How to avoid nightmares when going digital

Do you like scary movies?

We’ve all sat in front of a horror film screaming in anguished fury at the protagonist who mindlessly accepts the stranger’s kind offer of assistance. ‘That would never happen to me, I’d never be that stupid’ we gloat as we continue to feast on our popcorn. But it’s easy to judge when we’re snuggled up on the sofa. In reality, these dangers are lurking everywhere, but perhaps most deadly of all are the threats posed by the mysterious digital world.

Recently we’ve been bombarded with news about the digital revolution. It’s transforming every industry in the world and will have an incredibly positive impact on accountancy. However, with great power comes great responsibility and it’s vital you educate yourself on the risks of the digital transformation. 

Lock your doors 

For all the many benefits that the digital transformation will bring, storing so much personal information online makes us more vulnerable to hackers. Technology can be scary to navigate, but don’t go locking away your TV for fear a monster will crawl out. There is a simple solution to keeping your data secure – passwords.

We’re all warned not to talk to strangers, but few of us pay much attention when it comes to keeping our personal information secure. Changing your password on a regular basis and keeping them secret in a secure location will prevent you from falling victim to thieves. 

Don’t let the machines take control 

What once sounded like science-fiction is now reality as we steamroll into the age of machines so rapidly it can be hard to keep up. To prevent increasingly advanced technology taking possession of you, it’s vital to train your employees in areas of machine learning. 

In order to make a success of machine learning, you must bring your employees up to speed with its language, methods and data rules. 

If you want to be extra safe, you can hire a Data Protection Officer to oversee your data security. Of course depending on the size of your company, this may be compulsory under General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) effective from 25th May 2018 

Learn to adapt

We’ll have to muster all our courage and stare the digital transformation monster right in the eye. Adapting to all the innovations that will emerge when your practice goes digital will ensure you avoid any nightmares.