INTHEBLACK September 2026 - Flipbook - Page 56
WORK SMART
TECH STACK
Finance on
the cyber
front line
As CFOs, finance teams and
accountants find themselves
on the front lines of increasingly
sophisticated cyber attacks,
managing cyber risk is becoming
more than a technology
challenge — it is a governance
and reputation issue.
business email compromise, invoice fraud
and deepfakes to the next level. Along with
deceiving victims into transferring funds,
scammers target sensitive business information
and access to critical systems
that can bring a business to its knees.
Words Adam Turner
PREPARATION IS KEY
With modern threats often targeting human
frailties and breaches of security policies
instead of technological weaknesses, the
cybersecurity burden can fall on finance
professionals — who are heavily targeted
due to their access and authority.
Today’s accounting and finance professionals
face a growing onslaught of attacks as
cybercriminals leverage AI to take phishing,
56 INTHEBLACK September 2026
The cost of cybercrime to Australian
large businesses reached an average
of A$202,700 per incident in 2024–25,
marking a 219 per cent year-on-year increase,
according to the Australian Signals Directorate’s
Annual Cyber Threat Report.
Historically, boards treated cybersecurity
as a technical checkbox relegated to the IT
department. Today, expanding regulatory
frameworks such as Australia’s Security of
Critical Infrastructure Act 2018 and APRA’s
CPS 230 standard mandate direct board
oversight and formal executive-level risk
management strategies.
Despite the growing risk and impact
of cyber attacks, finance leaders are often
unprepared and unaware of where their
responsibilities lie, says Tyler Wise FCPA,
