You sit down with your favorite client—an accounting firm with 30 employees. They’re sharp, professional, and they get it. You walk them through why Compliance-as-a-Service (CaaS) isn’t optional anymore. You show them the IRS requirements, the FTC Safeguards, and the growing risks. Their owner leans forward and says, “Yes! Let’s do this as soon as possible.”
You leave the meeting, ready to build out their CaaS program. Everything is going perfectly.
Then Karen speaks up.
Karen is their in-house accountant. And Karen took a three-hour compliance training once. So now Karen is an expert.
“This is a waste of money,” she says. “I could just do this myself.”
And just like that, the deal is dead.
The Real Risk of DIY Compliance
Karen thinks compliance is just about writing policies and following rules. And she’s not wrong—but she’s also completely missing the point.
The most important part of CaaS isn’t writing policies.
It’s proving they were followed.
A CaaS program isn’t just about keeping up with regulations. It’s about documenting and collecting the evidence your client will need to defend their actions and decisions when—not if—something goes wrong.
And something will go wrong.
The odds of your client getting randomly audited? Low.
The odds of them suffering a business email compromise, ransomware attack, or data breach? Extremely high—and rising.
So let’s fast-forward six months.
Their email gets hacked.
Their client data is stolen.
And Karen is nowhere to be found.
Now your client is scrambling. Regulators aren’t the biggest problem anymore. It’s:
- Clients demanding answers because their financials were exposed.
- Cyber insurance refusing to pay because they weren’t actually compliant.
- A predatory lawyer picking them apart to see if they can be sued for negligence.
Because here’s the hard truth: When a breach happens, they don’t treat you like a victim.
They treat you like the idiot who let it happen.
And guess what? They blame you too.
Risk Acceptance vs. Declination of Service—Why It Matters
At this point, you have two choices:
- Let Karen run the show and wait for the inevitable disaster.
- Educate your client that CaaS isn’t just about compliance—it’s about managing cyber liability.
If they still want to let Karen handle it, get it in writing.
But here’s where most MSPs make a critical mistake. They send a declination of services letter.
Wrong move.
A declination of services is just proof that they didn’t buy something from you.
It doesn’t protect you when the lawsuits start flying.
A Risk Acceptance Document, on the other hand, is different.
- It clearly outlines the risk.
- It documents that you made a professional recommendation.
- They sign it, acknowledging that they understand and accept the consequences.
This single document could be the difference between you being named in the lawsuit or walking away clean.
More importantly? It makes your client stop and think.
Do they really want Karen designing their cyber liability program?
Because that’s what this really is.
Cybersecurity isn’t compliance anymore. It’s risk management.
Don’t Let Karen Be Your Undoing
If you’re serious about protecting your MSP and your clients, you need a real Cyber Liability Guard program—one that documents every risk, educates your clients, and creates evidence that you did your part.
If you don’t, you’re gambling with your clients’ businesses and yours.
Need help building your Cyber Liability Guard framework?
We’ve already done it for you. Let’s talk.
