Being SOC 2 certified gives confidence to prospects in your product and the organization's security. Further, it also helps to ensure that your organization is following different majors to secure confidential data.
SOC 2 is a set of audit criteria used for assessing whether an organization has checks and balances in place for handling confidential information to deal with internal and external threats. System and Organizational Control Level 2 (SOC 2) certification help in building trust in prospects to entering a new market where SOC 2 certification is mandatory (e.g., US).
SOC 2 audits are regulated by AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) and performed by an auditor at a licensed, certified public accountants (CPA) firm, mainly the firm which specializes in information security. It can also be performed by independent auditors who are CPA certified.
While looking at the website, social reviews and asking in your network if they have worked with the firm that does SOC 2 audits are preliminary. There are various other factors such as price, experience/specialization, and process of conducting SOC 2 audit that you should also look for. Further, any firm conducting SOC 2 audit must be AICPA certified.
Experience (geography, industry, company size, etc.) is one of the important factors you should look at in any firm's previous work and clients portfolio before choosing them. You can check whether the firm has clients from your industry or not. Further, to see more relevance, you can look if the firm has worked on the audit of companies that are of the same size as yours.
A firm that has experience in working with clients of similar industries and the same size can be advantageous as they possess the experience as well as understand the nuisance of business. Also, this makes collaboration with them smooth. You can check the firm team's expertise and certifications that they possess.
Another factor that plays a key role is the price of the service. A firm that provides quality service, affordable and competitive pricing is the best pick for you. However, large companies such as PwC and others among Big Fours are expensive and may not suit smaller organizations' budgets. There are many smaller companies that offer the same services at prices that may fit the budget of the smaller companies.
You need to understand the market rate for the SOC 2 audit service (it varies a lot and depends on many factors) and set aside a budget for the audit.
Holbrook & Manter is an Ohio-based firm that provides diverse services such as audit & accounting, trust & estate planning, risk advisory, and tax services. They assist clients in the areas of agribusiness, construction, hospitality, retail, manufacturing as well as serve startups from different industries.
Holbrook & Manter was founded in 1919 and employed a diverse group of professionals. Its team comprises experienced auditors and CPAs as well as professionals with certified information technology professionals (CITP), certified data privacy solutions engineer (CDPSE), certified fraud examiner (CFE), certified information systems security professionals (CISSP), certified information systems auditors (CISA) and ISO27001 Lead Auditor certifications.
Barnes Dennig is a certified public accounting and accounting firm that provides accounting, consulting assurance, and advisory services to businesses. It serves businesses from a wide range of industries such as construction, healthcare, manufacturing, real estate, and distribution.
As certified public accountants, Barnes Dennig professionals possess great expertise and understanding of AICPA's SOC requirements.
PwC is considered one of the Big Four accounting firms, along with Deloitte, EY, and KPMG. PwC offers a wide range of services such as accounting, consulting, and risk assurance services. It has a presence in over 150 countries and employs more than 200000 professionals across the globe.
PwC professionals can bring expertise and insights to your reporting process and help you to navigate through the complexities of SOC reporting. Further, they can help in preparing a customized report that meets specific industry or customer requirements.
EY is another Big Four accounting firm that has been providing SOC services for more than two decades. EY operates as a network of member firms that are structured as separate legal entities in a partnership, which has more than 300000 employees in over 700 offices in more than 150 countries around the world.
EY issues more than 3000 SOC reports every year to more than 900 companies across the world. Healthcare, real estate, and telecoms are some of the industries but not limited to that in which they provide services to both public and private companies.
Bober Markey Fedorovich (BMF) specializes in accounting, audit, tax, business advisory services, litigation support, valuation, and transaction advisory services. It focuses on privately held businesses, private equity (PE) groups, and SEC companies. BMF is a member of Allinial Global Financial Consulting Group and is registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
INSIDE Public Accounting (IPA) recognizes BMF as a top 200 firm in the USA.
EisnerAmper is an accounting firm based out in the USA which provides audit, tax, business advisory, and consulting services. It has more than 2000 employees and over 200 partners across the USA. EisnerAmper provides SOC consulting as well as type I and types II examination services for organizations from different industries. Healthcare, oil & gas, insurance, real estate, and private equity are some of the industries in which EinsnerAmper provides services.
KNAV started operations in 1999 with the objective of building a global accounting firm that operates seamlessly across geographies. It provides a full range of services – assurance, financial and business advisory, valuation services, tax and regulatory services, and risk Advisory services, all under one roof. Knav is one of the first accounting firms that adopt AI tools to deliver cost-effective solutions to its clients. It has served more than 500 clients and has employed over 200 people. Knav provides services in many industries, including banks, manufacturing, hospitality, healthcare, and private equity firms.
Wipfli ranks among the top 20 accounting and business consulting firms in the USA. It has over 100000 clients and 3000 associates. Wipfli associates focus on specific areas to provide in-depth knowledge and industry-specific solutions. Some of the industries in which its associates provide services include healthcare, agribusiness, dealership, and financial institutions. Audit and accounting, tax, consulting, cybersecurity and compliance are some of the services that Wipfli provides.
Kirkapatrickprice is a licensed CPA firm based out in Florida, USA, that provides various audit services such as SOC, PCI, HIPAA, FISMA, and HITRUST. It has done more than thousands of audits reports and information security engagements with clients of all sizes across the world.
Vista InfoSec is an international information security consulting firm with a physical presence in the US, UK, Singapore, and India. It has been in the industry since 2004 and serves clients across the globe in securing their IT Infrastructure and assisting them in their Compliance obligations. VISTA InfoSec service offerings include information security consultation, compliance, and advisory services. No matter where the presence of your business is, Vista InfoSec can help you meet regulatory standards for virtually any market around the globe.
Brigs & Veselka is a Houston, Texas-based accounting firm that was founded in 1973. It provides audit, tax, and a variety of consulting services in various industries. Agriculture, energy, banks and financial institutions, healthcare, and hospitality are some of the industries in which Brigs & Veselka provides services.
Armanino is one of the top 25 accounting and consulting firms in the US. It has served over 7000 clients in more than 100 countries. Risk management, tax, audit, and assurance are some of the services provided by Armanino. Armanino offers services in various industries such as education, insurance, manufacturing, energy, and entertainment.
Marcum offers a spectrum of tax, assurance, and advisory services. It was founded in 1951 and had a headquarters in New York City. Healthcare, insurance, maritime, mining, and real estate are some of the industries in which it offers services.
Zluri, a SaaS management platform (SMP), helps IT teams and organizations to gain visibility and control over the SaaS stack. It ensures that all the applications in the SaaS stack are compliant with the regulations, and this way reduces the risk of compliance. Further, it has many other features, such as automated onboarding, application discovery, etc., to make the organization get the best return on investment from its SaaS application. Some of the features of the Zluri are:
Tackle all the problems caused by decentralized, ad hoc SaaS adoption and usage on just one platform.