you. Our guest today is my fellow podcaster, and an author on Amazon's bestseller list, Tom Wooley. He has expertise in corporate accounting. Spanning sectors like pharmaceuticals, oil, and gas, and now he's making waves in the realm of cybersecurity.

From big corporations to small businesses, the tech landscape is ever-changing, and Tom's insights are here to guide us through it. We'll discuss;

1. The rapid shift to remote work.
2. The challenges of secure information handling.
3. The complexities of selecting the right software.
4. And the impact of new regulations.

Buckle up, as we explore how technology is shaping the future of accounting. Tom, welcome to the show.

Adam: To start off, I just really wanted to, maybe, you can talk a little bit about your background and how you got here.

Tom: Hi, Adam, thanks so much. It's a pleasure to be here. So I've been an accountant for 15 years, in the corporate industry before starting my own firm. I started off in pharmaceuticals, and then went to oil and gas in more of the financial analysis role and a lot of management accountancy. One of the things I used to do a lot of was whenever we would acquire a new company, we had to look at their financial systems. What they had in place, and then integrate them into our SAP financial system. All their historicals, and then get them trained, up and running for the future.

So I got a lot of experience, and had a lot of fun working in accounting technology in my corporate career. And then decided that, "Hey, there's a lot of technology to be brought or to be moved over and implemented in the small business accounting world as well. Smaller firms need just as much tech, if not more, sometimes, than the big guys. And with the way the technology world is moving, especially, with everything going over to the cloud.

I decided to start my own cloud accounting firm, back in 2015. And, then, when everybody started going remote, in 2020, I decided that was a good time to pivot again and go into cybersecurity, for accountants. And help other people tackle some of those issues that we saw as we transitioned to a lot of people working from home, remote, and just coping with a very wild and flexible world, over the last couple of years.

Adam: Yes, it's been a very wild and flexible world. There's been so many things happening with everybody working from home, and all the challenges that organizations face. And cybersecurity is something that's in the news every day. You see ransomware attacks, and so many different things that's affecting so many organizations.

Maybe we can start by talking a little bit about what are some of the biggest challenges you see organizations facing, when it comes to cybersecurity.

Tom: Absolutely, there are a couple of things that really hit home. It's how to keep everybody working in a fluid environment. Where you can access all of your information securely. How can you find your clients' information securely? How can you receive it from them securely? We work in a time where we've got so many different communication channels. We have to actually tell our clients what is a safe and good way to get your information over to us.

And when we started transitioning from working in the office to working from home, the biggest challenge that we faced, and that other accountants are facing is–how do you go mobile with all of that? How do you keep it in the cloud and know that it's secure? And, really, importantly, how do we instill that trust relationship with our clients. So that they know that their information is in good hands? And we started looking at so many different software out there.

The second challenge is with a huge buffet of cloud software. Which one goes with which? How does it integrate? And it really came down to what does the process look like, for internally and externally with our clients? And that's what we hear a lot; is which software should I use?

How do I implement it?

There are some all-in-ones out there. Should I piecemeal, together, best in class? And there are just so many solutions. Accountants don't have time for that, especially, during tax season, which has been basically year-round for the last couple of years.

Adam: Yes, I can only imagine. And also the biggest challenge, too, is if you're a Fortune 100 company, you have a lot more financial ability to get a larger software. A big all-in-one software. But if you're a smaller organization, or a Mom-and-pop shop, it's a lot harder to implement those bigger softwares. And, so, trying to find that challenge; how do you balance that depending on which organization you're with?

Tom: Yes, that's a great question. There are smaller softwares like QuickBooks Online and Dropbox, that people, typically, use when they're starting off. All the way up to SAP or NetSuite when they're the Fortune 100. So it really comes down to what is the budget and how customizable does it need to be.

Something like NetSuite requires not just getting the software, but hundreds or thousands of hours of customization, and implementation, and training. And what we really want to go for is finding out how the firm is interacting interna...