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SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certifications are valuable investments that show customers they can trust your organization’s data security practices. To prove compliance, your company needs to undergo a series of intensive audits. The best ISO 27001 and SOC audit firms can help your organization meet the strict standards associated with these industry-leading cybersecurity frameworks. This guide provides an honest comparison of audit firms and compliance tools for ISO 27001 and SOC 2 attestations.
This list rates the best audit firms from the perspective of mid-sized organizations and enterprises. Only accredited firms that offer ISO certification were considered. This guide also includes top compliance platforms that offer audit prep.
One look at Prescient Security and Assurance’s numbers and it’s clear why it’s at the top of this list. Prescient has more than 1,000 ISO audits and 3,500 SOC 2 audits under its belt. With a global team of more than 200 professionals, this audit firm has the expertise and resources to handle audits for the largest enterprises. Prescient assists organizations with every stage of the ISO 27001 compliance journey, using different auditors for each step to maintain impartiality and accuracy.
Coalfire Certification does one thing and does it exceptionally well. This accredited audit firm focuses on ISO readiness assessments and certification audits only. No frills, consulting, or audit prep services mean complete impartiality. You get exactly what you pay for. If your main concerns are honesty and precision, Coalfire is an excellent choice.
A relative newcomer in the ISO/IEC 27001 certification space, Sensiba LLP offers an ideal balance of cost-effectiveness with experience. Sensiba LLP is mainly an accounting firm, so you can expect friendly, down-to-earth professionals who routinely work with small business owners. At the same time, the company has glowing reviews from enterprises.
Barr Advisory is a full-service infosec consulting firm that has a reputation for exceptional customer service. This team can help organizations at different levels of cybersecurity maturity. It’s a user-friendly choice for business owners who want ISO or SOC 2 certification but aren’t sure what steps to take next. A wide range of services includes pen testing, internal audits, compliance audits, and ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification.
Consilium Labs stands out for two main reasons: Extensive cybersecurity experience and a proprietary compliance platform. This audit firm is a good fit for businesses looking for an all-in-one solution for ISO 27001 and SOC 2 compliance certification. Consilium Labs uses advanced tools for risk assessments, monitoring, readiness reviews, and audit prep.
Insight Assurance has a huge amount of audit expertise, with each professional bringing over 20 years of experience to the table. This isn’t surprising, considering Insight Assurance was founded by executives from the Big Four. This team has a stellar reputation for attention to detail, expert guidance, and professionalism, which explains the 97% client retention rate. The only reason Insight Assurance doesn’t rank higher on this list is that its price tag may be out of reach of some medium-sized businesses.
Compyl excels at helping organizations create and implement cybersecurity frameworks. With Compyl’s workflow automation features, streamlined evidence gathering, and intensive compliance tracking, you can go beyond just seeing your team’s progress toward ISO 27001 compliance. Instead, you can actively customize the framework to integrate security automatically into your processes, generating documentation and task assignments instantly.
Another reason Compyl has such a great reputation with enterprise businesses is that it’s more than a SaaS platform. Businesses benefit from cutting-edge features, but they also get world-class support. This ongoing assistance with everything from framework customization to ISO 27001 compliance questions can save organizations a lot of time and money.
Another popular cybersecurity compliance platform, Sprinto combines excellent features with a user-friendly design. Mid-size businesses like the ready-to-use framework templates for ISO and SOC 2. Automation tools support compliance monitoring, access control, data analytics, and internal audits.
One downside with Sprinto is the lack of customization. Sprinto is like the Apple iPad of compliance software. It’s a breeze to use, but if you need to go beyond surface-level tasks, you have limited options. Considering the complexity of ISO 27001 requirements, not being able to tailor frameworks to your organization’s unique needs can be a major drawback.
There are dozens — perhaps hundreds — of professional auditors in the United States, but not all have the same reputation for accuracy.
Choosing an accredited firm is important for certification. For SOC 2 audits, that means CPA firms backed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. ISO 27001 accreditation comes from the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board. Some non-accredited auditors offer ISO 27001 “advisory” services, but they can’t provide official certification, making their audits far less valuable.
The more time and experience auditors have, the more intimately they know ISO 27001 and SOC 2 frameworks inside and out. This results in more effective recommendations that can streamline your company’s path to certification. This guide focuses on firms that have at least five to 10 years of industry experience.
The best audit firms don’t sugarcoat things or make unrealistic promises. Instead, they provide honest feedback and a realistic list of improvements you can make in preparation for your certification audit.
Beware any auditors who offer to “get you SOC 2 ready in a few weeks.” Both ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II reports require extensive documentation and strong cybersecurity foundations, which take time to achieve.
Beware audit firms that make it seem like their top priority is charging by the hour or finishing the job as soon as possible. Reputable auditors care about accuracy and attention to detail. They may charge more, but they tell you exactly what to expect and deliver high-quality results.
Data security compliance is important for organizations of every size, from small production facilities in the DoD supply chain to global enterprises. For this reason, excellent auditors should not discount small or medium-sized businesses. Outstanding audit firms are friendly, professional, and focused on helping the client.
This last factor is technically a combination of the rest. Trustworthy, experienced, dedicated, and friendly auditors tend to garner top ratings from satisfied businesses. This list prioritized firms and compliance tools with at least 50 reviews and an average customer score of 4.5 stars or higher.
If it weren’t for pricing, the ‘Big Four’ accounting firms would dominate every audit list. But while some enterprises can afford to hire PwC or KPMG, not all businesses can. Many high-quality firms are more affordable for smaller businesses.
Businesses in every industry are turning to state-of-the-art platforms like Compyl to streamline audit prep, improve compliance, visualize stakeholders, and automate workflows. This can eliminate the need to hire outside consultants for preliminary stages and lower your total expenses for the audit and certification process. At Compyl, we’re happy to help you analyze your cybersecurity maturity level and connect you with the best ISO and SOC audit firms for your needs. Contact us today.
