In Conversation: Leaders at Forest Systems & FoxPointe Solutions on the Future of Trust, Technology, and Risk

The cybersecurity risk to family offices is extremely high in the current environment.

According to recent data from Deloitte, 43% of family offices globally have experienced a cyberattack over the past 12 - 24 months, and 25% have experienced three or more attacks. Those based in North America are the most likely to be attacked, compared to other regions across the globe.

At Forest Systems, we understand these risks, and we speak with our clients often about the importance of addressing them head on. Today, we are taking that commitment a step further, through a strategic partnership with FoxPointe Solutions, a leading advisory firm specializing in compliance, risk management, and cybersecurity, and a division of The Bonadio Group, a top 50 accounting firm.

In honor of this partnership, Forest Systems’ Founder and CEO Ed Van Deman sat down with Charlie Wood, Partner and Practice Lead for FoxPointe, to discuss the cybersecurity threats family offices face, the importance of mitigating risk, and the value of trust in a fast-changing, increasingly digital environment.

Below are edited excerpts from that conversation:

What’s been a throughline to your career? Why do you do what you do today, and what’s the best feeling in the world as the leader of your respective companies?

Ed Van Deman: I’ve always been interested in the quantitative applications of finance. It started with my father, who was a real estate investor, and then continued in college, where I joined the investment club and majored in mathematics. I was very interested in economics and computer programming, as well.

At Forest Systems, all those interests have come together seamlessly. We offer accounting software solutions that streamline the most complex financial reporting processes. Those solutions enable our clients to do things they could never do without us, and I feel very good about that.

Charlie Wood: For me, the throughline is all about risk and growth. I want to help clients limit their exposure to risk, and I want to help create the conditions that allow them to grow. It’s really as simple as that.

At FoxPointe, those passions are shared across our team of information risk management professionals. And that’s the best part – the ability to develop a team and watch them achieve career success.

Forest Systems and FoxPointe Solutions come at the financial services space from different angles. Where do you see your work intersecting or complementing one another?

CW: This collaboration allows us to provide even more value to our clients and help them achieve success. Today’s business landscape is constantly changing, and information risk management and cybersecurity are more important than ever. Forest Systems understands this well, and Ed and his team wanted to give their clients access to experts who could help them navigate cybersecurity risk, protect their organizations, and position themselves for long-term growth.

At the same time, many of the clients we serve stand to benefit from the Forest Systems platform. Because we know and trust the commitment Ed and his team have made to cybersecurity protection, we can feel confident recommending Forest to them.

EVD: I couldn’t agree more. Cybersecurity is extremely complex, and it is a serious problem for family offices and firms. This is why our partnership with FoxPointe is such a beneficial one: We know our clients. We understand their financial affairs. And we work hard to maintain our own cybersecurity to protect them. But we are not cybersecurity experts. We want and need a strategic partner to provide our clients with those services. FoxPointe is that partner.

Charlie, in your work, what does an ideal client engagement look like today?

CW: The ideal client is really one who understands their risk and wants help minimizing it. Having that alignment with a customer is key to being able to make an impact in their business. Fortunately, we are finding these clients more and more frequently because firms are beginning to understand that they are a target, no matter their industry or whether they have sensitive data. They are aware of their competitors getting hit by malicious threat actors and the cost – financial and reputational – that comes with those attacks.

For you, Ed, how do you see AI and automation reshaping core operational processes in financial firms?

EVD: AI will revolutionize accounting. It’s going to be radically different, and so it’s important to understand it, embrace it, and get on board with it. The end result will yield tremendous benefits to all parties involved – no question about it.

Where do traditional institutions — family offices, CPA firms, etc. — struggle the most in modernizing their risk posture? What are the blind spots?

CW: The biggest blind spots we see are not knowing what type of data they have and who has access to it. This is ground zero in the work we do, and many institutions lack even a basic understanding of their data. It’s difficult to assess risk if these fundamental questions haven’t been answered.

EVD: I agree with Charlie on that. Another one I see is when CPA firms or family offices say, “We’re not worried about cybersecurity. Nobody knows we exist. We keep a low profile.” Unfortunately, that’s not the way it works. Every business is at risk, whether they keep a low profile or not. As Charlie mentioned earlier, this is happening less and less as firms learn more about the potential risks, but it does still happen.

When it comes to cybersecurity, what’s keeping your clients up at night in 2025? And what do you wish more of them understood?

CW: Many of our clients are worried about being the target of malicious threat actors and the financial and reputational damage that comes with an attack. Ransomware attacks due to a lack of employee knowledge relative to the risk of emails, texts, etc. are also concerning. Everyone is a target, and clients are now seeing this as their peers and competitors get hit on a routine basis.

EVD: Agreed. We’re going to find out over time how much and how well clients are addressing the issue of cybersecurity within their firms. Many think they are addressing it because they are outsourcing the whole responsibility to their IT person – the person who installs their hardware and things like that. But in our experience, most of those individuals are not qualified to be cybersecurity experts, and that’s leaving a lot of firms vulnerable.

Trust is everything in your world. How do you build and maintain trust — with clients, partners, and within your own teams?

CW: By doing the right thing. We don’t nickel and dime our clients. If we say we are going to do something, we do it, no matter the financial ramifications.

EVD: Charlie makes a great point. I would also add that building trust is a constant process. We foster it every day, in everything we do. And starting initiatives like a cybersecurity partnership with a firm like FoxPointe is a classic example of that.

To learn more about Charlie Wood, Partner & Practice Lead at FoxPointe Solutions, please read his bio here. To learn more about Ed Van Deman, CEO & Founder at Forest Systems, read his bio here or connect with Ed on LinkedIn.