By: Ross Fortuno
SAV Associates has built its reputation on a deceptively simple premise: risk, when understood and managed, can become a strategic asset rather than a lurking liability. From its base in Toronto, the firm advises organizations across North America on safeguarding their operations, data, and reputations in a digital economy where a single breach can undo years of work. For its chief executive officer, Sanjay Chadha, the mission no longer centers only on tightening firewalls; it now focuses on convincing business owners that cybersecurity belongs alongside cash flow, supply chains, and customer trust as a core pillar of long-term value.
That argument continues to gain weight from the numbers. Analysts estimate that global cybercrime costs will run into the trillions of dollars annually by the middle of this decade, a sum that rivals the economic output of major nations. Small and medium-sized enterprises, the backbone of most national economies, now face attack rates once reserved for multinationals, with research suggesting that a large share of global cyberattacks target smaller businesses, which are viewed as “high-value, low-security” opportunities. Against this backdrop, Chadha’s message to owners remains blunt: “If you still treat cybersecurity as a discretionary IT line item, you are misreading the risk landscape.”
The Hidden Cost of Doing Nothing
Chadha’s vantage point stems from more than two decades in assurance, internal audit, and risk advisory, including leading large-scale internal audit and risk management projects before co-founding SAV Associates. Over the past decade, the firm has expanded from a traditional accounting and assurance practice into a multidisciplinary advisory group offering cyber audits, technology risk assessments, and security-focused compliance services for organizations in highly regulated sectors. That evolution, he argues, mirrors a broader shift in how boards and owners think about risk: “The question is not whether you can afford cybersecurity. It is whether you can afford a breach.”
Evidence from recent years demonstrates the costly consequences of inaction. Studies of small-business cyber incidents show that attacks can cost organizations from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of dollars, with average losses per incident running into tens of thousands. Other surveys indicate that a significant share of small businesses close within months of a serious cyberattack because they cannot absorb the financial shock, operational disruption, and reputational damage that follow. Chadha points to those figures when he meets reluctant owners: “Every time you defer an IT audit or ignore a patch, you are effectively betting the company against increasingly sophisticated adversaries.”
From Threat Prevention to Competitive Advantage
SAV Associates centers its cybersecurity philosophy on prevention. Rather than relying primarily on incident detection after the fact, its teams focus on mapping attack vectors, closing security gaps, and building governance structures that reduce the likelihood and impact of a breach. The firm’s risk advisory group conducts comprehensive IT audits, vulnerability assessments, and penetration testing to identify weaknesses attackers could exploit, including outdated software, misconfigured cloud environments, and poorly managed vendor access.
Technical work, in Chadha’s view, always connects back to boardroom strategy. SAV Associates designs risk management frameworks that prompt organizations to quantify cyber exposures in business terms, including lost revenue, regulatory fines, legal costs, and erosion of stakeholder trust. “Once owners see cyber risk expressed like any other financial risk, they understand that strengthening controls is not a sunk cost. It is a risk-adjusted investment in business continuity and stakeholder confidence,” he says. Internal analyses of incident trends indicate that the aggregate cost of business cybercrime has surged in recent years, reinforcing the argument that proactive defense makes financial sense, rather than serving only as a cautious safeguard.
Culture, Compliance, and the Human Factor
Work at the firm extends beyond systems and software. SAV Associates routinely trains employees to recognize phishing attempts, follow data-handling policies, and respond quickly to suspicious activity, indicating that the majority of incidents still involve some element of human error. Cybercriminals increasingly rely on convincing social engineering schemes, often enhanced by automation, to exploit staff who may not see themselves as part of the security perimeter. “Technology alone will not save you,” Chadha insists. “A single distracted employee can bypass the best-designed controls.”
At the same time, the firm helps clients navigate a dense and evolving compliance landscape, from privacy rules that govern personal data to sector-specific security expectations for financial, professional, and services firms. Advisory teams support organizations seeking independent security attestations and certifications, and they present compliance as a signal of trust to customers, partners, and regulators rather than a purely procedural exercise. “Certification is not just paperwork,” Chadha argues. “It tells the market that you take data protection and operational resilience seriously, and that can guide customers when they decide whom to trust.”
A Call to Owners: Lead From the Top
For all the technical nuance, Chadha’s appeal to business owners focuses squarely on leadership. Surveys indicate that a significant proportion of small and mid-sized firms still lack mature cybersecurity programs, despite the increasing frequency and cost of attacks. In conversations with founders and executives, he urges them to treat cyber strategy as a board-level issue, assign clear responsibility for technology risk, and link security objectives to overall growth plans. “Cybersecurity is no longer an IT project. It is a leadership decision that will shape whether your business survives the next decade,” he says.
SAV Associates’ mission aims to ensure that decision-making is informed, deliberate, and proactive. By reframing cybersecurity spending as an investment in resilience, continuity, and trust, the firm positions its clients to withstand future attacks and to compete more confidently in a digital-first economy. In Chadha’s view, organizations that recognize this early and act accordingly will avoid catastrophic losses and help define what a secure, modern business looks like in the years ahead.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. For specific guidance on your business’s cybersecurity needs, please consult a qualified cybersecurity expert or legal professional.
