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VIEWpoint Issue 1 | 2023
2023 Compliance Trends: Staying Ahead in an Evolving Regulatory E...
2023 Tax Calendar
You have been in business for years. Now for the first time, you are being asked for your SOC 2 report by a current or potential customer. You are probably wondering what range of cost and effort is required, and if it is worth it. Don’t worry, you are not alone.
It’s becoming increasingly common for organizations to request their vendors to undergo a Service Organization Control (SOC) 2 examination to ensure their sensitive information is being appropriately protected by your business. Many now require a report as part of their due diligence process before doing business with a company.
Developed by The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), a SOC 2 exam helps provide organizations a way to show the design and effectiveness of their internal controls. It is based on the AICPA’s trust services criteria of security required, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy. It applies to nearly all businesses collecting, storing, processing or sharing customer data.
To complicate matters, there are two types of SOC 2 exams:
Type 1: Evaluates an organization’s controls to determine if they are suitably designed and fairly stated at a single point in time.
Type 2: Evaluates the same controls as a Type 1, but additionally examines how well those controls performed over a period of time, typically 6-12 months.
Aside from the fact your customers might be requiring you to provide a SOC 2 report in order to continue doing business with them, there are more benefits to having an exam completed.
Having a SOC 2 report on hand and ready to go gives you the edge over competitors who can’t show compliance. It demonstrates your commitment to data security and will help ensure confidential information is protected. Your team will also be able to answer control-related questions from customers more efficiently. It’s an effective way to assess and ensure compliance with a wide range of regulations and standards. Beyond that, it can help provide valuable insights into your organization’s risk and security posture.
Achieving compliance serves as a powerful external measure of competency and credibility, enabling organizations to feel confident about using your services, but the process can be slightly stressful if you are not prepared. Here are five tips to ensure your readiness for a SOC 2 exam.
In a world where organizations are leveraging technology more than ever to deliver their products and services, security integrity is of the utmost importance to your customers. Although it may seem daunting, a SOC 2 exam can provide significant benefits to your business’s operations and bottom line.
Doeren Mayhew can help from the onset of the process with our readiness assessment offering. We will help select the right SOC examination type to meet your organization’s objectives, while ensuring you have the right controls in place for your systems’ descriptions — so you can get your SOC 2 seal of approval. Contact our IT Advisory and Security Group today.
This publication is distributed for informational purposes only, with the understanding that Doeren Mayhew is not rendering legal, accounting, or other professional opinions on specific facts for matters, and, accordingly, assumes no liability whatsoever in connection with its use. Should the reader have any questions regarding any of the news articles, it is recommended that a Doeren Mayhew representative be contacted.
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