Cybersecurity for Financial Operations: A Guide to Protect Your Data and Cash

In 2025, cybersecurity isn't just a technology problem — it's a boardroom problem. For growth-stage companies navigating fundraising, compliance, and M&A activity, the finance function has become the single most attractive entry point for cybercriminals.

The nightmare scenario: A finance team at a multinational company recently received what appeared to be an urgent video call from their CFO requesting a $25 million wire transfer. The team complied immediately. The "CFO" was actually a deepfake, and the money was gone within hours.

This isn't an isolated incident. It's a new reality for finance teams everywhere.

The Real Cost of Cybersecurity Failures

Cautionary tales from the real world:

• SMBs experience 350% more social engineering attacks than enterprises [1].

• Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams, often targeting finance teams, are responsible for billions in annual losses.

• Deepfake technology is now being used to impersonate executives, including a recent incident where a finance team was tricked into wiring $25 million after a fake video call with their "CFO" [2].

• The rise of outsourced attacks: Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS), Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS), and AI-powered phishing means that sophisticated attacks are more accessible than ever [3].

• Voice-based phishing attacks calling a company’s help desk, impersonating employees, and resetting their single sign-on passwords [4].

While large enterprises can deploy full-time security teams with generous budgets, growth-stage companies face the exact same threats with a fraction of the resources. Cybercriminals know this — and they're taking advantage.

The bottom line: A single successful attack can cost more than your entire annual finance budget. Recovery costs, regulatory fines, and reputation damage often exceed the initial theft.

Why Finance is the Front Line

Finance teams are high-value targets because:

• They move money and have access to banking systems, financial platforms, and payroll data.

• They interact frequently and predictably with vendors and leadership — giving attackers more behavioral patterns and payment cycles to exploit.

• They often operate under time pressure, with strict deadlines for payroll, bill payments, wire transfers, etc.

• They have trust-based relationships with leadership and external partners.

How SPRCHRGR Protects Your Financial Operations

Unlike traditional bookkeeping firms and freelance fractional finance providers, we integrate cybersecurity protections into our core operations from the ground up.

“We’ve built in multiple layers of defense at every tier,” says Josh Berman, VP of Technology at SPRCHRGR. “This commitment extends beyond client data to our internal toolset and operational processes, giving peace of mind not only to our clients but to our team members as well, and ensuring that no single vulnerability can compromise the platform. Trust is hard won, and we’ve worked tirelessly through years of good cybersecurity stewardship to earn the confidence of each client we serve today. We remain determined to stay ahead of the curve in the ongoing evolution of our cybersecurity protocols.”

Our Security-First Approach

• Trusted by Security-First Clients: From the very beginning, we’ve worked closely with leading cybersecurity firms as both clients and advisors. This gives us inside access to cutting-edge best practices, real-world threat intelligence, and ongoing expert guidance.

• Proprietary Security Framework: We've developed and continuously evolve proprietary processes to protect client data integrity, payment workflows, and financial systems — alongside our NIST 800-171 compliant Managed Service Provider [5].

• Advanced Authentication: Every team member uses the most secure multi-factor authentication and centralized identity management features available on all client systems—no exceptions.

• Encrypted Everything: We never transmit sensitive information via unencrypted email. Every file and communication channel prioritizes security over convenience.

• Separation of Duties: Our internal workflows follow audit-grade controls. No single person can both create and approve payments — checks and balances are built into every process.

• Zero-Trust Operations: We verify every transaction, especially fund transfers and vendor changes, through multiple confirmation channels. 

"We take a layered, zero-trust approach to safeguarding client data — combining Microsoft Enterprise security tools, strict SharePoint and Google Workspace access controls, advanced email protection, and leading threat detection platforms to ensure data stays protected and only accessible to the right people." - SPRCHRGR IT Support Team

Essential Security Measures for Growing SMB Companies

Whether you're working with SPRCHRGR or building internal finance operations, these practices are non-negotiable:

Immediate Actions

• Require multi-factor authentication on all finance systems
• Ban sensitive file sharing over unencrypted email
• Implement separate roles for transaction creation and approval
• Use secure document portals for all financial communications
• Confirm bank or vendor changes through verified phone calls

Ongoing Practices

• Train all staff quarterly on phishing and impersonation tactics
• Back up financial data weekly using immutable backup systems
• Audit system permissions and access monthly
• Monitor for unusual login patterns or transaction requests
• Maintain an incident response plan with clear roles and communications

Advanced Protections

• Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) platforms
• Implement network segmentation for finance systems
• Use AI-enhanced monitoring for anomaly detection
• Conduct regular deepfake and social engineering drills
• Maintain cyber insurance coverage for breach response

What Are the Top Strategies for SMBs to Train & Defend Against Cyber Attacks? A Cybersecurity Checklist

Each client's needs are different (including industry-specific data privacy compliance rules), but these are the essential cybersecurity strategies your IT and Finance team need to align on. 

Frequently Asked Questions on SMB Cybersecurity Risk

• How much does a typical cybersecurity breach cost? 

  The average cost of a data breach for small-to-mid-sized companies ranges from $500,000 to $2.5 million, including recovery costs, regulatory fines, and business disruption. The cost to a company's reputation and loss of client trust, however, can be even higher. 

• What makes finance teams particularly vulnerable? 

  Finance teams combine high-value targets (money and data) with time-pressured decision-making and extensive external communications — creating multiple attack vectors. 

• Why do hackers target small companies?

  Hackers know small businesses usually don't have the capital to invest in robust cybersecurity systems. Most small business owners think that because they're small they won't be targeted when the opposite is true.

• How do I evaluate my current accounting firm's cybersecurity?

  Using the checklist above, ask about their multi-factor authentication policies, encryption standards, separation of duties, staff training programs, and incident response procedures. Vague answers are red flags.

• What's the difference between basic and advanced security measures? 

  Basic measures prevent opportunistic attacks. Advanced measures defend against sophisticated, targeted campaigns using AI, deepfakes, and social engineering.

Beyond Risk Mitigation: For Growth-Stage Companies, Security Signals Operational Maturity

Your cybersecurity posture directly impacts your company's valuation, fundraising potential, capital investment terms, and M&A attractiveness. Investors and acquirers increasingly view security gaps as deal-killers. You not only need to clearly demonstrate industry best practices internally, but your vendors also need to do the same.

The Bottom Line: Finance is Front-Line Defense of Cybersecurity for SMBs

Lower-middle-market firms know the stakes. They’ve lived through compliance audits, due diligence requests, and the cleanup costs of poor vendor selection. These firms are now demanding that their partners reflect the same level of operational maturity they hold themselves to.

If that’s you, you’ll recognize that SPRCHRGR isn’t just another vendor. We’re a financial operations partner who invests in cybersecurity not because it’s trendy, but because your reputation, your cash, and your client trust are on the line — and we treat them like our own.

Business leaders need a partner that supercharges systems and financial performance without exposing you to unnecessary cyber risk.

We’re not just accounting and finance engineers. We’re guardians of it.

Let’s schedule a call to supercharge your data and systems securely. 

Sources:

• [1] KnowBe4 | SMBs Are 350% More Likely to Experience Social Engineering Attacks Via Phishing
  https://blog.knowbe4.com/smb-experience-social-engineering-phishing
• [2] Financial Times | Arup lost $25mn in Hong Kong deepfake video conference scam
  https://www.ft.com/content/b977e8d4-664c-4ae4-8a8e-eb93bdf785ea
• [3] ITPro | Malware as a service explained: What it is and why businesses should take note
  https://www.itpro.com/security/malware/malware-as-a-service-explained-what-it-is-and-why-businesses-should-take-note
• [4] Axios | How Scattered Spider hackers are wreaking havoc on corporate America
  https://www.axios.com/2025/07/08/scattered-spider-cybercrime-hackers
• [5] NIST | What is NIST SP 800-171 and Who Needs to Follow It?
• https://www.nist.gov/blogs/manufacturing-innovation-blog/what-nist-sp-800-171-and-who-needs-follow-it-0