Join us and our industry experts to find out how you can future proof your business and become more profitable in 2017. Michael Bellew, Director, will host our seminar on Thursday 26 January when we will have experts from various industries showing you how by making small changes you can future proof your business and become more profitable in 2017. Click Here To Book Your Place On This Exciting Seminar Today Our Speakers: Niall Clarke – UHY Farrelly Dawe White Limited UHY Farrelly Dawe White Limited 5 Reasons to Outsource Your Payroll James O’Dwyer – Transfer Mate Saving Time & Money on International Payments with TransferMate Aine Fox – HR Partner 5 HR Tips for a Successful 2017 Michael Murtagh – Euler Hermes Brexit: Opportunities & Threats for Your Business Click Here To Book Your Place On This Exciting Seminar Today Alternatively you can call us on +353 42 933 9955 or email nicolamernagh@fdw.ie . #2017

UHY member firms understand the choices and challenges you face in a fast-moving and competitive world full of opportunities and risks. Through UHY Global we want to share a little of the diversity, the thinking and the difference that a global UHY team can make. UHY Global, a twice-yearly magazine previously known as UHY International Business, gives our readers insight into international business topics, featuring thought-leading opinions and experiences from global contributors including UHY member firms, leaders of UHY service and industry groups and external sources. A true representation of what UHY is about… In each issue, we look at three key topics in addition to other features such as ‘Perspectives’, ‘Sharing our world’, ‘Cogs and wheels’ and ‘Awards and celebrations’. Our third issue covers the following topics: The Future Untethered Why Artificial Intelligence is Good for Us Turning the Tide on Cybercrime China’s Changing Fortunes Read the full version here Request a Call Back From Our Team #2017 #BusinessAdvisory #UHYGlobalIssue

It is important to take control of your retirement planning. This is even more significant when your retirement comes at an early age. Finance Act 2002, by enacting Section 480A of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 (TCA), introduced a tax relief for certain classes of sportspersons on their retirement. This tax relief recognises the relatively short career and limited earning capacity most professional sportspersons experience in Ireland and is given by way of repayment of tax. A professional sportsperson can claim a tax deduction of 40% against gross receipts for up to ten years. [accordions id=”3125″] A qualifying sportsperson must satisfy the Revenue Commissioners that he / she has ceased permanently to be engaged in that occupation or to carry on that profession. From 1 January 2014, a sportsperson must be resident in the State, an EEA state or an EFTA state for the year of assessment in which he / she ceases permanently to be engaged in that occupation or to carry on that profession in order to avail of this Special Tax Relief. Prior to that date the requirement was that the sportsperson must be resident in the State. A sportsperson claims the relief by including a claim in his / her return of income. However, where the sportsperson is not required to submit a return of income, he / she may submit a claim directly to the Revenue Commissioners. A claim for relief must be made within 4 years from the end of the year of assessment in which the sportsperson retires. [table id=14 /] [table id=15 /] Your retirement will change your life, make sure you plan for it. Contact Alan Farrelly to discuss this tax relief and your retirement planning. Call us on +353 42 933 9955 or email alanfarrelly@fdw.ie . #2017

WELCOME TO NEW MEMBER FIRMS The UHY family continues to grow, and we are delighted to welcome three new member firms, in Georgia, Afghanistan and Mozambique, extending our coverage within the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions. [one_third] [/one_third] [one_half_last] GEORGIA Established in 2009, ABG Consulting, our new member firm in Georgia, has a team of 106 staff including two partners and is based in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi. The firm provides a full suite of services including audit, bookkeeping, taxation, insolvency, corporate finance and advisory services to a diverse portfolio of local and international clients.[/one_half_last]  [one_third]  [/one_third] [one_half_last] AFGHANISTAN We also welcome, Ahmed Hassan Naeem Chartered Accountants, our new member firm in Afghanistan. The firm, based in the capital Kabul, has a team of 33 staff including four partners, and was established with the support of the UHY’s member firm in Pakistan, UHY Hassan Naeem & Co.[/one_half_last] [one_third] [/one_third] [one_half_last] MOZAMBIQUE Finally, we welcome SEC – Sociedade de Ensino e Consultoria, Limitada, our new member firm in Mozambique. The firm, based in Maputo, has a team of ten including four partners, and was established in 2010, becoming active in 2011. The firm provides audit, bookkeeping, taxation and management consultancy. As well as knowledge of lusophone (Portuguese) languages, markets and economies, the firm also has experience gained from working with the Big Four and has an affiliation with a local university.[/one_half_last] Find out how our network can help you expand your business internationally. Contact us now and our dedicated team of Auditors, Accountants, and Business Financial Advisors will endeavour to assist you with your needs. #2017

Did you know that as well as our standard payroll service we can also offer an Executive Payroll service? Executive Payroll Services allow the key financial and personal data of your executive team to be maintained privately and confidentially. Click here to read more about our Executive Payroll Services  If you sign up to our Executive Payroll service for 2017 now, you will benefit from our exclusive introductory offer. Free seamless migration of your payroll data to our system, to ensure no delay in processing Free processing of Quarter 1 payroll (January, February and March) Get your quote for 2017 Executive Payroll services now. For more information about this unique service or any of our other outsourced payroll solutions please feel free to contact Niall Clarke to discuss in more detail. #2017

Have you paid your Local Property Tax for 2017? On 06 January 2017, Revenue published the latest Local Property Tax (LPT) statistics for 2016, detailing LPT Exchequer receipts of €463m and showing a continuing high compliance rate. Local Property Tax collected in 2016 included approximately €50m in prepayments for 2017, and €70m in payments for 2015 and earlier years, as well as almost €8m in Household Charge (HHC) arrears. Commenting on publication of the latest statistics, the Collector-General, Michael Gladney, said that since Revenue assumed responsibility for collection of arrears of Household Charge in July 2013, more than €64m has been collected, bringing 360,000 additional properties into compliance. Referring to the continuing high Local Property Tax compliance rate, Mr Gladney said “the vast majority of property owners fully comply with their LPT payment obligations, either in a single payment or with phased payments. As long as payment obligations are being met, Revenue will automatically roll over existing payment methods for property owners who pay by direct debit or by deduction at source from pay/pension.” Jane Jackson, Tax Manager reminds property owners “The deadline to pay your Local Property Tax by debit card, credit card or cheque is Wednesday 11 January 2017. Those who wish to pay their Local Property Tax by Annual Debit Authority (electronic cheque) must confirm same with Revenue by this date also and your LPT amount will then be deducted on 21 March 2017. At UHY FDW our dedicated tax team  will ensure that you meet the Local Property Tax Deadline. Contact us by filling out the form to your right or by calling us on +353429339955. #2017

Choosing your accountant is a critical step in the start-up, growth or development of your business. Everything that you do in business has a financial impact: access to a trusted accountant is vital. Know what you want The more clarity you have about what you want and expect from your accountant, the easier it will be to select the one that is right for you. What exactly do you require? Accounts Preparation This can be monthly and/or quarterly management accounts as well as the annual financial statements that you want to present to third parties such as banks, revenue, shareholders and employees. Compliance It may be that you are happy to manage and control the administration of the basics but you want assurance that your compliance is in order. Again, this may be for the benefit of third parties such as financiers, revenue or statutory bodies such as companies registration office or may be internal systems and controls requiring establishment, review or audit. Strategic Planning and Development This is where the greatest value can be added and is most often underestimated. It is ensuring that you are heading in the right direction, before you start, or reviewing your progress to ensure that you are staying on course. The areas include business planning, raising capital and finance, planning on all aspects of growth and development including major asset acquisition as well as mergers and acquisitions. It also includes advice and support on tax planning, asset and business divestment and succession planning, whether planned or caused by external circumstances. How do you choose? Knowing what you want is a great start, but as with all matters in business, be prepared to learn and retain flexibility. Ask the right questions! Talk to other business people that you know and trust and ask them about their experiences, both good and bad. These can include Customers, Suppliers, Bankers, Solicitors, Competitors as well as people in business that you know and respect. Ensure that the accountants that you use have the appropriate knowledge, qualifications and experience. This includes membership of the appropriate recognised professional bodies as well as particular knowledge of your own industry, if you feel that there is a level of speciality that merits it. Know where they provide ‘added value’. Talk to a number of accountants, not just one. Leave the meetings with specific written proposals to follow up. Make sure that you are meeting with the person who is going to be managing the relationship, not just the ‘business development’ element of the practice. Ensure that it is about the future of your business and not just the current state. Be compatible. If you do not warm to the accountant that you meet with, try another. The old adage of ‘people buy from people is true’. You want this relationship to move far beyond a trade for services into the realm of trusted advisor and above. It starts with a mutual respect and ‘likeability’ factor. Be vulgar – talk about the money. Have an understanding of what and how you will be charged and how the basis will change. Ask about, and expect, methods of payment that support you and your business. Don’t pick the cheapest unless they are the ones that will bring the greatest value. Make the decision and make a commitment, knowing that it is not irreversible. Build better relationships for better business. Consider your accountant to be a critical part of your team, someone that you can and will access where major business decisions need to be made. There is a tremendous value to be gained from an objective and independent view of your latest and greatest business plan, especially where everybody immediately around you thinks that all of your ideas are brilliant. Ensure that you stay focused on the future of your business and that your accountant has the ability to help you get there and that there is a genuine opportunity for them to move from being a trusted advisor to being your partner in progress. At UHY FDW we consider ourselves a business partner to all of our clients. Call us today to find out how we can help you continue to grow your business. #2017

In the recent ACCA Ambition magazine, ACCA looked at the major influences on the global job market for accountants. Our world is constantly changing, with new developments and advances in all areas of life, and the world of employment and job seeking is no exception. Firms are constantly adapting how they run their business to keep up with technical advances, ever-changing market places and changes to customer’s needs and requirements. In a constantly changing business environment, employers are looking for an accountant with enhanced skills to thrive in such and environment. “We live in a fast-changing world and the effects are being felt across the jobs market. Tomorrow’s finance professional might need a few more strings to their bow.” ACCA focused on the following trends, which are affecting the accounting profession: Ageing workforce Big data Business partnering Shared services Emotional intelligence Flexibility Read the full piece in Ambition 2016 magazine from ACCA.  Here Source: accaglobal.su #2017

Habits are the key cornerstones to uber success. Goal setting, visualisation, money management and having an investor mentality are some of the most powerful habits of the wealthiest people in the world. Most of these people made their money through successful business growth. Implement new empowering habits into your life for 2017 and achieve your business goals. View the following infographic to find out more. Infographic Courtesy of Addicted2success.com Farrelly Dawe White offer businesses the right advice. Advice that will drive you to achieve your business objectives and reach your full professional potential. Talk to us now. #2017

Guest blog by Alan Tracey Choosing your strategic partner in finance is a significant step that can add immense value to your practice capacity to service existing and future clients to a higher level. The drive for faster, quicker and better advice is better enabled when you already have your team in place. How can an Accountant help me grow my practice? When Clients attend to you with a problem they want resolved, having access to all of the resources is one of the immediate benefits they expect. The majority of legal problems or challenges that a business faces have significant financial implications, including taxation. Having a trusted firm of accountants as a Strategic Partner will ensure that you add more capacity to provide added value for your Clients more effectively. The most common issues requiring input from accountants will include: What are the Taxation implications? The majority of property Sales or Disposals, including succession will have implications for property taxes. Some of the more ‘interesting’ cases will have complications in relation to VAT or provide opportunities for careful planning on corporate and financial structures that minimise exposure for existing/future owners. The critical issue here is that the best tax advice is gained prior to the transaction, rather than after the event. Is there a better corporate structure that will minimise future costs? Solicitors are usually very conversant with opportunities that exist for better structures that maximise future benefits for Clients, particularly in relation to trusts and such vehicles. However, complications in entities can often result in an excess of costs of administration and compliance that significantly erode the benefits. Best use of the old tailors’ adage of ‘measure twice, cut once’ comes to mind. The tax authorities do not like complicated structures that are unnecessary and appreciate solutions that are more elegant, transparent and easier to understand and explain. What is the projected cost? Whether it is a family dispute or restructuring, a senior staff dismissal or a major corporate acquisition or disposal, projections of future earnings or distributions can have a very significant impact on the outcome of discussions and negotiations. When you have immediate access to accountants that are experienced in this area, matters flow quicker and simpler. What makes a good accountancy partner for a Legal Firm? Mutual respect and trust are crucial with an understanding of how the other party operates. Prompt response and feedback: open lines of communication. This includes full access to key people who will be available to have an open and honest discussion on possible areas of business or conflict, before engagement takes place. Frequently, a simple phone call or email can provide confirmation or assurance to the Solicitor that their proposed approach is robust and correct and does not require the services of a fellow professional. The best advice is often: ‘do not proceed’. Accountants who can work to support the legal team inconspicuously to the Client or otherwise as required. Equally, accountants who will take on a brief, deal directly with the Client and keep the Solicitor informed of the key steps and issues as they close out An accountancy practice that has the experience and capacity to provide the full range of services including Taxation, Accounting & Financial, Business Advisory, Corporate Compliance, Receivership & Insolvency and Forensic Accounting whether for Private or Corporate Clients An understanding and agreement on the basis of charges and Fees; all in the ultimate interest of Clients without a detrimental effect for either the Legal or Accounting practices. Better alliances make for better business. Consider your alliance with an accountancy practice to be an essential extension to your legal team, someone that can and will access where major decisions with finance and taxation elements are going to be made. There is a tremendous value to be gained from an added objective and independent view of the major financial decisions that impact your Clients. Strategic alliances are a smart way to extend your capacity to provide exceptional services for your Clients. For More Information Click Here To Visit Our Audit & Assurance Services Page Farrelly Dawe White meets all of the criteria outlined and has extensive experience working with legal firms. Consider having an introductory conversation to extend your client offering and grow your legal firm. #2017

The Chinese economy is in a period of flux: what emerges will have profound significance for global business. If one word aptly describes informed reaction to recent Chinese economic data, it is probably ‘confused’. The powerhouse economy that enjoyed three decades of extraordinary growth has entered a period of flux, but what that means for both China and the world remains unclear. Figures released at the end of July neatly encapsulate the dilemma for economists wanting black and white answers to a tricky conundrum. Two key measures of factory output painted an entirely conflicting picture, with large state-owned businesses appearing to underperform while smaller private companies enjoyed notable success. What is clear is that the era of stratospheric investment-led growth is over. The Chinese economy grew by an average of 10% annually between 1980 and 2011. Predictions for 2016 top out at 6.7%. A HARD LANDING? The key question is, where does China go from here? Is the economy heading for a ‘hard landing’, potentially tilting the world back into recession, or will efforts at modernisation bear fruit? “The problem now is that exports are reducing, but domestic consumption is not yet a force to push the economy forwards,” says Yong Sun, managing partner of UHY’s Chinese member firm, Zhonghua Certified Public Accountants LLP. “That means investment is still a very important part of the economy, but it is not sustainable. At the moment the government wants to sustain growth at 6.5% or 7%, so it has no choice but to invest.” Most economists agree that state investment – spectacularly successful in the past – will have to play a smaller part in the Chinese economy in the future. “In recent years there has been no real problem for the Chinese economy,” adds Yong Sun. “But now there is a question of direction.” In what direction China travels, and how quickly it moves, is a question of global significance. Stephen S. Roach, former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia and a senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute of Global Affairs, has calculated that, despite its slowing expansion, China remains the single largest contributor to world economic growth. If forecasts prove correct and its economy grows by 6.7% in 2016, China will contribute 1.2 percentage points of a predicted global GDP growth of 3.1%, or 39% of the total. By comparison the US will account for just 0.3 percentage points. CHINA’S CHOICE With those figures in mind, it is easy to see why Roach believes the widely feared economic hard landing for China would have a “devastating global impact”. But there is another possibility, and a more likely one in his view. He writes: “The world stands to benefit greatly if the components of China’s GDP continue to shift from manufacturing-led exports and investment to services and household consumption.” A report by the McKinsey Global Institute, entitled China’s Choice: Capturing the USD 5 Trillion Productivity Opportunity, attempts to put a figure on what a successful rebalancing of the Chinese economy might mean. Shifting to a productivity-led economy could generate up to USD 5.6 trillion of additional GDP by 2030, the report claims. Such a shift “will not be easy” and will involve some hard decisions on the part of the Chinese state. One concern is that the government, worried by rising unemployment and focused on unsustainable growth targets, is rowing back on commitments to speed up the transition from an investment-led to a consumer-driven economy. A CHANGING ECONOMY But despite central inertia, there are encouraging signs from the Chinese private sector. Recent research by UHY revealed that 1,609,700 new businesses were formed in China in 2014, nearly double the number created in 2010. It is not yet known what effect economic slowdown has had on new business creation in the last 18 months, but Yong Sun says that Zhonghua is continuing to see a positive shift in its client base. “We can see the economy slowly changing from heavy industry to service industries, and we are also seeing more clients in high tech sectors, internet businesses and other innovation sectors. Previously, most clients would be large, state-owned businesses. Now we deal with many SMEs, and the newly established companies we work with are growing very quickly.” These kinds of businesses are crucial to a successful rebalancing of the Chinese economy, the McKinsey report states. Sustainable jobs in innovative industries, along with increased efficiency and more widespread digitisation, will help to grow the Chinese middle class and, at the same time, serve it more successfully. At the moment, says Yong Sun, middle class consumers tend to buy cheaper goods from abroad rather than supporting domestic markets. NEW OPPORTUNITIES, NEW RESPONSIBILITIES Another important element of China’s restructuring will be “deepening global connections”, says McKinsey, and China is continuing to reach out to the world. Again, state investment remains a major driver. Chinese state-run companies are winning major infrastructure contracts around the world, perhaps most successfully in Africa. Then there is the much vaunted One Belt, One Road initiative, a potentially massive infrastructure programme to develop trade routes in Asia and beyond. But China is also continuing to open up its internal markets to foreign investment, even if it is not yet doing so quickly or completely enough to realise the most optimistic predictions in the McKinsey report. In fact, China is not just more open, it is also becoming a safer and more sophisticated destination for foreign companies. “Ten years ago and more, foreign companies saw a huge market, but mainly cheap labour and cheap land,” says Yong Sun. “China is no longer cheaper, so companies who come here are usually focused on serving the Chinese market or they already have clients in China who they want to serve better.” With new opportunities come new responsibilities. New labour laws, tax regulations and transfer pricing policies make China a more complex proposition for foreign companies than it was a few years ago. In return, they have access to a vast and growing middle class (an estimated 116 million households), an increasingly skilled labour force and better protection for their intellectual property. As UHY’s member firm in China, Zhonghua helps companies negotiate the country’s more complex tax and labour laws, and can advise on the best investment vehicles for particular businesses. Its expertise also helps a growing number of private Chinese companies looking to expand into global markets. GLOBAL NETWORK, LOCAL KNOWLEDGE In both areas, Zhonghua is able to enlist the services of UHY’s extensive international network. UHY has offices in over 320 major business centres in the world, as well as a number of dedicated China desks that focus on helping Chinese firms move into new markets and foreign companies establish a presence in China. Member firms offering China-specific services through their China desks include, among others, UHY Haines Norton in Australia, UHY Lee Seng Chan & Co in Singapore, UHY LLP in the US, and UHY Hacker Young in the UK. Cross-border collaboration between member firms, combined with appropriate local knowledge and expertise, are key parts of UHY’s service offering. When United Initiators, a chemical company headquartered in Germany and with operations in China, the US and elsewhere, wanted a global accountancy solution, it turned to UHY LLP, Michigan in the US. By doing so, it automatically tapped into the expertise of German member firm, UHY Deutschland AG, as well as Zhonghua Certified Public Accountants LLP in China, and a number of others. Melanie Chen, partner at UHY Advisors in New York, is head of the firm’s China desk. She believes that facilitating business between China and the rest of the world requires that kind of cooperation, along with specialised experience. “I am sure many Chinese natives in the UHY network have similar backgrounds and experiences to mine,” she says. “Often we have not only completed college educations in both countries, but also have significant working experience in both countries. We know very well about the differences in business cultures, regulations, GAAP requirements and business operations. We are able to bridge those differences with our experience and knowledge.” “We support many Chinese companies entering the market in Singapore and across South East Asia, working in close collaboration with our UHY colleagues across the globe,” says Kelvin Lee, partner at UHY Lee Seng Chan & Co, Singapore, and its resident China expert. The firm has recently helped a large Chinese retailer of baby and children’s products prepare to expand overseas, assisting with financial management, tax planning, branding and strategy, and is continuing to explore further collaboration opportunities with Zhonghua. MOVING ABROAD Melanie Chen believes that clients will seek out advice even more regularly in the coming years, as the Chinese economy matures and Chinese companies seek competitive advantage outside the country’s borders. “China is like Japan and Korea in the ‘70s and ‘80s, with companies that need to go beyond their domestic market to acquire new technology, brands and markets, to sustain development and growth,” she says. “I believe that in the next few years we will see more Chinese companies making investments all over the world.” Yong Sun of Zhonghua also sees opportunities as Chinese businesses spread their wings. He believes many will take their first steps into foreign markets through mergers and acquisitions, while others will require training and consultancy services from firms like Zhonghua, working with the international expertise of the UHY network. UHY member firm UHY Haines Norton in Sydney, in collaboration with UHY in Malaysia, is currently assisting with the listing of a large Chinese chicken production company on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). Mark Nicholaeff, a director at UHY Haines Norton Corporate Finance Pty Ltd, says: “We are currently getting a large number of enquiries from Chinese companies seeking investment opportunities in Australia. Our firm alone is in talks with more than six Chinese companies wishing to list on the ASX and many more seeking to invest in Australia, particularly in the mining and agricultural sectors.” And those opportunities will most likely increase, as China continues to drive global economic growth and reach out to the world. The kind of innovation and efficiency improvements that come from open markets at home and expansion abroad will be essential for the future health of the Chinese economy. Government priorities can slow or speed the process, but the direction of travel appears set. For more information about UHY’s capabilities, email the UHY executive office, info@uhy.com , or visit www.uhy.com . #2016

Cybercrime poses a growing threat to global business, and protection depends on awareness, collective responsibility and behavioural changes as much as technology. Ask people about Cybercrimes and they may reference big-name disasters which have grabbed headlines and whose fallout has been felt across the world. Like the attack on US retail giants Target and Home Depot which led to the theft of millions of customer card details; or the gang that used ‘Lurk’ malware to orchestrate the theft of RUB 1.7bn (USD 25m) from banks in Russia; UK mobile and broadband provider TalkTalk’s loss of 100,000 customers after a data breach compromised customers’ personal information; or the attack on Japan’s pension service which exposed a million names, ID numbers and addresses; the thousands of malicious URLs created to mimic online banking services in the run-up to Brazil’s Summer Olympics in Rio 2016. Sony, Yahoo, Mattel, Amazon, Ryanair, eBay, numerous major banks – the list is growing. Such attacks have put cybercrime in the global spotlight. But while thefts from big business or governments garner media attention, most cybercrime is more routine. “Some attacks are targeted,” says Stephen Gates, of global cyber security consultant NSFOCUS. “But most are arbitrary, such as hackers building web robot armies that scan the internet looking for vulnerable systems.” SMALL IS VULNERABLE It is not all big business either – all companies are at risk, and the most vulnerable are the small to medium enterprises (SMEs). “Small, private companies are probably more exposed than large public ones,” says Olga Petrukhina, head of legal practice, UHY Prostor Ltd, Ukraine. “They do not have the expertise and tools in-house to combat the problem. For some, a cyber breach could cause them to go out of business, not only through potential financial loss but also through damage to their reputation and the subsequent fall in confidence.” The existential threat that cybercrime represents to SMEs is an argument for more strategic and rigorous protection. Professional services companies, with their imperatives for quality and client accountability, have an opportunity to lead the way in this, while highlighting a crucial fact about cybercrime. “It is a strategic business issue, not just an IT issue,” says Olga. “Service offerings that provide proactive advice and insight are becoming more essential, for example risk assessments, training and awareness, plus incident and breach response management.” READINESS IS KEY Many firms have cybersecurity expertise, but the ones that combat attacks most effectively are those with a cultural readiness and framework in place. This may take many forms, but at its heart is a recognition that responsibility begins at the top. “Boards that choose to ignore cybersecurity do so at their peril,” says the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commissioner Luis A. Aguilar. A framework developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) – a US federal technology agency that works with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements and standards – works to five key principles underlying the overall approach: identify, protect, detect, respond and recover. Firms should ask themselves: ‘Is there a cybersecurity plan?’ ‘Has accountability for cybersecurity been assigned to a senior executive?’ ‘Have employees been trained on cyber risks they need to be alert to?’ If the answers to these questions are yes, they are taking the issue seriously, but need to continuously apply and evaluate the measures to stay effective. Knowledge of the main types of attack is vital for SMEs. For professional services, two key threats are ransomware and business email compromise. The first is a malicious encryption of files where perpetrators demand ransom for decryption. It can be triggered internally – a single misconfiguration, improper file permission setting or uneducated employee is all it takes to deploy it. Business email compromise is a type of phishing where an email impersonating someone with authority sends a request to an employee, tricking them into making a transaction. In April 2016, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned of a dramatic increase in business email compromise. David Hartley, who runs the technology advisory service for UHY member firm UHY Advisors, St Louis, US, says staff can be a company’s weakest link or its first line of defence. He says, “In our client base, criminals are increasingly focused on exploiting the human element of cybersecurity through tactics like phishing, spear-phishing and social engineering. “It used to be that we could count on our technology to protect us through firewalls, antivirus protection and so on. Now criminals are trying to trick the humans using the technology rather than exploiting the technology itself.” For UHY member firms responsible for storing and handling their own sensitive data and that of clients, people are a crucial asset against cybercrime. David says, “The importance of protecting our clients will be reinforced through monthly training that all UHY employees in the US will be required to complete.” GLOBAL THREAT Cybercrime is clearly an issue that can strike any firm at any time, though SMEs are most vulnerable – but are there also global hotspots? Research from security company Mandiant suggests that Asian organisations are 80% more likely to be targeted by hackers than other parts of the world. The reason is that the median time between a security breach and its discovery in Asia is 520 days, the study claims, or three times the global average. Hackers target Asian companies not because they offer the best returns, but because they present fewer obstacles to lucrative data. The US tends to top lists showing the wider financial costs of cybercrime, with European countries and China, Brazil, Russia, Japan and India high in the rankings, but no country is immune. Last year the UN estimated that cybercrime affects more than 431 million adult victims globally and has grown into a lucrative transnational business, with returns that may exceed three trillion US dollars a year. “In India we have seen an increase of over 300% over the past few years,” says Sunil Hansraj, joint managing partner of UHY member firm Chandabhoy & Jassoobhoy, Mumbai, India. “We hear almost daily reports on ATM frauds, web payment portal frauds and corporate server hacking. At our firm, important client-related data is normally maintained directly by partners in a secured storage set up normally as encrypted/password protected data with restricted access.” BACK DOORS TO DATA The increasingly global and interconnected nature of business has only widened cybercrime’s impact. To an increasingly sophisticated subsector of cybercriminals, often with links to organised crime, SMEs are not only vulnerable in themselves but also represent a potential backdoor into the larger organisations they supply and service. “Sometimes, small companies are more prone to hacking attempts, especially if they are part of a supply chain for a larger organisation,” says Bogdan Botezatu of Bitdefender, a global security company based in Romania. “Attackers will often target a smaller contractor of a large organisation, in order to escalate its privileges and try breaching the larger business.” When smaller companies are digitally connected to larger ones, the results can be ruinous. The Target attackers bypassed the retailer’s frontline security and accessed its network via one of its air conditioning contractors. While it is true that cybercrime is a large and growing threat, businesses can manage their exposure and most are only as vulnerable as they allow themselves to be. “Cyberattacks, malware and system vulnerabilities have been mystified beyond all reasonable analysis,” says Ian Trump, global security lead at cloud service provider LOGICnow. “In fact, the most effective IT strategies against all unknown and known threats are generally the same. Patch and update the operating system, patch and update third-party applications, restrict administrative access and use malware defences.” PROTECTING OUR NETWORK Cybersecurity initiatives take place across the UHY network. Colin Jones, partner at UK member firm UHY Hacker Young, London, UK, believes simple strategies for reinforcing security messages make a huge difference. A written information security code is regularly reinforced by training, along with the recognition that cybersecurity is a company-wide responsibility rather than just an IT issue. “Clients have an expectation that given the size of our global network, and as a professional services organisation dealing with confidential client information, our member firms will have robust cyber security measures in place,” he says. Information and training is being matched by investment in state-of-the-art security technology. A report by Oxford University’s Saïd Business School concluded that Mexico’s financial sector is becoming increasingly attractive to cybercriminals. “One critical change has been upgrading our firm’s infrastructure with an emphasis on enhancing information security,” says Oscar Gutierrez, managing partner of UHY Glassman Esquivel y Cía. S.C., Mexico. “So, we acquired perimeter security and specialised filtering equipment for incoming and outgoing connections.” UHY Mexico also offers clients a physical connection, via an implant at their offices, to the firm’s secure network. “This way they can protect and manage all their information on our servers without compromising their security,” says Oscar. Companies are becoming more demanding in evaluating the cybersecurity readiness of their business partners. They may seek additional assurance in a service auditor report or even sending in their own auditors to review the company’s cybersecurity programmes. UHY Advisors in the US offers cybersecurity audits for its enterprise customers, testing client networks against recognised benchmarks. For middle market customers, the firm performs cybersecurity risk assessments and can help establish a cybersecurity programme. Marcello Reis, partner at UHY Moreira, Brazil, says cybersecurity services for clients are a vital part of the firm’s offering. “As well as our own measures to protect data, we have a team of specialists in information security audit and advisory, and we are accredited by the Brazilian Internal Revenue Services (Receita Federal), which also controls and regulates all international trade. We provide advice to large and medium-sized multinationals in Brazil in order for them to get access to a special customs regime that speeds up the import and export processes, while tightening IT security.” RISK AND REWARD Cybercrime offers both threats and opportunities – some estimates put global cybersecurity spend at USD 170 billion by 2020. As awareness of cybercrime grows, companies who can offer cybersecurity services will always enjoy a significant competitive advantage. “No business is free from risk, whatever its size. We need to be in a strong positon to deal with the issues and threats involved with cybersecurity and advise clients on best practice,” says Colin Jones. #2016