Kiteworks Solutions for the Finance Department
Share and Transfer Sensitive Content Securely
While Ensuring Regulatory Compliance
Finance departments across industries confront significant challenges when sharing and sending sensitive content via various channels like email, file sharing, managed file transfer, and web forms. The digitization of financial processes, coupled with the rise of cyber threats, heightens the risk of sensitive content theft, leaving finance departments and organizations exposed on financial, legal, and compliance fronts. Compounding this problem is the complex communication landscape, populated by myriad solutions for different channels, which often lack sufficient governance controls, tracking, and cybersecurity standards. Human error also significantly contributes to data breaches, further underscoring the need for robust solutions. Finally, finance departments struggle to achieve compliance due to insufficient security capabilities in the communication tools they employ.
The Kiteworks Private Content Network uses a digital rights management (DRM) approach to control and track sensitive content that is sent and shared by finance departments internally and with third parties. Kiteworks’ zero-trust policy management approach, which is based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework (CSF), ensures that only those individuals who should view or edit content from the finance department can do so. Kiteworks also enables finance departments to control and track to whom sensitive content is sent and shared. Kiteworks also employs a comprehensive security approach to protect every send, share, receive, and store of sensitive content.
Enable Safe Cloud File Sharing
Corporate finance professionals often need to share sensitive financial documents with external third parties. Using common cloud file sharing services can put the company at risk due to potential security vulnerabilities. Kiteworks provides a secure platform for cloud file sharing. Finance professionals can share financial documents securely and in compliance with internal policies and industry regulations. Its robust encryption and access control features ensure that only authorized individuals can access these documents, maintaining privacy and data protection.
Protect Sensitive Information From Data Leaks
Corporate finance professionals handle non-public information daily. The loss of a device containing sensitive information or malicious activities can place the business at risk due to potential data leaks. Kiteworks provides a secure platform for managing sensitive financial documents. It mitigates the risk of data leaks by controlling access to financial documents, even in the event of a lost or stolen device. Its robust encryption and access control features ensure that only authorized individuals can access these documents, maintaining privacy and data protection.
Provide Traveling Executives With the Latest Numbers
Senior executives often need to make financial decisions while on the road. The quality of these decisions often depends on having access to the most current information, which can be challenging when using mobile devices. Kiteworks provides a secure platform for accessing financial documents from mobile devices. Whether on a tablet or a smartphone, senior executives can have simple and secure access to the most current budgets and sales forecasts. Its robust encryption and access control features ensure that only authorized individuals can access these documents, maintaining privacy and data protection.
Secure Financial Reporting
Finance departments often need to share sensitive financial reports. Ensuring the privacy and security of these reports can be challenging. Kiteworks provides a secure platform for sharing these reports. Its robust encryption and access control features ensure that only authorized individuals can access these reports, maintaining privacy and data protection.
Secure Financial Data Exchange
Finance departments often need to exchange sensitive financial data. Ensuring the privacy and security of this data can be challenging. Kiteworks provides a secure platform for exchanging this data. Its robust encryption and access control features ensure that only authorized individuals can access this data, maintaining privacy and data protection.
Secure Financial Contract Management
Finance departments often need to manage sensitive contract documents. Ensuring the privacy and security of these documents can be challenging. Kiteworks provides a secure platform for managing these documents. Its robust encryption and access control features ensure that only authorized individuals can access these documents, maintaining privacy and data protection.
Secure Financial Audit Preparation
Finance departments need to prepare for audits by securely managing sensitive documents. This can be a challenge due to the need to maintain confidentiality and protect the data from unauthorized access. Kiteworks allows for secure file sharing, ensuring that these documents are protected and confidential. Its robust encryption and access control features ensure that only authorized individuals can access the audit documents, maintaining data protection and confidentiality.
Secure Financial Policy Updates
Finance departments often need to share sensitive policy updates. This can be a challenge due to the need to maintain confidentiality and protect the data from unauthorized access. Kiteworks provides a secure platform for sharing these updates. Its robust encryption and access control features ensure that only authorized individuals can access these updates, maintaining confidentiality and data protection.
Secure Financial Vendor Contracts
Finance departments often need to share sensitive contract documents with vendors. This can be a challenge due to the need to maintain confidentiality and protect the data from unauthorized access. Kiteworks allows for secure file sharing, ensuring that these documents are protected and confidential. Its robust encryption and access control features ensure that only authorized individuals can access the contract documents, maintaining data protection and confidentiality.
Secure Financial Client Communications
Finance departments often need to communicate sensitive information with clients. Ensuring the privacy and security of this communication can be challenging. Kiteworks provides a secure platform for communicating with clients. Its robust encryption and access control features ensure that only authorized individuals can access this communication, maintaining privacy and data protection.
Secure Financial Research
Finance departments often need to conduct sensitive financial research. Ensuring the privacy and security of this research can be challenging. Kiteworks provides a secure platform for conducting and storing financial research. Its robust encryption and access control features ensure that only authorized individuals can access this research, maintaining privacy and data protection.
Secure Financial Regulatory Filings
Finance departments often need to file sensitive regulatory documents. Ensuring the privacy and security of these documents can be challenging. Kiteworks provides a secure platform for filing these documents. Its robust encryption and access control features ensure that only authorized individuals can access these documents, maintaining privacy and data protection.
Secure Financial M&A Documentation
During mergers and acquisitions, finance departments often need to share sensitive documents. Ensuring the privacy and security of these documents can be challenging. Kiteworks provides a secure platform for sharing these documents. Its robust encryption and access control features ensure that only authorized individuals can access these documents, maintaining privacy and data protection.
Secure Financial Budget Planning
Finance departments often need to collaborate on sensitive budget planning documents. Ensuring the privacy and security of these documents can be challenging. Kiteworks provides a secure platform for collaborating on these documents. Its robust encryption and access control features ensure that only authorized individuals can access these documents, maintaining privacy and data protection.
Secure Financial Forecasting
Finance departments often need to share sensitive forecasting documents. Ensuring the privacy and security of these documents can be challenging. Kiteworks provides a secure platform for sharing these documents. Its robust encryption and access control features ensure that only authorized individuals can access these documents, maintaining privacy and data protection.
Secure Financial Risk Assessment
Finance departments often need to conduct sensitive risk assessments. Ensuring the privacy and security of these assessments can be challenging. Kiteworks provides a secure platform for conducting and storing risk assessments. Its robust encryption and access control features ensure that only authorized individuals can access these assessments, maintaining privacy and data protection.
Secure Financial Transaction Records
Finance departments often need to manage sensitive transaction records. Ensuring the privacy and security of these records can be challenging. Kiteworks provides a secure platform for managing these records. Its robust encryption and access control features ensure that only authorized individuals can access these records, maintaining privacy and data protection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Corporate finance departments handle sensitive information related to the finances of a business, including budgets, profit and loss (P&L) statements, bank records, cash flow reports, sales forecasts, investments, payroll data, bonus and compensation plans, and much more. Corporate finance professionals like controllers, financial planning and analysis (FP&A) managers, payroll administrators, and others must manage their financial activities securely as this information is typically considered confidential.
Corporate finance departments can leverage several cybersecurity technologies and data privacy processes to protect the sensitive information they process, send, and receive. These technologies include identity and access management (IAM), multi-factor authentication (MFA), data loss prevention (DLP), data encryption, and much more. Data privacy processes include access controls that enable organizations to grant, limit, and restrict access to confidential financial information, internal audits, and regular cybersecurity training.
Corporate finance professionals can securely share the confidential financial information they process, store, and share with external third parties by using encrypted enterprise content management systems and communications platforms. These applications allow corporate finance professionals to securely store, send, and receive contracts, spreadsheets, and other financial content. Corporate finance departments should ensure all financial content is, at bare minimum, password protected and encrypted in transit and at rest. Additionally, corporate finance professionals should ensure that the third parties they work with, like payroll administrators, accounting firms, and other partners, use best-in-class cybersecurity technologies and practice data security best practices. Oftentimes, organizations will contractually bind their partners to maintain the privacy of the confidential data as a part of a vendor risk management program.
Data privacy and security risks associated with corporate finance processes are a major concern. There is a potential for budgets, sales forecasts, bank account information, and other confidential financial data to be intercepted, manipulated, held for ransom, or sold on the dark web. All of these potential outcomes can lead to financial losses, litigation, and reputational damage. Also, the sheer amount of financial data involved in corporate finance processes creates a huge challenge in protecting and controlling access of this data. Organizations, as a result, need to ensure that their financial data is securely stored and only accessed by those with the proper authorization.
Compliance regulations require corporate finance departments to not only follow accounting standards such as GAAP, but also be transparent in their financial reporting. Corporate finance departments must also maintain strong internal controls to help prevent financial fraud. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) for example protects individual financial data from theft and tampering. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) requires financial institutions to clearly disclose their information practices and ensure the security of customer information. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires the responsible handling of EU citizens’ personal information, regardless of where it’s processed. Compliance with these and other regulations is essential for corporate finance departments to maintain public trust and legal protection