SOC 2 software, auditors, and planning resources

Start with your scope

Questions to settle first

• Which report type, criteria, systems, and period did the buyer request?
• What evidence can your existing systems produce, and who owns the gaps?
• Which firm will perform the examination, and what work is outside its scope?

AICPA SOC resources provides the framework owner's description. Product and provider coverage below comes from public listing sources and should be checked for your intended scope.

Evaluate compliance software with a repeatable demo · Choose a SOC 2 auditor

Prepare the work before buying tools

Write down the report your customer requests, the service it covers, and the delivery date. Ask the CPA firm to confirm the criteria, report type, period, and examination scope. Use those decisions to organize the evidence work.

1. Describe the service boundary, systems, owners, and important third-party dependencies.
2. Inventory the policies and recurring controls already operating, then assign owners to gaps.
3. Agree how evidence will be collected, reviewed, retained, and made available to the examination team.
4. Check the proposed schedule against evidence availability and planned system changes.
5. Obtain a scoped examination proposal separately from software and readiness services.

Who owns what?

Your team owns the service description, control operation, evidence, and remediation. A readiness adviser can help prepare the program. Software can organize records and checks. The CPA firm owns its independent examination and report. Confirm these responsibilities in writing when a package combines services.

Use the auditor selection guide and download the proposal comparison before meeting shortlisted firms.

What to ask the software vendor

Ask the vendor to show a requirement, its mapped control, an owner, and a real review history using sanitized data. Then test an exception and an export. Use the software evaluation guide and demo scorecard to record what the quoted plan includes.

Plan the recurring evidence work and assign sources, owners, and review dates in the evidence planner.