Understanding AICPA Audits and Attestations: SSAE 16, SOC 1 vs SOC 2, and Other Standards

Successfully completing a SOC 2 Type 2 audit requires careful planning and execution. Preparation ensures your organization meets compliance standards and avoids delays during the assessment. The four essential steps include:

1. Define the scope: Clearly establish the implementation and assessment boundaries for your SOC 2 Type 2 audit.
2. Implement Common Criteria controls: Apply the necessary controls from the SOC 2 Type 2 controls list.
3. Apply additional required controls: Implement any extra controls that may be required for your organization.
4. Conduct the assessment and report findings: Complete the audit process and generate a comprehensive SOC 2 compliance report.

Meeting the SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria ensures your organization aligns with client expectations for data security and risk management. Efficient implementation requires scoping your audit correctly and prioritizing the controls that matter most for your specific SOC 2 report.

Are you confident your SOC 2 assessment process is fully optimized? Request a consultation to ensure your controls meet the SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria effectively. 

System and Organization Controls (SOC) reports play a critical role in third-party risk management, with SOC 2 standing out as the go-to compliance framework for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers and other service organizations. But even if your team has started down the road to SOC 2 readiness, there’s one step that can make or break your audit success: a SOC 2 gap assessment.

In a digital landscape where trust drives business, startups can’t afford to treat data security as an afterthought. Early-stage companies face intense pressure to prove their reliability—to customers, investors, and partners—all while scaling quickly and managing limited resources. Achieving SOC 2 compliance is more than a checkbox exercise; it’s a strategic signal that your organization takes data protection seriously and is built for sustainable growth.

In today’s interconnected business environment, companies increasingly rely on third-party vendors to enhance their operations, streamline services, and improve efficiencies. However, this dependency comes with significant risks. Third-party risk management (TPRM) has become crucial as organizations seek to protect sensitive data and maintain regulatory compliance. One of the most effective frameworks for managing third-party risk is the Service Organization Control 2 (SOC 2) report. In this blog post, we’ll explore how SOC 2 helps ensure vendor security and bolster third-party risk management.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) businesses handle sensitive information for their clients, thus ensuring robust security measures is critical. One way SaaS companies can demonstrate their commitment to security is through SOC 2 compliance. SOC 2 (System and Organization Controls 2) is a framework that outlines how organizations should manage customer data based on five “trust service criteria”: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. Let’s explore how SOC 2 compliance specifically benefits SaaS providers.

The System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 report, developed by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), has become a crucial standard for evaluating and demonstrating an organization’s commitment to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. These five principles, known as the Five Trust Services Criteria, are the cornerstone of SOC 2 compliance and offer a framework for companies to build and maintain trust with their stakeholders. Keep reading to discover what the Five Trust Services Criteria are and what they mean for your business.

All SOC 2 attestations are audits using the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA’s) System and Organization Controls (SOC) frameworks. Any organization considering SOC compliance must choose between various SOC levels (i.e., SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOC 3) and the Types of SOC audits (i.e., Type 1 or Type 2). Read on to learn what differentiates a SOC 2 Type 1 attestation and SOC 2 Type 2 attestation and which is best for your organization.

SOC 2 Type 1 vs Type 2: Your SOC 2 Guide to Compliance