Free Resource
The written security plan behind your Form W-12 attestation — a ready-to-adapt WISP template plus the checklists that prove it, mapped to IRS Publication 4557, Pub 5708, and the FTC Safeguards Rule. Built for small tax and accounting firms.
What's inside
At PTIN renewal, every preparer attests on Form W-12 that a written data security plan is in place. This kit gives you that plan and the paperwork that proves it — plain-English, adaptable to a firm your size, and mapped to the frameworks the IRS and FTC actually name.
A fill-in-the-blanks Written Information Security Plan mapped to the IRS's own framework — data inventory, access control, encryption, vendor management, and your incident plan.
IRS Pub 4557 · Pub 5708A line-by-line checklist of the nine required elements under 16 CFR 314 — the rule that has covered tax preparers as "financial institutions" since June 9, 2023.
16 CFR 314 · GLBAA one-page plain-English breakdown of what you're actually signing at PTIN renewal — and the controls that need to exist behind that box before you check it.
IRS Form W-12A guided worksheet to inventory where client data lives, rate the likely threats, and record the safeguard against each — the risk assessment both Pub 4557 and the Safeguards Rule require.
Risk assessmentA single page you can pin by the desk: who to call, what to shut down, what to preserve, and the notification clock that starts the moment client data may be exposed.
Incident responseFree download
Give us an email and we'll send the whole kit as one download. Built for tax and accounting firms in North Houston — the templates work for any small firm.
Why a Houston MSP built this
Other Guys IT is a managed IT provider serving The Woodlands, Spring, Conroe, Kingwood, Tomball, and Magnolia. Most tax firms we meet were handed a Form W-12 attestation and left to build the plan behind it on their own. This kit is the plan we'd hand them on day one — the same safeguards we put in place when we take on a tax firm.
We wrote it in plain English, kept it adaptable to a firm your size, and mapped every section to the frameworks the IRS and FTC actually name — so what you file lines up with what regulators expect to see. The FTC Safeguards Rule (16 CFR 314, under GLBA) has been fully effective since June 9, 2023 and carries penalties up to roughly $100,000 per violation; the WISP itself is required under IRS Publication 4557.
This is IT implementation guidance, not legal advice. Other Guys IT implements and documents the technical controls; your firm still signs the Form W-12 attestation. Have a qualified professional review your security plan for your specific obligations.
The kit shows you what a compliant setup looks like. If you'd rather have it built, monitored, and documented for you, that's the day job.
See exactly what we cover for CPA and tax firms — EDR, tested backup, a managed firewall, and the Safeguards Rule controls behind your attestation. $125 per workstation, everything included.
Fifteen minutes with the founder and a plain-English read on your uptime, backup, and Safeguards Rule gaps. The kit is the map; this is someone walking it with you.
Other Guys IT — managed IT for North Houston tax and accounting firms: The Woodlands, Spring, Conroe, Kingwood, Tomball, and Magnolia. $125/workstation/mo with everything included; $275/server/mo; 3-workstation minimum; 12-month initial term; unlimited support incl. after-hours under fair use. Firewall and network fully managed — hardware is never included; we recommend the gear, you buy it at our cost, zero markup. Licenses at cost. Projects quoted separately. Same-day response SLA. The WISP Starter Kit is IT implementation guidance, not legal advice.
Download the kit to see what a compliant tax-firm setup looks like. When you're ready to have it implemented and monitored, fifteen minutes with the founder gets you a plain-English read on your gaps.
Get Free IT Assessment →Or call (972) 244-3009 or email support@otherguys.tech — same-day response, in writing.
When your I.T. can’t fix it, the Other Guys can.
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