Cybersecurity Fundamentals for Finance and Accounting Professionals Certificate

The Cybersecurity Fundamentals for Finance and Accounting Professionals Certificate course (15.5 CPE Credits) will help you develop fluency and gain confidence to make sound strategic decisions regarding cybersecurity risk. You’ll also learn what you should be doing as a non-IT professional, to help protect your clients and your organization from cyber threats.
This certificate course gives you a foundation in cybersecurity so you can provide valuable leadership within your organization—or with your clients.
Access to the course is granted for one year.
For a limited time, save 20% on all AICPA Certificate Products at checkout.
The Cybersecurity Fundamentals for Finance and Accounting Professionals Certificate course (15.5 CPE credits) will help you develop fluency and gain confidence to make sound strategic decisions regarding cybersecurity risk. You’ll also learn what you should be doing as a non-IT professional, to help protect your clients and your organization from cyber threats.
Understand cybersecurity—and be part of the solution.
The threats from cyber-attacks are real, and can:
- Disrupt businesses
- Result in financial losses
- Destroy an organization's reputation
In fact, cybercrime damage costs are expected to hit $6 trillion annually by 2021. Organizations are under pressure to show that they have effective processes in place to detect, mitigate, and recover from cybersecurity events.
This certificate course gives you a foundation in cybersecurity so you can provide valuable leadership within your organization—or with your clients.
What do you need to know about cybersecurity?
You don't have to become an IT expert. But, you do need to be able to speak intelligently and:
- Understand key elements of the AICPA's cybersecurity risk management reporting framework;
- Learn the terminology and the right questions to ask;
- Understand the potential risks and opportunities for your organization or clients;
- Help advise on investments in cybersecurity or identify roles for cybersecurity specialists; and,
- Apply a security mindset to your daily work.
Gain expertise—and show it with this certificate and digital badge
As cybercrime threats grow, it's essential for financial professionals to understanding what the risks are and how mitigate or manage them.
This interactive, self-paced certificate program, authored by cybersecurity expert Chris Romeo, will help you acquire these skills so you can:
- Add value to your organization
- Create opportunities for your career growth
- Consider exploring cybersecurity advisory as a specialization for yourself or your firm
Who Will Benefit?
- Finance professionals
- CFOs and business managers
- Controllers and internal auditors
- Management and public accountants
Key Topics
- Cybersecurity terminology and digital transformation
- Attacks and the security mindset
- Data breaches and privacy
- Cybersecurity frameworks including NIST CSF
- Elements of a cybersecurity risk management program
- Benefits of investing in cybersecurity
- Options for cybersecurity service offerings
Learning Objectives
- Recognize the impact of digital transformation on business.
- Recognize key cybersecurity terms and what it takes to have a security mindset.
- Recognize the threat landscape and the importance of security to various technologies.
- Recognize how a data breach occurs and the organizational impact.
- Recognize the impact to the organization when privacy is compromised.
- Recognize the definition and purpose of a cybersecurity risk management program and description criteria.
- Identify which security framework(s) would be best for your organization or client.
- Identify the five functions described in the core of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF).
Credit Info
- CPE CREDITS: Online: 15.5 (CPE credit info)
- NASBA FIELD OF STUDY: Information Technology
- LEVEL: Basic
- PREREQUISITES: None
- ADVANCE PREPARATION: None
- DELIVERY METHOD: QAS Self-Study
- COURSE ACRONYM: CSFD
To learn more about this program, please visit the Cybersecurity Fundamentals for Finance and Accounting Professionals Certificate FAQs.
Gain Immediate Access
This is a digital product that requires a stable and continuous internet. Upon purchase, you will gain immediate online access. Please review the Purchase Information and System Requirements tabs on this page for more information.
Earn Your Certificate and Digital Badge
After completing the course, you will be awarded with a certificate in the form of a digital badge. Digital badges allow you to distinguish yourself in the marketplace and show your commitment to quality. The badge can be posted to your social media profiles and linked to your resume or email signature, providing maximum visibility to your achievement.
You will receive your official score and certificate or retake information 5 business days after completing the course.
This product is published by AICPA and sold through an exclusive partnership with Wiley.
The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) is the world’s largest member association representing the CPA profession, with more than 418,000 members in 143 countries, and a history of serving the public interest since 1887. AICPA members represent many areas of practice, including business and industry, public practice, government, education and consulting.
The AICPA sets ethical standards for the profession and U.S. auditing standards for private companies, nonprofit organizations, federal, state and local governments. It develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination, and offers specialized credentials for qualified professionals who concentrate on personal financial planning; forensic accounting; business valuation; and information management and technology assurance. With The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), it offers the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation, which sets the global benchmark for quality and recognition in management accounting.
The AICPA and CIMA also make up the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (the Association), which represents public and management accounting globally, advocating on behalf the public interest and advancing the quality, competency and employability of CPAs, CGMAs and other accounting and finance professionals worldwide.
The AICPA maintains offices in New York, Washington, DC, Durham, NC, and Ewing, NJ.
How do I access my digital product?
After purchasing, you will gain immediate online access to your product by entering your account credentials established at time of purchase.
How do I receive my certificate and digital badge?
After passing the exam, you will be awarded with a certificate in the form of a digital badge. Digital badges allow you to distinguish yourself in the marketplace and show your commitment to quality. The badge can be posted to your social media profiles and linked to your resume or email signature, providing maximum visibility to your achievement.
You will receive your official score and certificate or retake information 5 business days after completing the exam.
For answers to additional questions, please visit:
This product is published by AICPA and sold through an exclusive partnership with Wiley.
Order online with our secure system, or call: 888.884.5669 (toll-free) or 928.204.1066 (international).
Gain Immediate Access
Upon purchase, you will gain immediate online access to the product for one full year. If additional time is needed, you may contact us to request extended access at no additional charge.
Important Note
Your exam purchase entitles you to one exam and one re-take if you do not pass the exam. Prior to using your re-take, the AICPA recommends you study any topics identified in your initial exam results. If you do not pass either the initial exam or the re-take, you must purchase the exam again, in order to take it again. Exams passed outside of these purchase and re-take rules will not result in the issuing of a digital badge. If you have any questions regarding the completion of your exam or re-take, please contact digitalbadge@aicpa.org to verify your results.
By making this purchase, you must understand and agree that the AICPA has the absolute and unrestricted right to revoke or suspend any rights to use the digital badge image, or any representation thereof, if you are (a) convicted of any crime punishable by more than one year in prison or for any crime related to dishonesty, or (b) disciplined by any governmental or non-governmental authority that regulates, or enforces a code of conduct related to, your professional activities, including but not limited to, a state board of accountancy, AICPA, IRS, SEC, or PCAOB, or (c) a peer reviewer restricted from performing peer reviews by the Peer Review Program.
Return Policy
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In the event you are unsatisfied with your purchase, a full refund will be issued upon request within 10 business days of purchase. Refunds will not be issued after this time. This refund agreement is subject to change without notice.
To request a refund, please contact us.
Sales Tax
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Forms of Payment
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AICPA’s online CPE courses will operate in a variety of configurations, but only the configuration described below is supported by AICPA technicians.
A stable and continuous internet connection is required. In order to record your completion of the online learning courses, please ensure you are connected to the internet at all times while taking the course. It is your responsibility to validate that CPE certificate(s) are available within your account after successfully completing the course and/or exam.
Supported Operating Systems:
- Macintosh OS X 10.10 to present
- Windows 7 to present
Supported Browsers:
- Apple Safari
- Google Chrome
- Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Mozilla Firefox
Required Browser Plug-ins:
- Adobe Flash
- Adobe Acrobat Reader
Technical Support: Please contact service@aicpa.org.