IRS’s WISP serves as ‘great starting point’ for tax firms ahead of 2023 tax season

APPLETON, WIS. / AGILITYPR.NEWS / August 17, 2022 / After years of requests from tax preparers, the IRS, in conjunction with the Security Summit, released its written information security plan (WISP) template for tax professionals to use in their firms.

While this is welcome news, the National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP) advises tax office owners to view the template only as a starting point. Firms should review and revise their plan at least annually.

“It’s a great starting point; you can literally fill in the blanks, and in a matter of time, you’ll have a completed document,” said NATP’s IRS liaison, Larry Gray. Gray served as the only tax association representative among several software companies on the Security Summit that helped write the IRS’s WISP template. “People should not take it as the end-all, be-all, though. Preparers need to systematically review this and regularly look at their biggest risk assessments, which, in most cases, are their employees, or, if they’re a one-person firm, themselves.”

Gray advised preparers to look at the IRS’s WISP in its entirety. Although not all parts may apply to each firm, owners should know the opportunities to expand their data security procedures. For example, data security protocols should be reviewed and revised if a firm offers employees to work remotely or goes from a one-person office to a two-person office.

“In today’s world, the security of your client’s information is just as critical as doing the tax return correctly,” Gray said. “There’s no reason now that any practitioner can say, ‘I don’t have a WISP.’ But now the question becomes ‘What am I doing with it?’”

NATP offers training for tax professionals to learn how to adapt the IRS’s WISP template to meet their own office’s specific needs and to ensure compliance is achieved annually. For more information on NATP, or to speak with an expert about tax office data security or data security plans, contact Nancy Kasten or Samantha Strong.