The Chief Information Security Officer

The New CFO of Information Security

Joel Lanz, CPA/CGMA/CITP/CFF, CISA, CISM, CISSP, CFE

Traditionally, CPAs have considered the chief financial officer (CFO) as the guardian of a business's organizational data. It was and remains the CFO's responsibility to maintain a system of internal controls that provides reliance for the accuracy and integrity needed to prepare and attest to the financial statements. These statements and the accompanying opinion continue to be relied on by stakeholders when making financial decisions. The increasing use of rapidly developing technology, software obsolescence, and the change in user preference from desktop to mobile computing platforms have created the need for a new type of data guardian responsible for protecting all types of information in a digital world. The chief information security officer (CISO) is the person performing this role in many organizations and has become an important consideration for CPAs, both in traditional auditing and advisory services.