Managed IT For Accounting And Advisory Firms
Concierge-level managed IT and client-grade security so your firm can hold its clients’ confidence through busy season and beyond. Tax software environments, document management, mobile partners, AI policy, and cyber insurance handled. Run by a named team that knows your firm.
Client Data, Client Trust, Client Time
Law firms, accounting firms, M&A advisory boutiques, and consulting practices share a single operating constraint: client data is the firm’s most valuable asset, and a single incident on it can take down decades of relationships.
On top of that, the regulatory ground keeps moving. ABA Formal Opinion 512 changed how law firms must think about AI. AICPA professional conduct standards keep the same pressure on accounting firms. FTC Safeguards Rule keeps both.
The right MSP for a professional services firm runs the IT, but also runs the documentation that goes with it: cyber insurance posture, written information security plan, AI policy, malpractice carrier requirements.
What’s On Your Mind
Partners are using ChatGPT for client work and there’s no policy in place. Malpractice carrier might already know.
FTC Safeguards Rule risk assessment is overdue and the cyber insurance renewal is in 60 days.
Document management (NetDocuments, iManage, ProLaw) is slow and partners are emailing files instead.
A senior associate just left and nobody’s confirmed their access to client files was actually revoked.
Tax season is starting, the firm’s UltraTax/CCH environment is sluggish, and the helpdesk is two days behind.
Mobile devices for partners working remotely don’t have the security posture the firm’s WISP says they should.
How Hi-Tek Runs Professional Services IT
Helpdesk That Knows Busy Season
A named pod of senior helpdesk supports the partners, managers, seniors, staff, and admin team. We know how busy season actually runs: tax deadlines, audit cycles, matter cycles, remote partners on the road, all-hands hours through April and October. Executive support tier for managing partners.
Your Environment, End To End
Servers (on-prem or Azure), endpoints, network, Microsoft 365 tenant, identity, backup. We size, run, monitor, and recover the environment. Hardware lifecycle and refresh planning are part of the engagement. Built around busy-season load patterns.
Security Built Around Client Data
EDR on every endpoint, 24/7 monitoring, MFA, conditional access tied to client data access, PAM, email security, DNS filtering. Designed around the threats that actually hit professional services firms: client data exfiltration, BEC against partner accounts, wire fraud, departing-staff client file access risk.
The Platforms Your Firm Runs On
Tax software (UltraTax, CCH Axcess, Lacerte, ProSeries, Drake), practice management (Practice CS, GoFileRoom, SmartVault), document management for legal (NetDocuments, iManage, Worldox), audit software (CaseWare, ProSystem fx Engagement), client portals, time and billing. We handle the Microsoft 365 integration, identity controls, infrastructure, and custom workflow tie-ins.
AI Your Firm Can Defend
Written AI policy aligned to AICPA professional conduct, ABA Formal Opinion 512 (for law firms), FTC Safeguards Rule, and your malpractice carrier’s expectations. Microsoft 365 Copilot governance, the Hi-Tek Managed Secure AI Platform, and surrounding infrastructure for whatever third-party AI tools the firm chooses.
Busy season without IT drama. Tax deadlines, audit cycles, matter cycles: the environment stays up, the helpdesk is staffed, partners get answered.
Client confidentiality defensible. Sensitivity labels, conditional access, and audit logging calibrated to client data.
Cyber insurance renewal handled, not panicked about. Carrier questionnaire and documentation completed before the deadline.
A named team that knows your firm. Same pod, same vCIO, same Technical Account Manager. No engineers learning your platforms on your time.
The Detail Behind Each Capability
Helpdesk And Busy-Season Support Model
A named pod of senior helpdesk owns your firm. Dedicated TAM coordinates work; vCIO sits with managing partners. Standard SLAs: sub-30-minute first response on critical tickets. After-hours coverage scaled up through busy season. Executive support tier for managing partners and CFOs.
The Environment We Run
Servers (on-prem or Azure), endpoints, network, Microsoft 365 tenant, identity (Microsoft Entra ID with conditional access), backup. Hardware lifecycle and refresh planning at the firm level. Built around busy-season load patterns and partner mobile workflows.
Layered Security Stack For Professional Services
EDR on every endpoint. 24/7 SOC. Email security with anti-impersonation, transport rules, attachment sandboxing. DNS filtering. MFA on every login. Conditional access tied to client data access. PAM for privileged accounts. Penetration testing annually. Tabletop exercises against BEC and wire fraud scenarios.
Tax Software Platform Support
UltraTax CS, CCH Axcess, Lacerte, ProSeries, Drake, Thomson Reuters tax software. We handle the surrounding environment: identity, access controls, integration with Microsoft 365, audit logging, and the workstation fleet.
Document Management For Legal And Audit
NetDocuments, iManage, Worldox for legal. CaseWare, ProSystem fx Engagement for audit. Practice management (Practice CS, GoFileRoom, SmartVault). Identity, access, and Microsoft 365 integration handled.
Confidentiality Controls For Client Data
Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels and DLP rules calibrated to client financial and matter data. Conditional access tied to client data access. Audit logging suitable for AICPA review, ABA review, FTC Safeguards Rule, and malpractice carrier review.
Risks Specific To Professional Services Firms
Client data exfiltration through misconfigured endpoints or shared file access. BEC targeting partner accounts (impersonation, fake wire instructions). Wire fraud against client trust accounts. Departing-staff client file access risk. Matter-grade security for legal practices. We design controls around each.
Backup And Disaster Recovery
Image-based backup with off-site replication. Immutable storage layers that survive ransomware. Microsoft 365 backup separate from M365’s native retention. Tax-season-aware recovery testing.
AICPA And ABA AI Policy
Written AI policy aligned to AICPA professional conduct (for accounting work), ABA Formal Opinion 512 (for legal work), FTC Safeguards Rule, and your malpractice carrier’s expectations. Approved-tool inventory. Annual policy review.
Co-Managed Engagement Model
Firms with internal IT can engage Hi-Tek in a co-managed structure. Hi-Tek covers what internal IT cannot economically maintain alone. Internal IT keeps the daily user support and partner relationships.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an MSP do for an accounting or advisory firm?
A capable MSP for a professional services firm handles 24/7 IT support with busy-season uptime, tax and document management software platform support, Microsoft 365 administration with client-data controls, mobile workforce support for partners, cybersecurity aligned to FTC Safeguards Rule, AI policy aligned to AICPA and ABA professional conduct, and cyber insurance documentation.
Do you work with UltraTax, CCH Axcess, Lacerte?
Yes. We support all the major tax software platforms (UltraTax CS, CCH Axcess, Lacerte, ProSeries, Drake, Thomson Reuters). What we manage is the surrounding environment: identity, access controls, Microsoft 365 integration, audit logging, and the workstation fleet.
Do you serve mid-market law firms?
Yes. Mid-market law firms with matter-grade security, document management (NetDocuments, iManage, Worldox), and AI policy under ABA Formal Opinion 512 are recurring client profiles. Legal industry IT shares more in common with accounting and advisory than it does with healthcare or manufacturing, which is why it lives on this page.
How does Hi-Tek handle FTC Safeguards Rule for CPA firms?
We maintain the technical controls (encryption, MFA, access controls, monitoring, logging) and documentation the FTC Safeguards Rule requires. Annual risk assessment, written information security program, and the evidence package an FTC examiner or your insurance carrier expects.
What about AICPA professional conduct and AI?
We write AI policy aligned to AICPA professional conduct standards, your malpractice carrier’s expectations, and the latest regulator guidance. Approved-tool inventory, conditional access, audit logging.
Is Microsoft 365 Copilot safe for tax or legal work?
Microsoft 365 Copilot in an enterprise tenant configured with sensitivity labels, DLP rules, conditional access, and audit logging can be deployed in tax and legal workflows safely. Configuration matters significantly. We configure Microsoft 365 environments for Copilot in CPA and law firms as part of our managed IT and AI Security service lines.
How does Hi-Tek handle wire fraud risk for firms with client trust accounts?
Wire fraud against client trust accounts is a top-3 threat. Controls: anti-impersonation email rules, conditional access, MFA on banking platforms, transport rules flagging external wire instruction emails, partner training, tabletop exercises, and procedural controls (out-of-band wire verification).
What about busy-season scaling?
We size capacity for busy season. The named helpdesk pod gets surge support during tax deadlines and audit cycles. Documented response standards stay through March-April and October.
Do you serve M&A advisory firms?
Yes. M&A advisory boutiques, transaction services teams, and deal-room infrastructure are recurring client profiles.
What’s the onboarding process?
Most firm onboardings complete in 30 to 60 days with no busy-season disruption. Tax software handoff, document management handoff, Microsoft 365 migration, security stack deployment, and AI policy review each get specific attention.
Ready When You Are.
A 30-minute conversation plus a structured review of your firm’s IT environment, busy-season posture, and any pressing AI or carrier questions.
Founder-led since 1982. Headquartered in Syosset, NY.