The Accountant and the Changing Landscape of Disaster Recovery

• In Event: International/ Governmental/ Informations Systems

Abstract

The advent of large capacity disks and the cloud have changed the disaster recovery options available to small and medium size business. A 2011 study by Symantec of small and medium firms found that fifty seven percent did not have a disaster recovery plan. Additionally, only twenty eight percent of the firms had tested their disaster recovery plan. The nature of today’s comprehensive firm solutions, financial data is often stored with other business data, makes the backup and recovery of business data critical to the continued operation of a business. Many small to medium firms have limited IT staff and the responsibility for securing financial data falls upon the accountant. Consequently, given the vital role that information systems play in business today, accountants need to know the options, as advisor or as employees, available to companies and the best practices for preserving and recovering critical business data. This article explores the options to be considered, from traditional backup methods to internet Disaster Recovery as a Service, DRaaS, and the issues impacting the selecting of an optimal solution(s) for small to medium business.

Author

• Richard Banham, Tennessee State University