Cyber CPAs unlikely to assist with security staffing points
A extra controversial facet of this new certification program is whether or not it’ll assist CISOs fill open slots, particularly entry-level roles. Umesh Yerram has held CISO or comparable security titles at AmerisourceBergen, Comcast, and IBM. He sees the coaching the brand new CPA program has possible too little to make a distinction to enterprise CISOs.
“I would not rent somebody simply due to this security certificates. I’ll nonetheless be taking a look at practitioners for this. [These cyber accountants] will possible not be as technical as we want them to be. That cert might not maintain numerous worth,” Yerram tells CSO. “If it is within the area of standard GRC, possibly somewhat bit, however it’s not a slamdunk.”
Although the second half of 2024 is more likely to see numerous cyber accountants searching for work, it is in no way clear what number of would be capable of work for enterprise security operations and even how quickly. “It’ll take years for this modification to ship sufficient new CPAs with the schooling to make a distinction on security groups. I would say CISOs are higher off poaching accountants and coaching them, assuming they need accountants on their groups,” Healy Jones, a VP at Kruze Consulting, tells CSO.
Jones provides that conventional accounting companies are fairly more likely to seize lots of them for themselves. “The CPA career itself is dealing with a critical pipeline scarcity. CPAs are going to be in more and more brief provide. I do not assume this can clear up staffing points in security groups provided that accounting companies are going to be preventing tooth and nail for them,” Jones says.
Largest cyber-CPA worth: Promoting security to administration
The largest value-add these new skills are more likely to ship is in serving to CISOs promote security applications extra successfully. “CISOs should not recognized to talk in [terms of] ROI successfully, a minimum of not within the sensible ROI points traces of enterprise executives care about. And after listening to these ineffective arguments for years, many CFOs are finally not listening,” Yigal Rechtman, managing accomplice of Rechtman Consulting, a New Jersey-based compliance and forensic accounting agency, tells CSO.
Even when the brand new cyber accountants do not instantly ship higher ROI arguments, argues Phil Neray, the VP of cyber protection security at Gem Safety, their monetary method and completely different mindsets may show fairly precious. “Preventing our cyber adversaries requires having completely different approaches and completely different viewpoints and completely different worldviews,” he tells CSO. “Subsequently, having a range of views in your security workforce goes to make your workforce stronger. And these cyber accountants may just do that.”
