Data

Article Dean Dorton

The biotech industry is booming. Projections suggest it will reach a $2.44 trillion market valuation by 2028 after growing at a CAGR of 15.83% for the next seven years straight. Forces driving the rapid expansion of biotech include supportive government policies, excited investors, new products, and rising demand – and they show no signs of changing in the near future.

Growth looks all but assured for any biotech company with a viable product or service and a competent business plan. But growth can be positive and negative. Companies that expand quickly and easily often leave themselves unprepared for running a bigger company with broader regulatory requirements, a larger product line, additional revenue streams, and a diverse market footprint. Biotech companies are often victims of their own success – phenomenal startups that grow into unsustainable enterprises – because they don’t scale their accounting and financial capabilities along with the rest of the company.

Running a robust accounting department depends on people and processes, of course, but it ultimately comes down to technology. Relying on under-powered or outdated software (often the product in place since day one of the company) puts a hard limit on what accountants can accomplish – and how much companies can grow. For fast-growing biotech companies, upgrading accounting software should happen sooner rather than later, and cloud financial management should be the only option.

Benefits of Cloud Financial Management in Biotech
There’s a reason why 75% of the life sciences companies studied by Gartner adopted cloud-first strategies in recent years: They see clear and compelling benefits to the cloud. Those include:

  • IT maintenance and security handled by cloud providers
  • Remote access to data and tools from anywhere.
  • Endless data storage and computing power available on demand
  • Redundancy and backups in the event of disaster

That list goes on. However, it’s more important to understand the overarching benefit of cloud financial management for biotech: stabilizing growth. Companies on an upward trajectory often encounter unexpected obstacles, especially in a heavily-regulated industry like biotech. As such, they don’t need accounting software to meet their needs; they need software that exceeds their needs and rises to occasions they don’t anticipate. To put it differently, they need software for today as well as tomorrow. Cloud financial management uniquely fits the bill.

The right product can handle the most complicated and consequential accounting challenges facing promising biotech companies. Everything from complying with revenue recognition standards to evaluating M&A opportunities becomes more streamlined. Likewise, critical processes involved in research and development or budgeting and planning run more efficiently and cost effectively thanks to the right cloud-based product.

Sage Intacct is a cloud-native financial management platform that offers the extensive accounting capabilities required of mature (or maturing) biotech companies. Beyond that, Sage Intacct delivers a superior cloud experience designed to enhance speed, accessibility, resilience, communication, collaboration, and so much more. Calling Sage Intacct accounting software doesn’t do it justice because it functions more like a complete business tool for biotech companies, facilitating growth at any speed or scale.

To demo Sage Intacct, contact a team at the intersection of accounting, technology, and biotech industry growth, contact us.

Article Dean Dorton

Margins for healthcare organizations are tight. At the same time, governmental and commercial payers are increasingly moving towards value-based payment models and demanding data exchange and interoperability from healthcare organizations. Now is the time to elevate your data analytics game.

Yet leaders of small and mid-size healthcare entities often struggle with getting a data analytics program off the ground. Developing and deploying a data analytics and visualization program doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Taking stock of what data your organization has and asking a few key questions can help focus and guide your efforts to build a data analytics program.

What organizational challenges exist?

Where are your blind spots? Brainstorm with a small group of leaders involved in the day-to-day management of clinical, revenue cycle and other administrative processes and ask where they could use more information. What information do they know is out there, but not easily accessible? How are current reports useful? How could they be improved? Focusing on answering these questions, will keep data analytics projects on track to be valuable tools in managing your organization’s operations.

What kinds of data do we have?

A healthcare organization’s data may reside in multiple, disparate systems. Clinical data is housed in the EHR; accounts receivable, revenue and cost information in the financial system; quality and patient satisfaction information may be reported by third parties. Start by documenting what information is housed in each system. Simply capturing what information is available and comparing it to the feedback received from leaders about informational blind spots will guide you in determine what data analytics projects may be the most impactful.

How easily can we get the data?

Once you have taken stock of the systems and data available to your organization, it’s helpful to understand how accessible this data is. Can your EHR only export reports as PDFs? Can reports only be generated manually? Which systems can you establish data connections to—allowing the organization to schedule routine refreshes of reports and dashboards built off of this data? These questions can help an organization identify what projects and reports may yield the most helpful information in the shortest amount of time.

Identifying data analytics projects that can be quickly implemented to address a clear need is a great way to demonstrate the value of such a platform and build organization buy-in to tackle more complex data aggregation and visualization challenges.

Real world wins

Dean Dorton is working with our healthcare clients to develop dashboards and reports which go beyond their past reporting capabilities. We’ve worked with physician practices and hospitals to develop:

  • Dynamic Accounts Receivable dashboards which give leaders the tools to identify and drill into potential poor performance areas.
  • Denials reporting dashboard that allows a cross-functional team to view the organization’s entire denials activity and investigate breakdowns leading to denials in all steps of the revenue cycle management process.
  • Aggregate physician compensation, productivity and clinical quality performance into a single dashboard with comparisons to relevant benchmarks.

Dean Dorton can work with your leadership team to establish benchmarks, compare performance, and justify decisions. We can assist with aggregating data from clinical systems, financial platforms and patient satisfaction surveys into side by side analytical tools that leverages industry, system, and individual provider data to offer strategic insights into the holistic business, optimize the revenue cycle and improve business performance.

Learn more about Dean Dorton’s Healthcare services:

Dean Dorton HealthcareJay Swacker, CPA, CIA, CHC, CHFP, CHDA
Healthcare Consulting Manager
jswacker@ddafhealthcare.com • 859.425.7691

Kylie Waters, CPA
Healthcare Consulting Associate Director
kwaters@ddafhealthcare.com • 859.425.7704

Article Dean Dorton

“No one would be interested in my data.” Nothing could be further from the truth! Announced in late March, the Department of Justice filed criminal charges and sanctions against nine Iranian hackers accused of compromising hundreds of universities, private companies, and government agencies.

It is estimated that some 320 universities, in the U.S. and abroad, have been compromised. Government agencies are also believed to have been breached. Also targeted were private sector law firms and consulting companies. The accused were focused on acquiring and selling science and engineering research information.

This incident brings further focus and attention on the growing threats and required attention for cybersecurity at all organizations. We find that there is no private, public, or nonprofit entity immune to the ever-growing and more sophisticated threats posed by cybercriminals. The amount of electronic information and communications used today only continues to grow. Our business and organizations rely on data and systems to function in nearly all aspects.

If your organization is not yet taking cybersecurity seriously, now is the time. More areas of compliance require organizations to formalize their attention on cyber risk. Financial institutions and higher education organizations have Gramm Leach Bliley Act (GLBA), healthcare has HIPAA, and companies with clients or constituents in the European Union will soon have GDPR, just to name a few.

Here are a few key areas that you should focus on:

  • Annual cyber risk assessment
  • User awareness training
  • Processes for monitoring and detecting incidents
  • Formal incident response plan
  • Adequate cyber insurance

If your organization needs help with any of these areas, Dean Dorton has a team of qualified consultants ready to help. Contact Jason Miller, Director of Business & Technology Consulting, at 859.425.7626 or jmiller@ddaftech.com. Don’t wait until it is too late.

Article Dean Dorton

Did you know that most higher education institutions will be required to meet new data protection standards starting May 25, 2018?

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will affect institutions that recruit EU students, have alumni or donors residing in the EU, or offer study abroad programs there.  It is not yet clear how the regulations will be enforced and penalties assessed against U.S. institutions, but the maximum fine can be up to 20 million Euros based on severity and other factors.

Institutions are encouraged to get out in front of this regulation before it arrives at their doorstep!  Below are some of the specific data protection requirements that may be different than what you currently have in place:

  • Must obtain consent before collecting data from someone.
  • Must notify affected persons of a data breach within 72 hours.
  • Must provide data subjects a free electronic copy of their personal data when requested.
  • Data subjects have the right to be “forgotten”, meaning erasure of their personal data and cessation of its dissemination.
  • Must allow personal data to be portable in an electronic format for the subject’s own use.
  • Data systems must be built with privacy by design using appropriate technical security measures.
  • A qualified Data Protection Officer must be appointed by organizations that process personal data and have over 250 employees.

If you would like more information on these new standards or would like assistance in assessing your readiness for GDPR, please contact Jason Whitaker at jwhitaker@ddaftech.com or Megan Crane at mcrane@deandorton.com.

Article Dean Dorton

Are you one of 143 million people (the equivalent of approximately 1 in 2 Americans) who have potentially been impacted by the Equifax cyber breach? Equifax, one of three major credit reporting agencies, announced yesterday that personal information, including but not limited to social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and credit card numbers, has potentially been compromised for up to 143 million people.

Was your personal information compromised? Click the button below to access Equifax’s website to determine if you are at risk:

Check Potential Risk

If you were potentially impacted, Equifax will enroll you in a one-year credit monitoring and identity theft protection plan. Be sure to read the legal disclaimer before completing the enrollment.

In the coming weeks and months, be extra skeptical of any emails you receive regarding this matter. Scammers will try to capitalize on this situation and launch many phishing attacks.

UPDATE, 9/11/17

We have received many follow-up questions and comments from concerned individuals. We have also continued to monitor critical news and updates. We want to provide our clients and contacts with some additional follow-up items.

  1. A number of people have raised concerns about using the Equifax free one-year monitoring service. Some indicate that the legal disclaimer states that you will be waiving your rights to any legal action. Others have expressed concerns about their ability to protect your information.
    • Equifax has clarified the concern about their standard legal language in their terms of use, indicating that those limitations do not apply to the cyber incident. However, if you are still concerned, you have the option of mailing in a letter with an opt-out notice for the arbitration clause.
    • If you are concerned about providing Equifax with your information for the free monitoring, you can consider using another trusted source for credit and identity theft monitoring service. There may be fees associated with these services.
  2. Many people have asked what else they can or should do. The Federal Trade Commission offers some additional steps to consider, such as:
    • Monitor your credit reports from all three service bureaus
    • Consider placing a credit freeze on your files
    • Monitor your banks accounts and credit cards closely
    • Consider placing a fraud alert on your files
    • File your taxes early
  3. Be VERY cautious and skeptical of any emails or phone calls you receive regarding this. Confirm that any communication is from a trusted source and review any links before clicking them to be sure they are routing you to the intended location and not rerouting you to a false site to steal more information.

For any questions or concerns related to cybersecurity and user awareness, please contact Jason Miller, Director of Business Consulting Services at jmiller@ddaftech.com or 859-425-7626.

Article Dean Dorton

Cyber criminals have been around for quite some time and continue to make our lives challenging. As you continually see in the news headlines, there are many forms of criminal activity occurring through the use of Internet technology. We have typically been hearing about user names and passwords being stolen. However, manufacturers have very valuable information and data that is being targeted as well.

Here are five tips for manufacturers to protect against data theft:

  1. Executives must put priority on data and trade secret information
    This seems obvious, but many organizations do not have the right protection plans in place and in many cases rely on dated equipment, software and procedures to keep their data and trade information safe.If key executives put a priority on increased security measures for confidential data and make it a continued company initiative then the necessary resources and support will be given to better protect this crucial information and data security can continue to be evaluated and updated as necessary.
  2. Identify what your most valuable data assets are and where they are stored
    Identifying the most important data and where it is stored may feel daunting with the amount and type of data that manufacturers have these days, but a good starting point is engineering and R&D type design files. Obviously, this type of data is confidential and very important to manufacturers.
  3. Label critical data assets
    Make sure that digital and paper documents are clearly marked with “Confidential” or “Internal Use Only”.This provides a visual alert to all employees who have access to these documents that anything marked with this designation should be treated with extra care and protection.
  4. Think Like a Cyber Criminal
    Make it a practice to step back and take an outsider’s point of view and look at all your business processes and practices to identify where data theft could occur.
  5. Improve Employee Awareness
    Put detailed company theft and confidential protection instruction and documentation in all manuals and employee agreements.   In addition, include this type of employee security awareness in your training programs at all levels of the organization.

It is easy to become complacent with the valuable information that we handle on a daily basis and it is very important to be on constant alert for criminal activity. It is crucial to have an evolving security plan for protection.  In addition, an effective security plan would include a response plan to guide reaction in the event of a breach threat or incident.

For more information on protecting your company against data theft contact Lance Mann at 502-566-1005 or lmann@deandorton.com or Jason Miller at 859-425-7626 or jmiller@ddaftech.com.


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