The regulatory landscape for financial services is tightening and it’s not just the big players under scrutiny. Small and mid-sized firms are now expected to meet the same cyber compliance standards as their enterprise counterparts, with oversight from APRA, ASIC, insurers, and other governing bodies increasing across the board.
Yet while the mandates are non-negotiable, the resources often aren’t. Most SMBs in the sector handle sensitive data, from credit histories and bank account details to personally identifiable information (PII), without the luxury of large-scale security teams or endless budgets.
The result? A growing pressure to demonstrate compliance, mitigate risk, and stay audit-ready, all while running lean.
This blog explores how financial services SMBs can navigate that challenge with practical, cost-effective strategies that align with key frameworks like the ASD Essential Eight and ISO 27001 without overextending their teams or budgets.
What makes compliance costly and how to control it
For large institutions, staying compliant often means investing in enterprise-grade tools, dedicated governance teams, and in-house expertise. But for financial services SMBs, that kind of overhead just isn’t realistic.
The real cost of compliance tends to come from the inefficiencies: manual processes that drag out, audits that get delayed due to missing documentation, and a lack of clear ownership across security, risk, and operations.
Fortunately, there are smarter, more accessible ways to build and maintain compliance posture without overspending:
- Policy automation
Many financial services SMBs already have access to powerful automation capabilities through their existing Microsoft 365 licences, they’re just not being used to their full potential. Tools like Power Automate, Power Apps, and SharePoint Online can be leveraged to streamline and operationalise key processes such as policy onboarding, approval workflows, or acknowledgement tracking, without investing in third-party GRC platforms. This not only reduces manual effort and error but creates a repeatable process that supports both compliance and audit readiness. - Simplified frameworks
Frameworks like the ASD Essential Eight are designed for staged maturity, meaning you can start small with controls like application patching or MFA enforcement, and build over time. Similarly, ISO 27001 doesn’t have to be adopted in full straight away. Working with a partner like TMLI can help you map essential controls to your operational reality and prioritise what drives the most security and compliance impact first. - Targeted gap assessments
A focused review, particularly within your Microsoft 365 environment, can surface misconfigurations, missing controls, or underutilised features that are already included in your licensing. For example, many SMBs don’t realise they can boost compliance simply by enabling Microsoft Defender policies, tightening access controls, or using Secure Score insights to guide remediation. These targeted reviews help you close the most critical gaps first and demonstrate measurable progress to auditors and insurers alike. - Modular support
The Missing Link’s SmartServices offering allows you to scale your compliance efforts with support that’s tailored to your environment, without committing to full-time headcount or bloated tools. As data protection becomes a compliance priority, especially around PII and financial information, our modular support can also include services focused on data governance, classification, and DLP. Using tools like Microsoft Purview, we can help you discover where sensitive data resides, how it’s used, and where the risks are, offering a clear, actionable roadmap for improving data handling practices.
The goal isn’t to spend more, it’s to spend smarter, and align your efforts to the areas of greatest business and regulatory risk.
ISO 27001 and Essential Eight: Smart foundations
Compliance doesn’t have to start big but it does need to start smart. For financial services SMBs, two frameworks stand out as practical foundations: the ASD Essential Eight and ISO 27001.
- 1. Start lean with the Essential Eight
- This framework, recommended by the Australian Signals Directorate, offers clear, actionable controls that help mitigate the most common cyber threats. Controls like patch management, MFA, and daily backups deliver high-impact risk reduction without unnecessary complexity.
- 2. Use ISO 27001 as a roadmap
- ISO 27001 can be resource-intensive to fully implement, but for many SMBs, it serves just as powerfully as a roadmap for growing security maturity over time and as a signal of trust for clients, partners, and insurers.
- 3. Align your approach with expert support
- The Missing Link’s ISO 27001 services and ASD 8 assessments are designed to meet you where you are. With tailored guidance, you can build practical, right-sized compliance foundations without overextending your internal team.
Compliance done smarter, not harder
For financial services SMBs, maintaining compliance shouldn’t mean overextending your team or investing in heavy frameworks you can’t sustain. That’s where SmartServices from The Missing Link comes in, offering flexible, fractional support across key areas like patching, policy development, and audit documentation.
You can scale support as needed, aligning to project phases, internal capacity, or upcoming audits, without the cost or complexity of full-time hires or enterprise-grade GRC platforms.
The key is focus. Start with what matters most to your risk profile, build momentum, and avoid the overwhelm of trying to tick every box at once.
The cost of doing nothing
Delaying action on compliance often feels easier until it becomes expensive. The risks aren’t hypothetical:
- APRA CPS 234 breaches have already triggered major penalties and regulatory scrutiny
- Lack of ISO 27001 alignment can disqualify you from enterprise and government contracts
- A ransomware incident could disrupt operations, damage your reputation, and erode customer trust overnight
Compared to the cost of recovery or regulatory fallout, early investment in basic readiness is not just smarter, it’s essential.
Your first 3 steps toward cost‑effective compliance
You don’t need to overhaul everything at once. Here’s how to get started without overcommitting:
- Run a low-cost Essential Eight maturity check
Understand where your baseline sits, and which controls will deliver the biggest impact first. - Book a SmartServices review
Tailor your compliance support based on your actual risks, goals, and internal capability. - Align with the right frameworks
Use ISO 27001 and ASD Essential Eight as guides, not obstacles.
Compliance doesn’t have to come with enterprise-sized price tags.
Speak to The Missing Link about scalable compliance support built for financial services SMEs. We’ll help you reduce risk, meet your obligations, and stay audit-ready without blowing your budget.
