Software designed to facilitate audits is known as compliance software. However, smaller companies could be caught in a tense situation. Before they can arrange their SOC 2 controls, they first must implement or configure the intricate compliance system. That raises a useful question. When does a tool to reduce compliance work turn into an entirely new venture?
CertAssist resulted from that frustration. The CertAssist founders had worked on compliance audits and implementations in ISO 27001 and SOC 2 frameworks. The creators of this software had to contend with platforms that had many features and integrations, while the companies they worked for employed spreadsheets for the preparation of crucial audit documents. For smaller organizations, simpler SOC 2 compliance software can sometimes be the more practical answer.
Start with the Tasks That Must Be Completed
If you take away the software terminology It becomes much simpler to understand. It is essential that a company understand the Trust Services Criteria. This includes setting appropriate controls, collecting evidence, keeping track of developments and documenting the policies. A platform can organize those actions without needing to connect to every cloud-based service or identity system that the company uses.
Automated integrations certainly have value. Automation can save a large company a lot of time when it comes to collecting data in a dynamic environment. However, this doesn’t mean the same technology is required to be used for SOC 2 in startups. Startups with a compact technology environment may choose to record evidence on their own, rather than maintain numerous integrations.
The cost of the audit and the software are two distinct expenses
Budgeting becomes confusing when companies make every compliance expense one number. SOC 2 costs include more than software. Internal staff spend time preparing policies, addressing weaknesses in control, organizing evidence and collaborating together with the auditor. The independent audit has its own fees as well.
Companies who are researching SOC 2 Certification Cost must also be aware of the terminology differentiating the two: SOC 2 is not a certificate in the sense of ISO 27001. Instead, it creates an independent attestation instead of an ordinary certification. Nevertheless, “certification cost” is commonly used when businesses search for pricing information. Software does not replace an independent auditor, irrespective of the terminology employed in the budget.
The Middle Ground Doesn’t have to be A Spreadsheet
Spreadsheets are often familiar and affordable, however they can become a source of discomfort when multiple spreadsheets are used for communication of policies, control evidence, ownership, and audit information.
The alternative doesn’t need to be a enterprise-level platform. CertAssist displays the SOC 2 controls in a central board, includes editable templates to govern policies and evidence, as well as progress tracking, and auditors can only read. Multi-factor authentication is essential to secure the platform. The price of the platform’s initial launch is $225 monthly. The normal price is $375 a month or $3999 per year.
The same system that minimizes exposure can be accomplished through removing the need for it
CertAssist does not purposely connect to an organization’s operating system. The compliance platform is not granted access to the cloud or identity environment.
This method has its pitfalls. Evidence that could have easily been captured automatically should be provided by the business. If the team is small however, the extra manual work may be reasonable in exchange for simpler setup, lower software expense and less connections to third party sources.
If Complexity Solves a Problem, Buy It
If a company is growing it is possible that manual evidence collection will end up being inefficient. This is when continuous monitoring and extensive integrations can earn their cost.
The aim of a compliance stack isn’t to be the most technological one in the market. The goal is to streamline compliance, preserve evidence that is credible and make independent audits manageable. A good software program should simplify the process. If the implementation of the compliance tool feels like it’s taking longer than the preparation for SOC 2 in itself, then the tool might be overkill.
