Service organizations like yours have a responsibility to each of your clients. A SOC report can help your company fulfill specific client inquiries and requests regarding the safeguards around your sensitive business practices. You may be wondering how to properly prepare for a SOC audit.
6 Tips to Prepare for a SOC Audit
- Determine Your Reporting Objectives – What does your user entity what to learn from your SOC audit? Determining what information is needed, will help narrow down the type of report required.
- Determine the Scope of Your Audit – The scope of your audit will vary based on the type of report your company needs to provide, for instance, a SOC 1 report may involve transaction processing, while a SOC 2 audit might focus on infrastructure or software procedures, among other considerations.
- Address Compliance Concerns – Your compliance concerns are dictated by the industries you service and any relevant local, state or federal regulations. A trusted auditing partner can help you address any gaps in your compliance practices.
- Write out Policies and Procedures – Your auditing firm uses your written rules and policies as a standard during your SOC audit. It’s important to make sure that you have clear and definable procedures in place. Having written policies and procedures as reference for your employees can help ensure that compliance expectations are met, and help avoid penalties for non-compliance.
- Complete a Readiness Assessment – Think of a SOC readiness assessment as a warm up for the real deal. This is a helpful tool to determine your preparedness for your upcoming SOC audit. Your trusted auditing firm can help you complete a readiness assessment and sort out any potential hang-ups ahead of time.
- Hire a Trusted Auditing Firm – A trusted auditing firm, like Auditwerx, will help guide you through the auditing process. They can also help with preparing your company for your report to ensure the best results.
SOC Experience You Can Rely On
Our skilled and experienced audit staff have the knowledge you need to ensure that your business remains complaint with the latest standards. To learn more about how we can assist service organizations like yours, contact us to start a conversation today!
