Accounting Firm IT Support Adelaide
Your clients trust you with their numbers. We make sure their data is just as safe.
You didn't build your practice to chase software updates, manage servers, or worry whether your client data would survive a cyber attack mid–tax season. Otaris takes IT and cybersecurity completely off your plate — so you can get back to your clients.
In short
What does IT support for accounting firms in Adelaide include?
Otaris provides managed IT support and cyber security for accounting firms in Adelaide. We support Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks, secure access to ATO online services and myID, and align firm IT with the Tax Practitioners Board's information-security requirements and the Essential Eight. Plans start at $139 per user per month. Adelaide-based since 2006.
Tax file numbers · agent portal · TPB obligations
Eight questions to ask the IT provider you already have
An accounting practice holds the exact bundle an identity thief wants — tax file numbers, bank details, dates of birth, signatures — for hundreds of people at once, plus a credential that reaches the ATO on their behalf. That makes your practice a more valuable target than most of your clients, and the ATO has become increasingly direct about expecting agents to know it.
So don't take our word for anything. These eight questions come straight from the Essential Eight — the standard published by the Australian Signals Directorate, which we didn't write and don't own. Each one can only be answered with a document. Ask them, and notice which answers arrive as a report and which arrive as a reassurance.
- 01
Patch applications
Xero, MYOB, the practice management suite and the Excel we live in — which were patched last month?
A real answer looks like: A dated patch report per application, with exceptions named.
- 02
Patch operating systems
The machines used for ATO Online services for agents — what OS build are they on, and when does support end?
A real answer looks like: A device list with OS build numbers and end-of-support dates for the portal machines specifically.
- 03
Multi-factor authentication
Who can reach the agent portal or a client ledger with a password and nothing else?
A real answer looks like: A conditional access report listing every account, its factor, and every exclusion by name.
- 04
Restrict admin privileges
Who can add a new user to our ATO agent portal access, and who is notified when they do?
A real answer looks like: A named list of who can administer portal access, and an alert configuration showing who is notified.
- 05
Application control
At BAS time a graduate installs a free PDF splitter to get through a batch. Does it run?
A real answer looks like: The application control policy, its enforcement mode, and last month's blocked-execution log.
- 06
Restrict Office macros
Client workpapers arrive as macro-enabled workbooks constantly. Which are permitted, on what basis, and what blocks the rest?
A real answer looks like: The macro policy showing default-block, with the trusted locations and signed exceptions listed.
- 07
User application hardening
The browsers used for the ATO, Xero and bank feeds — what has been hardened, and when was it verified?
A real answer looks like: The hardening baseline applied and the date of the last drift check.
- 08
Regular backups
If the workpaper library were encrypted in the last week of October, when did you last prove a restore, and how many hours did it take?
A real answer looks like: A restore test report with a date, a measured duration, and a signature.
And one more, just for your industry
If a client's tax file number were exposed through our practice, who tells them, who tells the OAIC, and can you show me that process written down?
A real answer looks like: A written breach response plan naming roles and timeframes, and the date it was last rehearsed.
Asked them? Here's what to do with the answers.
A provider doing the work sends a report. One who isn't sends a sentence. If the answers came back vague, that is itself an answer — and you now know which questions to ask again in writing.
To check the same ground against the government standard yourself, the scorecard further down this page takes about two minutes. You keep the result, and there is no form to fill in.
Or ask us — we do this every week.
We know what's really at stake for an accounting firm
Your clients hand you their most sensitive information — tax file numbers, financial records, bank details, payroll, the lot. They trust you to protect it. So do the ATO and the Tax Practitioners Board, who now treat data security as a professional obligation, not a nice-to-have.
That makes accounting firms a prime target. The ATO deals with around three million cyber attacks every month, and attackers increasingly impersonate firms to harvest client identities for tax fraud. The fallout isn't just technical — a breach can mean locked client accounts, mandatory reporting under the Privacy Act, lost productivity at the worst possible time of year, and clients who quietly take their files elsewhere.
You shouldn't have to be your own IT department to carry that. That's where we come in.
“We take IT completely off your plate — so you can focus on your clients, not your servers.”
The IT challenges we solve for accounting practices
Protecting tax file numbers & client identities
TFNs and financial records carry strict handling obligations, and stolen client identities are used for tax fraud. We lock down where this data lives and who can reach it, so a single phished password can't open your whole client list.
ATO & TPB security expectations
The ATO and TPB expect multi-factor sign-in on systems that touch ATO online services, plus proper access controls and logging. We put those controls in place and show you exactly where your firm stands.
Business email compromise & invoice fraud
Fake emails impersonating your firm — or redirecting a client's payment — are the most common attack on practices. We secure your email and verify the people inside your systems to shut these scams down.
Privacy Act compliance & breach response
With the small-business exemption being wound back and penalties now reaching tens of millions, you need to be ready. We help align your systems with your obligations and prepare a fast, calm response if a notifiable breach ever happens — including the ATO's tax-professional reporting steps.
Downtime at the worst time of year
At BAS time and tax time, an hour of downtime is lost deadlines and frustrated clients. Our 24/7 monitoring catches problems early, and our local team responds fast when it matters most.
A cloud stack that actually stays secure
Modern practices run on a web of cloud apps and integrations — a bigger attack surface than most realise. We support the accounting tools your team relies on and keep them secure, updated and working together.
Getting your practice sorted is simple
Schedule a call
Talk to a real person who understands accounting practices. No sales pitch — just a conversation about what's working and what's keeping you up at night.
We assess your IT and build a roadmap
We audit your systems, check them against ATO/TPB expectations, the Essential Eight and your Privacy Act obligations, find the gaps, and give you a clear plan. No jargon, no hidden costs.
We manage everything, so you can focus on clients
From 24/7 monitoring and cybersecurity to everyday support, we become the IT team your practice has always needed.
Everything your practice needs, under one trusted partner
Cybersecurity & Essential Eight alignment
MFA, patching, admin controls and threat monitoring — the controls that matter most for firms handling client financial data.
ATO/TPB-ready access controls
MFA and logging on the systems that touch client and ATO data, so you can show exactly who accessed what.
Secure Microsoft 365 & email
Locked-down email — the single biggest fraud risk for firms.
Backup & business continuity
Daily backups and a tested plan to keep you running through tax season.
Privacy Act & breach-response readiness
Controls and a documented plan so you're never scrambling.
Accounting software support
We support the platforms your team relies on day to day — including Xero and MYOB — keeping them secure, updated and integrated with the rest of your systems.
Accounting software & systems we support
Otaris supports the platforms Adelaide accounting firms rely on — from the ledgers themselves to the ATO services and security standards around them.
- Xero
- MYOB
- QuickBooks
- ATO online services & myID
- TPB information-security requirements
- Microsoft 365
A local team accounting firms trust
Otaris has been looking after Australian businesses since 2006 — that's 20+ years in IT. We're Adelaide-based with Australia-wide coverage, and we explain everything in plain language. You'll never be handed off to an overseas call centre.
Client story — AFM Services, Norwood
AFM Services is an Adelaide CPA public practice firm with 30+ years' experience and around 47 staff, handling sensitive financial data for small and medium businesses every day. Otaris partnered with them on a journey to cloud excellence — modernising their systems, strengthening security around client data, and giving their team a reliable platform to work from.
The result is a secure, modern practice where the technology supports the team instead of holding it back — and client data is protected the way their clients expect.
Read the AFM Services case study
Client story — NFPAS, Keswick
When Not-For-Profit Accounting Specialists needed to modernise the way their team worked, we migrated them to a secure remote-desktop environment on AWS — built to ISO 27001 standards, with Microsoft 365 and a tested business continuity and disaster recovery plan behind it. Today their team works securely from anywhere, with client data protected and backed up.
Read the NFPAS case study- 20+ years in IT
- Adelaide-based
- Microsoft partner
- ISO 27001-aligned migrations
- Essential Eight aligned
- Hundreds of Australian businesses supported
Imagine a tax season where IT is the last thing you think about
Picture a Monday where the technology just works. Your team logs in from the office or home — securely. Client files and TFNs are protected, backed up and exactly where they should be. You're confident you'd meet your ATO, TPB and Privacy Act obligations if anyone ever asked. And when a question comes up, a local person who knows your firm picks up the phone.
That's the difference between worrying about IT and having a partner who's already handled it.
“Strengthening your digital confidence.”
Insights for accounting
What we get asked most often by accounting businesses, answered plainly.
- 2 min
How should clients send documents to an accounting firm?
Through an upload link into the right client area, not as email attachments that live in a mailbox forever.
Read the article - 2 min
What does co-managed IT look like for an accounting firm?
Your internal person handles the day-to-day; we cover security, infrastructure and escalation. It suits firms too big for nobody and too small for a team.
Read the article - 6 min
Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks: what should IT consider?
The platform choice is the firm's. The IT questions are integration, what it needs from your environment, and how data comes out.
Read the article - 2 min
Can accounting firms use AI safely?
For drafting, summarising and first-pass analysis, with a person checking. Not by pasting client financials into public tools.
Read the article - 6 min
What IT does an accounting firm need?
A ledger platform, document management that survives an audit, protected email, and capacity that holds up through tax season.
Read the article - 6 min
How should an accounting firm protect client financial data?
Protect the mailbox, control who sees which client, manage the devices, and verify every payment change by phone. In that order.
Read the article
Solutions for your industry
The services we most often deploy for accounting.
- Cyber
Cybersecurity
Essential Eight and ISO/IEC 27001 aligned protection across every system we deliver.
Learn more - Managed
Microsoft 365
Productivity, collaboration and security in one all-in-one Microsoft 365 Business Premium solution.
Learn more - Cyber
Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery
Daily backups, 4G failover, and business-grade hardware with next-day onsite warranty — built to survive failure.
Learn more
Frequently asked questions
No name · No email · No follow-up
Check your Essential Eight score
Eight questions, about two minutes. You’ll come out with a plain list of what’s holding up, what isn’t, and what it takes to fix each gap. Some of it you’ll be able to do yourself. Some of it honestly needs a hand — and if you’d rather not deal with any of it, it’s all covered in our support plans.
The list at the end is yours to keep and act on — that part is free, and there is nothing to sign for it. If you would rather we took some or all of it on, ask on chat and we will tell you what is involved.
The Essential Eight is an Australian Government standard, and every small business should be able to measure itself against it without paying for the privilege or handing over their details. There’s no form here, so whether we ever speak is your call.
One question for each of the Essential Eight, all at Maturity Level 1 — the baseline ASD says every small business should meet. About two minutes.
answered you are here still to answer· eight groups, one per Essential Eight strategy · click any square to jump to it
Does anyone send you a patch report each month or on request, showing what got updated and what didn't?
Choose one of these four answersor press 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 to answer
Not sure what this question is asking? Ask on chat and we’ll explain what the standard means.
The two questions everybody asks last
What does it cost — and what happens to our week if we switch?
Fair questions, so here are both answers on one page. Our plans are the same three Essential Eight maturity levels you just read about — you aren't choosing between vague bundles, you're choosing how far up the Government's own standard you want to be.
- Most popular
Fortress
$139/user/month
Essential Eight · Maturity Level 1
✓ Compliant · all 8 of 8 controls at ML1
Full compliance with the Australian Government's Essential Eight baseline — all eight strategies, implemented, managed and documented so you can prove it.
Where most businesses land: unlimited support for everything, full Essential Eight compliance, and human threat hunters watching around the clock.
Support, unlimited
Security, complete
Knox
$179/user/month
Essential Eight · Maturity Level 2
✓ Compliant · all 8 of 8 controls at ML2
Maturity Level 2 — stronger protection for businesses adversaries deliberately target, and the level expected for government and defence work.
Businesses handling sensitive data or working with government, defence and regulated industries — where compliance isn't optional.
Everything in Fortress, plus
Compliance & data
Advanced threat defence
Titan
$219/user/month
Essential Eight · Maturity Level 3
✓ Compliant · all 8 of 8 controls at ML3
Maturity Level 3 — the highest level, built to withstand determined, well-resourced, targeted attackers. For those who can't afford "almost."
Chosen by organisations where a breach would be catastrophic — defence primes, health, finance and legal. The standard for those who can't afford "almost."
Everything in Knox, plus
Maximum protection · Maturity Level 3
Minimum 5 users on all plans.Add-ons available on every plan: Microsoft Copilot AI · Azure & AWS virtual servers.
And the part you're actually worried about
Nearly every accounting practice we speak to raises the same real objection, and it isn't price — it's the fortnight of chaos they assume comes with changing providers. There isn't one. The work happens before anything changes, and changing providers is our problem to manage, not yours to survive.
- 04
Behind-the-Scenes Setup
We stage the new environment while the old one keeps working — ledgers, the workpaper library, bank feeds and ATO agent portal access all prepared and verified in the background.
Client data never sits in two half-finished places.
- 05
The Seamless Switchover
We schedule the cutover well clear of a lodgment deadline, and the workpaper library moves with its history intact. Agent portal access is re-secured as part of the same job.
No lodgment is ever waiting on us.
- 06
Your Team Gets Comfortable
Partners, seniors and graduates get different handovers, and everyone learns how to spot a request to change a client's bank details.
Your team knows who to call, and what not to click.
Protect your clients' data and your practice.
Book your free Essential Eight Cyber Security Scorecard and we'll show you exactly where your firm stands against ATO, TPB and Privacy Act expectations — and what to fix first. No jargon, no obligation.
- A plain-English Essential Eight Cyber Security Scorecard for your firm
- Where you stand against ATO/TPB expectations and the Essential Eight
- A clear plan tailored to how your practice works