SAN ANTONIO, May 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RightNOW26 -- Rightworks, the only intelligent cloud service provider of purpose-built solutions for accounting firms and tax professionals, today announced new innovations and partnerships to help address the rapidly evolving threat landscape for the accounting profession. The announcements were made during a mainstage cybersecurity session led by CEO Ian Williams and newly appointed Chief Information Security Officer, Anjan Bagchee at RightNOW26.
A New Security Imperative for Accounting Leaders
Accounting and tax firms are among the most attractive targets for cybercriminals, handling sensitive financial data for thousands of clients. At the same time, the profession is navigating a permanently transformed workforce model, one that includes distributed remote employees, offshore and outsourced staff, and increasingly complex SaaS and cloud technology stacks.
"Security used to center on username and passwords; today it spans people, devices, systems, data, and AI working together," said Anjan Bagchee, CISO at Rightworks. "Most firms are dealing with AI adoption that has outpaced AI governance; leaders often don't know what tools their teams are using, what data is being entered into models, or how to establish oversight. We built these solutions to close that gap."
Unprecedented Control with Device and Application Lock
Long known for its ability to assign role-based security levels to users, Rightworks today announced new solutions that will enable firms to lock down both applications and devices. These new capabilities, together with existing identity and user role controls, deliver a comprehensive, multi-layered approach to access control, redefining how accounting and tax firms secure access across teams, devices, and applications. By extending protection across who can access, what they can access, and where that access originates, Rightworks introduces a unified security framework purpose-built for modern, distributed work environments.
Rightworks Outsourced Tax is the first use case where these capabilities come together, applying role-based permissions, device-level restrictions, and application-level controls to securely segment access to critical tax workflows without exposing the broader firm environment. With this three-tiered security approach, Rightworks enables firms to reduce risk, strengthen compliance, and confidently scale outsourced and flexible work models.
Spark AI: Secure, Accounting-Focused AI Built into the OneSpace Platform
Rightworks also announced that Spark AI is now available directly within the OneSpace platform. Built to Rightworks’ security and data protection standards, Spark AI gives accounting teams AI-powered assistance without introducing new risks. Unlike generic AI tools, Spark AI is purpose-built for accounting and finance workflows. It accepts documents and data uploads across applications and uses that context to deliver relevant, informed responses—regardless of where the work originated. Since it runs entirely within the Rightworks platform, data never leaves the environment, and no prompts or attachments are used to train AI models. “A human in the loop is essential as AI can sound confident but be factually wrong,” said Ian Williams, CEO of Rightworks. “Spark AI is designed to deliver a fast, informed first draft, not a final answer, keeping firms in control while eliminating the risk of external AI tools.” Spark AI is designed to work with evolving large language models while maintaining a bias toward accounting expertise, helping firms avoid vendor lock-in and the limitations of generic AI.
New Outsourcing Partnerships Extend Secure Staffing Capabilities
Alongside its product announcements, Rightworks introduced new partnerships with MyCPE One, Madras, and GKM, three established outsourcing and offshoring providers serving accounting firms across the United States. Together, these partnerships enable Rightworks customers to expand their teams for tax, accounting, bookkeeping, audit, and back-office functions through staffing partners that meet Rightworks' security standards and integrate directly with the OneSpace platform. The partner network collectively brings significant depth: decades of combined experience, thousands of accounting professionals across dozens of states, and strong client retention records. All three partners are participating at RightNOW26.
Leadership Perspective
In his mainstage remarks, CEO Ian Williams framed the announcements within a broader call to action for firm leaders, encouraging them to treat security as a leadership responsibility rather than an IT task, design their organizations for a distributed workforce, and pursue technology partnerships that address both present needs and future evolution. "The firms that win in the next decade won't be the ones that avoided change," Williams said. "They'll be the ones that stayed in control as everything changed. That's the future we are building at Rightworks, we believe firms can scale securely, and with confidence."
About Rightworks
Obsessed with all things accounting, Rightworks is the preferred cloud service provider for 70,000+ businesses and accounting and tax firms. Our award-winning platform securely connects critical desktop and cloud applications and offers managed IT services, protecting everything from data to devices across all your offices. The result: unified applications, data, teams, and workflows, with full-service network management through one point of contact. Since 2002, innovation, unwavering commitment, and 24/7 support have earned us partnerships with market leaders and cultivated a loyal following within the Rightworks Community, the largest peer network for accounting professionals. Learn more: rightworks.com, LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Instagram.
Media contact:
Allison Huffman, 603-751-4488
ahuffman@rightworks.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ada1f567-d1a8-49e6-a058-d3ab149098a4
