SOC Reporting: How to Meet Deadlines & Avoid Common SOC Audit Delays
Key Takeaways:
- Ensure all required documents, such as meeting minutes and system configurations, are easily accessible to avoid delays.
- Establish a process to monitor additional requests and respond promptly to keep the audit on track.
- Ensure populations are sourced from reliable systems to minimize manual intervention and auditor scrutiny.
- Discuss required data fields with auditors to ensure exports meet their needs and reduce follow-up questions.
- Communicate availability and designate backup stakeholders to prevent delays during the SOC audit process.
Many organizations today are familiar with System and Organization Controls (SOC) reports, as prospects and customers often require them to meet vendor monitoring requirements. In some cases, clients may request a report by a specific deadline, prompting organizations to rush the process. If your organization faces a tight deadline for issuing a SOC report or if you’re new to SOC reporting, consider the following to avoid delays in finalizing the report:
Preparing Documentation to Avoid SOC Audit Delays
A common challenge during SOC audits is failing to provide requested materials to the auditor on time. This can delay the audit, as these items are essential to demonstrate the design, implementation, and for Type 2 audits, operating effectiveness of the tested controls. Auditors cannot rely solely on discussions with management to complete their assessments.
To avoid delays, organizations should establish mechanisms to retain evidence of controls. This could involve using ticketing systems, shared network folders, or request item systems provided by the auditor.
Key documents that are often difficult to locate include meeting agendas, invites, and minutes, evidence of periodic reconciliations and reviews, and exports or screenshots of system configurations. If these documents are unavailable, the auditor may need to perform alternative, time-consuming procedures to assess control design and effectiveness.
Tracking Auditor Requests & Ensuring Stakeholder Availability
Another item that will occur during the SOC audit is the auditor may request additional information or clarification on previous requests. It’s important to track these requests to ensure they are addressed promptly. At the start of the audit, we recommend that stakeholders meet with the auditor to discuss preferred tracking methods and set expectations for timely responses.
Additionally, during the planning of the audit, it is important that both stakeholders and the auditor communicate their availability. Unexpected absences or unresponsiveness can delay testing and jeopardize the project timeline. If a stakeholder will be unavailable during the audit, backup stakeholders should be identified to ensure actionable items are addressed without delay.
Managing Populations for SOC Audit Success
Providing populations to the auditor is essential for organizations pursuing a Type 2 report. Since this report provides assurance on operating effectiveness, the auditor must perform testing procedures to validate control effectiveness. This typically involves establishing populations and selecting samples to confirm adherence to defined controls. Common populations requested by auditors – depending on scope – include new hires, terminations, new customers, new vendors, development activities, change control tickets, incident tickets, and asset inventories.
A frequent challenge in SOC audits is the organization not knowing where to pull populations from or relying on manual lists. Auditors must assess the completeness and accuracy of these populations. If the population source is not a system export (or if the population is provided in an editable format), the auditor will have to perform additional procedures to ensure the listing is complete and has not been manipulated. This may involve observing the population’s generation or conducting interviews to validate the data, potentially extending the testing timeline.
Another common challenge with populations is that they may not be limited to the appropriate products. Some organizations offer a range of products to customers but only want specific products or subsets tested during the SOC audit. If the organization cannot produce populations specific to the scope of the SOC audit, the auditor may need to perform unplanned data filtering and transformations to create the desired population. This often requires additional time from relevant stakeholders to determine how the data should be filtered, followed by a meeting to validate the final list created by the auditor.
Collaborating With Auditors on Data Exports
Finally, when exporting any populations, stakeholders should discuss the required data fields with the auditor. In many systems, such as ticketing systems, you can usually select which data fields are included in an export. It can save time and be invaluable to show the auditor the system and get direct feedback on which data would be useful. This ensures the export is sufficient and reduces the need for follow-up questions.
Streamline Your SOC Audit Process & Meet Tight Deadlines With Confidence
By addressing these common issues, your organization can stay ahead in the audit process and meet reporting deadlines. If you’re unsure about potential obstacles, ask your auditor about common challenges and how to keep the process running smoothly for a successful outcome.
If your organization is facing a tight deadline for a SOC report or is new to the process, our team is here to assist. We can guide you through every step of the process, from documentation management and stakeholder coordination to data extraction and population management.
For more information, contact a member of our SOC team today.
