As the calendar creeps toward year-end, most financial leaders are focused on closing the books, preparing tax filings, and finalizing next year’s budget. The pace picks up. Deadlines pile on. Staff are stretched thin.
That same hectic window is also one of the riskiest times for your technology.
Cybercriminals know that accounting firms, banks, and wealth management companies are juggling year-end projects and busy season prep. They use that distraction to launch targeted phishing campaigns, ransomware attacks, and credential theft attempts that can derail Q1 before it even begins.
For firms that hold highly regulated and sensitive client data, the stakes are unusually high. IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach report found that data breaches in the financial industry cost an average of 6.08 million dollars, around 22 percent higher than the global average cost per incident. At the same time, Sophos research showed that 65 percent of financial services organizations were hit by ransomware in 2024, and in most of those attacks, cybercriminals also attempted to compromise the organization’s backups.
If you are planning for a strong 2026, your IT and cybersecurity plan cannot be an afterthought. Year-end is the ideal moment to check your systems, close gaps, and align your technology roadmap with your business goals.
Why Year-End Is a Critical Moment for IT And Cybersecurity
Financial firms live with regulatory scrutiny and client expectations all year. At year end, that pressure increases. New regulations, updated guidance from regulators, and evolving cyber insurance requirements all add to the mix. On top of that, staff are working long hours and may rely more on shortcuts, personal devices, or unapproved tools to get work done.
Those conditions create three specific risks:
- Higher likelihood of human error, such as clicking on a convincing phishing email or misdirecting a file with sensitive data.
- Increased value of your systems to attackers, since disrupting work during tax season or financial reporting creates maximum leverage.
- Less available time for your internal team to respond to an incident or perform overdue maintenance.
Treat your year-end IT review like a portfolio review. You are not just checking for problems. You are making sure every system is aligned with your risk tolerance, growth plans, and client obligations.
- Review Your Cybersecurity Strategy with a Financial Services Lens
Most firms have at least some security tools in place, but they are often implemented over time and not revisited as the business grows. Year-end is a smart time to ask three questions:
- Are we defending against the threats that financial firms actually face today?
- Do we have visibility into attacks across all locations and remote workers?
- If something goes wrong, how quickly will we know and how fast can we respond?
For financial services, a modern cybersecurity strategy usually includes:
- Next-generation firewalls and endpoint protection that are monitored around the clock.
- Multifactor authentication on every remote access point, VPN, and cloud application.
- Email security and phishing protection that filter malicious messages before they reach staff.
- Security awareness training that uses realistic scenarios tailored to finance and accounting.
At CMIT Solutions of Central Texas, our team monitors client systems 24 hours a day and uses layered security controls that are tuned to financial services risk. That kind of proactive approach lets partners and CFOs sleep at night knowing someone is watching their environment even when their office is dark.
- Strengthen Backups and Business Continuity Before Busy Season
If ransomware locks up your file server in January, how long would it take to get your data back and resume client work?
In recent studies, nearly two-thirds of financial services organizations reported experiencing ransomware, and in most of those incidents, attackers attempted to compromise backups as well. For firms that rely on always available practice management and core banking systems, that is a serious concern.
A year-end backup and continuity check should confirm that:
- Critical systems and data are backed up frequently enough to meet your recovery objectives.
- Backups are stored in at least one location that is isolated from your production network.
- Restore tests are run on a regular schedule so you know that recovery actually works.
- There is a documented business continuity plan that describes who does what during an outage.
A good business continuity strategy looks beyond servers and files. It considers staff communication, work from alternate locations, and how you will keep clients informed if there is a disruption. Building and testing that plan before the busy season turns a potential crisis into a manageable event.
- Clean Up Software, Licenses, And Shadow IT
Software sprawl is common in growing financial firms. Individual partners sign up for niche tools, departments adopt cloud services for specific workflows, and expired trial accounts linger in the background. That creates both cost and risk.
Use year-end as an opportunity to:
- Inventory all software and cloud services in use across your firm.
- Deactivate accounts that are no longer needed and remove associated data.
- Consolidate tools where possible so that you have fewer vendors to manage.
- Confirm that every system handling client data meets your compliance requirements.
For regulated entities, that last point is critical. Whether you are dealing with SEC rules, FFIEC guidance, PCI requirements, or state privacy laws, you are responsible for understanding where regulated data lives and how it is protected. A structured software and license audit helps you avoid unpleasant surprises during external examinations.
- Tighten Access, Identity, And Vendor Permissions
Financial institutions must balance speed of service with tight control over access. Over time, user accounts accumulate excess privileges. Employees change roles. Contractors complete projects. Former vendors retain access to systems that hold sensitive information.
An end-of-year access and identity review should:
- Confirm that every account still belongs to an active user with a valid business need.
- Reduce privileges wherever possible, following a least privilege approach.
- Remove shared accounts or at least enforce multifactor authentication and strong passwords.
- Review third party vendor access and remove any connections that are no longer required.
The 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report from Verizon highlighted that nearly a third of breaches in the financial and insurance sector involved internal actors, whether through error or misuse of access. Tightening identity and access controls is one of the fastest ways to reduce that risk.
- Align Your 2026 Growth Plan with a Scalable IT Roadmap
Many firms go into annual planning with ambitious growth goals. New branches in fast growing markets. Additional partners or advisors. Expanded virtual services or online portals for clients.
Those plans only succeed if your technology can support them.
When you are mapping out 2026 growth, consider:
- Network and cloud capacity for new locations, remote staff, and heavier digital workloads.
- Security controls and policies that extend consistently to every office and home user.
- Collaboration tools that make it easy for teams in Austin, San Marcos, New Braunfels, and beyond to work together securely.
- Budgeting for hardware refreshes so that outdated workstations do not become a daily bottleneck.
An experienced managed IT partner can translate your business plan into a practical technology roadmap. That way, the investments you make in the coming year move you toward your strategic targets instead of forcing last minute, reactive purchases.
How Year-End IT Planning Builds Client Trust
Clients choose financial advisors, CPAs, and lenders based on trust. They share sensitive financial information and expect you to protect it. They also expect uninterrupted service during the times of year when money decisions matter most.
Strong IT and cybersecurity planning supports that trust by:
- Reducing the likelihood of incidents that disrupt client service.
- Demonstrating to regulators and auditors that you take data protection seriously.
- Providing a clear story you can share with clients about how you safeguard their information.
In a world where news about data breaches spreads quickly, proactive security is a competitive advantage. Firms that invest in technology resilience earn a reputation for stability and reliability that separates them from competitors.
Make IT A Strategic Asset, Not Your 2026 Weak Link
You would never close the books for the year without reconciling your accounts. Treat your IT environment with the same discipline.
A focused year-end IT and cybersecurity review gives you:
- Clear visibility into your current risk posture.
- Confidence that critical systems and backups will be ready for the busy season.
- A technology roadmap that supports your 2026 growth plans.
If you are a financial, accounting, or investment firm in Central Texas, CMIT Solutions is ready to help. Our local team works with banks, credit unions, and CPA firms throughout the region, backed by a nationwide network of more than 900 technicians. We understand both the regulatory landscape and the practical realities of day-to-day operations.
Contact Yusuf Ujjainwala at CMIT Solutions for a complimentary year-end IT and cybersecurity checkup. Together, we can make sure your systems are working as hard as you are today and are ready to support your goals in 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions about Year-End IT and Cybersecurity for Financial Firms
Why should financial firms review IT and cybersecurity at year’s end?
Year-end combines high transaction volume with tight deadlines and staff fatigue, which makes mistakes and oversights more likely. Reviewing IT and cybersecurity during this window helps you close gaps before the busy season, align with new regulations, and ensure that your systems are ready to support your 2026 goals.
What should be on a year-end IT and cybersecurity checklist for financial firms?
A: A solid checklist includes reviewing security controls, testing backups, auditing user access, inventorying software, and validating incident response plans. For financial services, it should also cover compliance-specific items such as encryption of regulated data, secure client portals, and logging that supports audit requirements.
How do managed IT services support banks, credit unions, and accounting firms?
Managed IT providers deliver 24/7 monitoring, proactive maintenance, and access to a broader team of specialists than most firms can hire in-house. For financial organizations, this means faster detection of threats, timely patching of systems, and a strategic partner who can help design technology plans that match growth and regulatory needs.
What cyber threats are most common for financial services organizations?
Financial firms frequently face phishing, credential theft, business email compromise, and ransomware. Attackers target these organizations because they hold valuable financial data and are under pressure to restore operations quickly, which can increase the leverage of an attack. A layered security strategy and regular staff training help reduce the impact of these threats.
How long does a year-end IT and cybersecurity review usually take?
Timelines vary based on size and complexity, but many reviews can be completed within several business days once access is granted. A good partner will start with a discovery session, run automated assessments, review your policies, and then present findings and recommendations in a plain language report that you can act on quickly.
