What Is the Purpose of a SOC 2 Compliance Checklist?

With a SOC 2 checklist, you can meet the compliance requirements of an audit when testing the privacy and security of your data. Although SOC 2 is a voluntary compliance standard, earning a certificate in compliance gives credibility to your company when it comes to responsibility for handling sensitive data and maintaining a high level of information security.

Compliance Reports and Requirements

For your business to achieve compliance with SOC 2 standards, an independent CPA firm or CPA performs a SOC audit. All controls are evaluated according to the Trust Services Criteria set by the American Institute of CPAs.

What Are the Trust Service Criteria?

Your SOC 2 compliance checklist should address the critical standards of data security established by the AICPA in theTrust Service Criteria. The TSC covers a range of things, from data encryption to physical security.

Security

This is the most common criterion. Security requires businesses to enable firewalls, entity-level controls, access controls and other operational controls that protect applications and data.

Availability

This standard requires your company to meet performance and operational uptime expectations. It involves your procedures for addressing security incidents, performing disaster recovery and monitoring network performance.

Confidentiality

You must demonstrate your capabilities for safeguarding confidential information during its lifecycle with your company. This includes setting access controls for authorized users.

Processing Integrity

The standard of integrity is the accurate, reliable and on-time processing of cloud data and verifiable operations of your systems. This element focuses on quality assurance measures and the tools needed to monitor data processing.

Privacy

All personally identifiable information requires protection from unauthorized access and data breaches. This standard evaluates encryption methods, two-factor authentication practices and access controls.

What Are the 9 Items To Include on a SOC 2 Compliance Checklist?

To be fully prepared for an audit and establish your data security reliability, there are nine elements to include on your checklist. All of your practices, processes and controls should support one or more of the five main TSCs.

1. Select Your Objectives

The first item on the checklist is determining what you are doing with the SOC 2 report. The answers help define your end goals and objectives and could include things like answering a client’s request, expanding operations or improving your security posture against breaches.

2. Identify the Report You Want

You can choose either a Type 1 or Type 2 report. You can make this decision based on the timeline you are working with or the request of your client. Type 1 is recommended for those just starting out in the business and needing reputational reliability. Type 2 is ideal if you already maintain compliance.

3. Define the Criteria That Applies to You

You can demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of your data safety requirements by focusing on the elements that only apply to you. This lets you pare down the SOC 2 compliance checklist according to the TSC that apply to your practices. Security is always a criterion, but most financial services businesses need processing integrity and availability as well.

4. Perform an Internal Risk Assessment

Identify your internal risks, assigning both a likelihood and an impact estimation for each. For every risk, create and deploy controls to mitigate it. Any gaps or oversights when assessing risks leave you vulnerable to data security concerns.

5. Perform Analysis and Remediation

Work through all the practices and procedures in place and compare them to the expectations outlined in checklist requirements and industry best practices. This way, you have current knowledge of what processes are in place and how they compare to SOC 2 standards for certification. Since a SOC 2 audit requires evidence of your security and compliance, collect log reports, screenshots and other documentation to present to the auditor.

6. Set Stage-Appropriate Controls

There are a total of 61 criteria elements across the five TSC of SOC 2 compliance. Put in place internal controls for each individual criterion of your TSC focus. They should be stage-appropriate and relevant to your operations and establish performance expectations and the procedures that achieve these expectations.

8. Take a Readiness Assessment

You can use an independent auditor to conduct a basic readiness assessment to determine your compliance before a full audit. Areas to focus on include:

• Client cooperation
• Gap analysis
• Control matric
• Auditor documentation

The results of anaudit prepinform you of any controls to remap or new ones to implement. You boost the likelihood of a good SOC 2 audit with a practice run.

8. Schedule the SOC 2 Audit

An independent certified auditor will complete your SOC 2 compliance checklist and generate a report for the audit. Work with an auditor with experience with businesses like yours and verifiable credentials.

9. Implement Continuous Monitoring

SOC 2 audits take place each year. Put in place robust monitoring practices to ensure your business is protected as it grows, expands operations, purchases new software or equipment and gains or loses employees.

What Are Best Practices for a SOC 2 Compliance Checklist?

For a complete compliance checklist, there are four areas of practice to keep in mind as you evaluate your data security:

1. System operations and the detection and mitigation of unfollowed procedures and protocols
2. Physical access and the logical controls to restrict unauthorized data access
3. Risk mitigation and the identification and development of mitigation strategies before or after business disruptions
4. Change management and the processes for reducing unauthorized changes

Paying attention to these areas keeps the focus on how you are meeting the TSC.