Data Security in a Computerised Accounting System

Because accounting data is both confidential and critical to a business, protecting it is one of the central responsibilities of anyone running a Computerised Accounting System. The main safeguards generally recommended are:

• Password protection and access levels. Every user is given their own login, and different users are granted different levels of access — for example, a data-entry operator may be allowed to create vouchers but not to alter or delete previously approved entries, while only the administrator can change core settings.
• Segregation of duties. Responsibility for recording a transaction, approving it, and reviewing the resulting reports is spread across different people, so that no single individual can both create and conceal a fraudulent entry unnoticed.
• Regular backups. Copies of the data are taken at frequent intervals and stored in a separate location (another device, or increasingly an online/cloud location), so that a hardware failure, virus or accidental deletion does not mean a permanent loss of records.
• Antivirus and firewall protection. Software safeguards guard the system against malicious programs that could damage or steal data, particularly where the computer is connected to the internet or a shared network.
• Data encryption. Sensitive data can be stored or transmitted in an encoded form so that even if it is intercepted or accessed without authorisation, it cannot easily be read.
• Audit trail. A good accounting package keeps a log of who entered or altered which voucher, and when, so that any questionable entry can be traced back to the person responsible — an important control that manual books, once altered, do not automatically provide.
• Physical security of hardware. The computers and storage media themselves need to be kept in a reasonably secure location, safe from theft, fire and unauthorised physical access, alongside an uninterrupted power supply to protect against data corruption during sudden power failure. …