Protecting the Work, the Data, and the Money.
Protecting accountants, clients, and financial practices
Accounting firms produce a regulated financial work product — a filing, a report, an opinion — that clients and third parties rely on, and they hold a concentrated store of their clients' most sensitive data. That combination defines the risk: professional liability for financial errors, cyber exposure because the firm is a trove of Social Security numbers and bank data, and the wire-fraud and social-engineering losses that target anyone who moves money. Whether you're a solo bookkeeper or a CPA firm doing audit work, a practice needs coverage built for all three. This is a specialized corner of professional services insurance built for how accounting firms actually get hit.
Properly structured coverage protects the firm, its people, and the clients who rely on its work.
The Accounting Firm's Signature Exposures
Two exposures define the field. The first is professional liability — incorrect tax advice, preparation errors, missed deadlines that trigger penalties and interest, failure to detect fraud in a client's books, and, for CPAs, audit and attest negligence relied on by lenders and investors. Incorrect tax advice remains one of the top errors-and-omissions triggers. The second is data and money. Accounting firms are high-value targets holding exactly the personal and financial information that drives breach cost, and they're federally regulated data custodians. Layered on top is crime: because staff touch payroll, client payments, and fund transfers, business email compromise — an attacker impersonating a client or executive to redirect a wire — is a signature, high-frequency loss that is a crime and social-engineering exposure, distinct from third-party errors and omissions and often only a sublimit.
Key Risks in Accounting & Bookkeeping
Accounting firms face exposure related to:
Tax-preparation errors causing penalties, interest, and client disputes
Missed filing or election deadlines
Outdated or incorrect advice, including nexus and filing-obligation errors
Failure to detect fraud or misstatement in a client's books
Audit and attest negligence relied on by third parties
Data breach of client Social Security numbers and financial records
Wire fraud and social-engineering redirection of client funds
The financial-work error, the data breach, and the wire-fraud loss are the exposures that most define the firm.
Core Coverages for Accounting Firms
A properly built accounting program typically includes:
Professional Liability / E&O — Covers defense and damages when tax, accounting, or audit work is alleged to have caused a client or relying third party financial loss — the core policy, written claims-made.
Cyber Liability & Data Breach — Pays breach response, notification, forensics, ransomware, and regulatory defense for the client financial data the firm holds.
Commercial Crime & Social-Engineering Fraud — Covers direct money losses from theft, forgery, funds-transfer fraud, and business email compromise — the most-often-missing coverage, often available only as a sublimit.
General Liability — Covers premises injuries and personal and advertising injury, commonly bundled into a business-owner's policy.
Commercial Property & Business Income — Cover office contents and lost revenue when systems are down, especially after ransomware.
Workers' Compensation — Provides legally required coverage for staff.
Employment Practices Liability — Protects against employment claims.
Directors & Officers Liability — Protects the firm's governance and any board service.
Umbrella / Excess Liability — Adds higher limits above general liability and auto.
What's Commonly Overlooked
Accounting programs are most often weakened by:
No crime or social-engineering coverage, or a sublimit far below a real wire loss
Cyber limits below the cost of a breach of client financial data
No tail coverage when a claims-made policy ends or the firm is sold
A retroactive date that leaves earlier work uncovered
Weak controls that can void social-engineering coverage when a wire isn't verified
The gap that hurts most is the wire-fraud and social-engineering exposure — the field's signature loss.
Real-World Claim Examples
A preparer omits income and the client is hit with IRS penalties and interest
A filing or election deadline is missed, costing the client a benefit
Advice on a nexus or filing obligation proves wrong after a rule change or audit
The firm fails to catch embezzlement in a client's books
A spoofed email redirects a client's wire to an attacker's account
Any one of these can be significant for a firm, and the wire loss can be immediate and total.
Regulatory & Licensing Context
State boards of accountancy license CPAs and can discipline for negligence, while bookkeepers and preparers are generally unlicensed, though preparers need an IRS identifier. Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, CPA firms are treated as financial institutions and must comply with the FTC Safeguards Rule — including a written information security plan — and the IRS requires tax preparers to maintain a data-security plan. Larger clients and lenders routinely require the firm to carry errors-and-omissions coverage and provide a certificate of insurance.
Why Proper Placement Matters
Underwriters weigh annual revenue, the service mix — audit and attest work rates far higher than pure bookkeeping and tax — client size and concentration, the use of engagement letters, prior claims, and cyber controls such as multi-factor authentication and dual-authorization or call-back verification on wire changes, which are often a condition of social-engineering coverage. Errors-and-omissions is claims-made, so the retroactive date and tail matter. Placing the program with markets that understand accounting risk — and confirming the crime and cyber controls — is what keeps the coverage intact.
Our Approach
At Cory Washington & Co., we insure accounting firms around all three exposures — the work, the data, and the money. We structure errors-and-omissions with the right retroactive date and tail, size cyber to the client data you hold, and add crime and social-engineering coverage with limits that reflect a real wire loss. We also insure related professional practices, including consultants, law firms, and marketing agencies, and the broader professional services category.
The firm that safeguards everyone else's finances deserves coverage that safeguards its own.
All insurance descriptions on this website are provided by Cory Washington & Co. LLC strictly for general informational purposes. They are not intended to be, and should not be relied upon as, legal, financial, or insurance advice. The information presented is general in nature and does not guarantee the availability, terms, conditions, or scope of any insurance coverage. Actual coverage is determined solely by the specific policy language issued by the insurer and remains subject to underwriting approval. Nothing on this website creates or implies an agent-client relationship, binds coverage, or alters any existing policy. Cory Washington & Co. LLC expressly disclaims any liability for actions taken, or not taken, based on the content provided here. For advice regarding your particular situation, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional at Cory Washington & Co. LLC or another qualified insurance professional, and always review your policy documents in full.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get accounting & bookkeeping insurance through Cory Washington & Co.?
Request a quote or contact our team. We start with a short conversation about your operations, analyze your exposures, then negotiate accounting & bookkeeping insurance across multiple carriers that compete for your account and present options with the trade-offs explained. Cory Washington & Co. LLC is licensed in all 50 states.
What drives the cost of accounting & bookkeeping insurance?
Premiums vary from business to business. The main drivers of accounting & bookkeeping insurance pricing are the nature of your operations, your revenue and payroll, your loss history, and the limits you carry. Rather than quote a flat figure, we negotiate across several markets and walk you through the options, so you only pay for the protection you actually need.
Do I need accounting & bookkeeping insurance?
Requirements vary. Accounting & bookkeeping insurance may be mandated by statute, or required under your contracts, leases, or loan agreements — and in many cases it is simply prudent given the risks involved. We look at your specific obligations and exposures, then recommend the coverage and limits that fit.
What if another agency has already declined or non-renewed my coverage?
Difficult, specialty, and previously-declined placements are a core part of our work. We access excess & surplus (E&S) and specialty markets that many generalist agencies cannot, and we explain the trade-offs clearly so you can decide with confidence.
Available in all 50 states. See how requirements differ in California, Texas, Florida, New York, or choose your state.