System and Organization Controls (SOC) Reporting (SSAE18)

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SOC 1

SOC 2

ISAE 3000/ ISAE 3402

SOC 3

CSAE 3000 / CSAE 3416

Type-1 / Type-2

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Phase-1

Kick off Deck
Project plan (Timelines and detailed deliverables based on identified objectives)

Phase-2

Performing gap analysis for identified objectives and also SOC controls and risks. Provide solution for identified gaps

Phase-3

Control design and documentation

Phase-4

Perform testing and share final issue log

Phase-5

Draft SOC Report
Final SOC report

BUILD TRUST WITH SOC!

In current scenario of emerging technologies, most of the organizations outsource few aspects of their business to vendors which can either include performing a specific task or replacing an entire business function. Vendors can handle various functions like customer support, financial technology, data storage, software development etc. With all these advantages, organizations should also consider various inherent risks associated with outsourcing.

FAQ Related to Audit

SOC 1 financial reporting controls

Financial services – Custodial services
Healthcare claims processing
Payroll processing
Payment Processing

Cloud ERP service
Data center colocation
IT systems management

SOC 2/SOC 3 operational controls

Enterprise cloud e-mail
Cloud collaboration
Software-as-a-service-(SaaS)- based HR services
SaaS enterprise system housing third-party data
Any service where topics such as security, availability, and privacy are areas of concern

Domain	Trust Services Principle	Applicability
Security	Under this Trust service principle, the SOC scoped IT system and Business services are protected against unauthorized access that addresses physical and logical both ways of access.	Most commonly requested area of coverage Security Criteria are also incorporated into the other Principles because security controls provide a foundation for the other domains Applicable to all outsourced environments, particularly where enterprise users require assurance regarding the service provider’s security controls for any system, nonfinancial or financial
Availability	This trust service principle ensure that the IT and Business system should be available for operation and provide services as committed or agreed with the client and respected stake holders.	Second most commonly requested area of coverage, particularly where disaster recovery is provided as part of the standard service offering Most applicable where enterprise users require assurance regarding processes to achieve system availability SLAs as well as disaster recovery which cannot be covered as part of SAS 70 or SOC 1 reports
Confidentiality	This trust service principle addresses that the Information which are designated as confidential should be protected adequately as committed or agreed by the stakeholders.	Most applicable where the user requires additional assurance regarding the service provider’s practices for protecting sensitive business information
Processing Integrity	This trust service principle addresses that the System processing is complete, accurate, timely and authorized.	Potentially applicable for a wide variety of non- financial, and financial scenarios wherever assurance is required as to the completeness, accuracy, timeliness, and authorization of system processing
Privacy	This trust service principle ensures that the Personal information is adequately collected, stored, used, disclosed and purged in compliance with the commitments as per the user entity’s privacy notice and by setting up a criterion set forth in normally accepted privacy principles in accordance with AICPA.	Most applicable where the service provider interacts directly with end users, and gathers their personal information Provides a strong mechanism for demonstrating the effectiveness of controls for a privacy program

Audit Preparation	Audit
Define audit scope, and overall project time line	Provide overall project plan
Identify existing or required controls through discussions with management, and review of available documentation	Complete advance data collection before on-site work to accelerate the audit process
Perform readiness review to identify gaps requiring management attention	Conduct on-site meetings, and testing
Communicate prioritized recommendations to address any identified gaps	Complete off-site analysis of collected information
Hold working sessions to discuss alternatives, and remediation plans	Conduct weekly reporting of project status, and any identified issues
Verify that gaps have been closed before beginning the formal audit phase	Provide a draft report for management review, and electronic, and hard copies of the final report
Determine the most effective audit, and reporting approach to address the service provider’s external requirements	Provide an internal report for management containing any overall observations, and recommendations for consideration

A SOC 2 Type 1 audit is an audit report containing procedures and controls prepared at a particular point of time. It is generally the design of controls report which evaluates the design on controls put into operations at a point of time. A SOC 2 Type 2 audit reports audits the operating effectiveness of the controls throughout a declared time period, between 6 months and one year. It provides the highest level of assurance to all customers and clients.

SOC 2 preparation usually happens in a few stages. First, your company should identify all “key systems” and perform a gap analysis against all requirements documented in the Trust Services Principles and Criteria. Next, existing security controls should be identified and policies and procedures should be written to meet all requirements. This can take anywhere from a few weeks to up to 6 months, depending on the size and maturity of your company. At this point you are ready for the SOC 1 Type I audit. A SOC 2 Type II audit is typically performed 6 months later.

Traditional SAS 70	SOC 1	SOC 2	SOC 3
Auditor’s Opinion	Auditor’s Opinion	Auditor’s Opinion	Auditor’s Opinion
-	Auditor’s Opinion	Management Assertion	Management Assertion
Assertion System Description (including controls)	System Description (including controls)	System Description (including controls)	System Description (including controls)
Control objectives	Control objectives	Criteria	Criteria (referenced)
Control activities	Control activities	Control activities	-
Tests of operating effectiveness	Tests of operating effectiveness	Tests of operating effectiveness	-
Results of tests	Results of tests	Results of tests	-
Other Information (if applicable)	Other Information (if applicable)	Other Information (if applicable)	-

Streamlined Audit Process :-

There are several requests made by clients to service organisations to share the details of their internal policies and controls.In between these requests, they also receive requests related to audit the service organization. Sharing a single,Comprehensive control report to their clients will help service organizations in :-

Reducing the time spent internally in assisting and responding to multiple auditor requests.
Providing an independent and standardized report which is readily provided to assist clients.

Regulatory Necessity :-

Organizations, when scrutinized by their regulators are asked to showcase the evidence on how they manage the risks and controls which are related to Third Party service providers. Let’s take an example of a third party management which was subjected to Financial Services Authority’s recent “Dear CEO” letter. As far our experience is concerned, SOC Report is the most demanded requirement due to its diligence process.

Competitive Advantage :-

SOC Report focuses on the details of the services provided along with policies, procedures and controls that service organization has in place. Demands for SOC Report within firms are increasing rapidly which adds a competitive advantage having independent assurance over their systems.

Requirement for a Parent Company :-

SOC Report is asked by the parent company as an evidence to check whether control environment is in place or not. Types of report – Type1 and Type2 is specified when the client requests it.

SOC for Cyber Security

It covers Cyber controls as expressed by a company's organization-wide cyber risk management program.

SOC 1

Controls within a service organization related to their client's internal controls over financial reporting.

SOC 2

Controls to address information systems around 5 trust service criteria namely security, availability, confidentiality, privacy and processing integrity

SOC 3

Controls to address information systems around 5 trust service criteria namely security, availability, confidentiality, privacy and processing integrity

Featured Resources

How regular you are required to perform a SOC 2 Audit

Typically speaking, (and whereas there's no onerous and quick rule), SOC two reports needed annually from service organizations

Importance of Vulnerability Scans and Penetration tests in SOC Report

The evolvement of technology has increased the practice of outsourcing business

SOC 2 Audits & HITRUST CSF Assessments

As a tending organization – or supplier of services to the broader tending arena – you’ve most likely stumble upon the SOC 2 HITRUST topic

SOC Reporting and COVID 19

COVID-19, the most buzzed word these days, a virus that has not only impacted health of the humans but has also affected

SOC (USA) and ISAE (UK) Attestation standards

Usually, when you look out to get an independent controls attestation for your organization by a third party service auditor,

SOC 2 vs ISO 27001 Audit

As we talk about the two auditing standards, we should keep in mind that both are information security standards and involve an external audit performed with an intent of keeping your and client’s data safe

Understanding a SOC Report

In current scenario of emerging technologies, most of the organizations outsource few aspects of their business to vendors

History of SOC reporting

This blog helps you understand the history and background of SOC reporting and a brief overview of how it came into existence and evolved as a way of addressing risks associated with outsourcing services.

Advantages of SOC Reporting

In today’s world, you would hardly find an organization that does not outsource at least one function or component of their control environment to a third-party service provider.

Do You Need a SOC Audit? Three Tips for Determining Your Reporting Needs

In recent years regulators have transitioned toward control reporting standards that are more specific to the service offering provided by the service organization.

What is SOC 2 ? Expert Advice you need to know

In this article, we will cover some common questions that come up related to SOC 2 reports. SOC 2 compliance does not have to be difficult although with some of the terminology,

Overview of a SOC 3 Report

Over the last decade, companies have started to see outsourcing as a way of reducing costs and improving inefficiencies which lead to a rapid growth in outsourcing of software as service and other cloud-based technologies.

SOC 2 Audit for Amazon AWS Environments

With the migration to the cloud happening at record pace, thousands of companies are currently being needed to become SOC 2 compliant every year

SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria

Let’s take a deep dive into the SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria and help you with a clear and transparent understanding as you start the process of a SOC 2 attestation.

The Persisting Challenges of SOC 2 Reporting

Information technology plays an important role in day to day functioning of organisations and in light of recent COVID-19 situation, resilient IT structure proved helpful to carry out basic business operations in IT and service industry.

SOC 1 Report

This query has been heard many times that -What is SOC 1 report? and from more than 20 years it has been trend by many organizations to outsource certain activities or business process to other organizations,

Who can perform a SOC Audit?

As the requirement to receive SOC 1 or SOC 2 reports as part of a contract, request for proposal (RFP), or security program increases as a barrier to receiving major clients,

SOC 1 vs SOC 2

A SOC 1 (Service Organization Control 1) report gives your company’s user entities some assurance that their financial information is being handled safely and securely.

Difference between CSAE 3416 and AT-C Section 320

In order to differentiate between CSAE 3416 and AT-C Section 320, AASB quoted by saying,

SOC 2 vs. PCI DSS Compliance

In the era of rising technologies and increasing dependencies on network systems, on-line information security could be a massive concern for any individual/organization

SOC 2 for Startups

Security has been an all-time concern for the business organizations which has become more significant in rapidly changing technology world with increasing reliance on the cloud infrastructure

SOC report

SOC 1

SOC 2

SOC 2+

SOC 3

AICPA Trust Services Criteria 2018 FREE Download

Click on the link below to for a FREE Download the latest version of the AICPA Trust Services Criteria.

our team

Sanyam Goel

CPA(USA),CA, B.com(Hons)

sanyamgoel@accorppartners.com

Mayank K.

MBA - IT
Certification : CISA, GDPR-DPO, CPISI, ITIL

mayank@accorppartners.com

Pankaj Goenka

CCA,LL.B,B.com

sanyamgoel@accorppartners.com

our team

Sample Report

Dashboard

Project plan

our Client

CASE STUDIES

This Stream includes all of our Case Studies Flipbooks

SOC Audit Case Study for a Payroll Process

This query has been heard many times by different organization that -What is SOC 1 report?

View Case Study
ABC Ltd - SOC 2 Readiness Assessment Case Study

ABC Ltd provides hosted platforms services using secure and reliable cloud technologies...

View Case Study
SOC Case Study for SAAS company

Accorp performed SOC 1 and SOC 2 audit for Simplain Software Solutions LLC. This was the 1st time that simplain was going for a SOC audit and hence they wanted us to perform readiness assessment for the control environment. While performing the readiness assessment, some of the gaps in Simplain’s Information security policies and procedures were identified and few recommendations were given to improve the IT processes for domains like incident management, service request management, etc.

View Case Study
Iron Mountain Uses a Single Assessor for Agile Expansion

View Case Study
Complete Discovery Source: Differentiates Business With ISO 27001 Certification

View Case Study
LITIGATION POWERHOUSE SHOOK, HARDY & BACON

View Case Study
Solidifying The Patient Experience

View Case Study

Applicable Standards
Canadian Only	SOC 1	CSAE 3000 and CSAE 3416
	SOC 2/3	CSAE 3000
	SOC For Cyber
Canadian and U.S.	SOC 1	Canadian: CSAE 3416 and CSAE 3000
	SOC 2/3	U.S.: AT-C Section 105,205 and 320 Canadian : CSAE 3000
	SOC for cyber	U.S.: AT-C Section 105 and 205
Canadian and International	SOC 1	Canadian: CSAE 3416 and CSAE 3000 International : ISAE 3000 and ISE 3402
	SOC 2/3	Canadian : CSAE 3000
	SOC for cyber	International : ISAE 3000
Canadian, U.S. and International	SOC 1	Canadian : CSAE 3000 and CSAE 3416 U.S. : AT-c Sections 105, 205 and 320 International : ISAE 3000 and ISAE 3402/td>
	SOC 2/3	Canadian: CSAE 3000 U.S.: AT-C Sections 105 and 205 International: ISAE 3000
	SOC for cyber

Our industry specialization

Our years of experience across industries runs deep while we maintain a constant lookout for what's next. See what we deliver in your sector.

System and Organization Controls (SOC) Reporting (SSAE18)

California Registered CPA Firm

Sample Policies Download

Enquire Now

SOC 1

SOC 2

ISAE 3000/ ISAE 3402

SOC 3

CSAE 3000 / CSAE 3416

Type-1 / Type-2

Looking for

An Experienced Auditor

Phase-1

Phase-2

Phase-3

Phase-4

Phase-5

BUILD TRUST WITH SOC!

FAQ Related to Audit

SOC 1 financial reporting controls

SOC 2/SOC 3 operational controls

Streamlined Audit Process :-

Regulatory Necessity :-

Competitive Advantage :-

Requirement for a Parent Company :-

SOC for Cyber Security

SOC 1

SOC 2

SOC 3

Featured Resources

SOC report

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- Global Head of Audit and Compliance,

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Explore Solutions By Standard

PCI DSS.

ISO 27001.

GDPR.

HIPAA.

AICPA Trust Services Criteria 2018 FREE Download

our team

Sanyam Goel

Mayank K.

Pankaj Goenka

our team

Sanyam Goel

Mayank K.

Pankaj Goenka

John Doe

Sample Report

Dashboard

Project plan

our Client

CASE STUDIES

SOC Audit Case Study for a Payroll Process

This query has been heard many times by different organization that -What is SOC 1 report?

ABC Ltd - SOC 2 Readiness Assessment Case Study

ABC Ltd provides hosted platforms services using secure and reliable cloud technologies...

SOC Case Study for SAAS company

Iron Mountain Uses a Single Assessor for Agile Expansion

Complete Discovery Source: Differentiates Business With ISO 27001 Certification

LITIGATION POWERHOUSE SHOOK, HARDY & BACON

Solidifying The Patient Experience

Our industry specialization

Cloud

Payroll

BPO/ KPO

Healthcare

Information Technology

Research

Cloud

Payroll