Preparing for a SOC Audit With Strong Internal Controls
A SOC audit evaluates how your business protects its information, manages risks, and maintains controls over its systems and operations. Preparing for an audit involves more than gathering documents at the last minute. Strong internal controls should be established, documented, tested, and maintained as part of regular business operations.
At Oberle Law, PLLC, I can help address your legal concerns involving contracts, business operations, compliance, and risk management. Working with a business law lawyer early in the SOC audit process can help you identify legal concerns within your internal controls and address documentation issues before they become larger problems.
Located in Bohemia, New York, I serve clients throughout the state. Reach out to my firm today to schedule a free consultation and discuss how I can help your business prepare for an audit.
Establish Clear Internal Controls
A SOC audit assesses whether your business's internal controls are properly designed and followed. Identifying the responsible parties and reviewing contracts, employee obligations, confidentiality terms, and vendor relationships can help you prepare for the audit.
An experienced New York audit preparation lawyer can assist with reviewing these legal aspects and identifying provisions that should be documented in company policies or agreements. Several areas that deserve particular attention include the following:
Access controls: Limit access to systems and information based on each employee's responsibilities and business needs.
Employee responsibilities: Establish clear expectations for handling confidential information, company systems, and security procedures.
Vendor controls: Review agreements with service providers that access company systems or sensitive information.
Document retention: Establish consistent procedures for maintaining records that demonstrate how controls operate.
Incident procedures: Create written processes for responding to security incidents, policy violations, and other control failures.
Establishing these controls provides a foundation for the documentation and testing that follow. It also helps your business maintain consistent practices that can be reviewed and supported with clear records.
Document Your Procedures
Your written policies and procedures should accurately reflect how your business operates and provide records for an auditor's review. My firm can help you review your policies and agreements to identify updates and confirm that contractual obligations align with their actual procedures. Some useful documentation can include:
Security policies: Written rules addressing account access, passwords, information handling, and system use.
Employee agreements: Provisions addressing confidentiality, company property, data handling, and other responsibilities.
Vendor agreements: Contract terms that establish responsibilities for protecting information and meeting applicable requirements.
Incident response procedures: Written steps for reporting, investigating, documenting, and addressing incidents.
Training records: Documentation showing when employees received required training and what topics were covered.
Test Your Procedures
Testing your procedures before the audit gives you an opportunity to identify gaps. For example, if your policy requires access reviews, make sure those reviews occur and that you document the results. Before conducting an audit, consider reviewing the following:
User access: Confirm that former employees and individuals who changed positions no longer have inappropriate access.
Vendor compliance: Review whether third-party agreements contain appropriate obligations concerning information and business operations.
Policy compliance: Compare your written policies with the procedures your employees follow.
Record-keeping: Check that important approvals, reviews, training, and incidents have supporting documentation.
Control changes: Document changes made to policies, systems, responsibilities, or procedures.
As an experienced business law lawyer, I can assist with the legal review that accompanies this process. I can evaluate contracts, policies, and other business documents to determine whether they accurately reflect your obligations and internal procedures.
Address Legal Risks Before the Audit
SOC audit preparation can reveal legal issues beyond information security. Contract language, employee obligations, vendor relationships, confidentiality requirements, and corporate policies can all affect how your controls operate.
For example, a service agreement might grant a vendor access to company information without clearly defining responsibilities for protecting it. An employee agreement might also lack provisions addressing confidential business information or the appropriate use of company systems.
Thorough legal reviews can complement your operational preparation. As a business law lawyer, I can help examine your agreements and policies connected to your business practices. My role is to help identify legal concerns and develop documentation that supports your company's operations.
Addressing these issues before the audit gives you time to review agreements, update policies, and correct documentation. Legal review can also help you identify obligations that should be reflected in your internal controls.
Maintain Strong Controls After the Audit
SOC audit preparation shouldn't end when the audit is complete. Internal controls typically require ongoing attention because employees, vendors, systems, contracts, and business operations change over time. By treating your controls as an ongoing responsibility, you can respond more effectively when your procedures change. Regular reviews also help keep your policies and agreements consistent with your current business operations.
My firm can help you with the legal aspects of maintaining these controls, including contract reviews, policy updates, and business documentation. Additionally, I can help address any legal questions that arise when your company changes vendors, employees, systems, or operational procedures. Consider scheduling periodic reviews of the following:
Company policies: Update your policies when your business practices or legal obligations change.
Contracts: Review important agreements when they expire, renew, or change.
Employee access: Reassess access when employees join, leave, or change positions.
Vendor relationships: Reevaluate third-party responsibilities as services or access levels change.
Audit records: Retain appropriate documentation that supports the operation of your controls.
Regular reviews can also help identify gaps before they affect future audits or business operations. Keeping these controls up to date supports consistent practices as your business grows and changes.
Contact a Skilled Business Law Lawyer for Audit Preparation Support
Preparing for a SOC audit requires attention to operational controls and the legal documents that support them. At Oberle Law, PLLC, I strive to help businesses review their policies, contracts, and other legal matters that can affect audit preparation.
Contact me, Attorney Constance Oberle Geoghan, to schedule a free consultation and discuss the steps you can take to strengthen your business's SOC audit preparation. Located in Bohemia, New York, I serve clients throughout the state.
