A software for compliance should make auditing easier. However, small businesses may be in a difficult situation: before they are able to organize their SOC 2 controls, they first have to implement the system, set up, and then learn an elaborate compliance system. It’s a great question. What is the point at which a tool that can reduce compliance work turn into a new project?
CertAssist was created out of frustration. The team behind it had been involved in compliance audits and implementations in SOC 2, ISO 27001 and other frameworks. The developers of this software were constantly confronted by platforms that offered a wide range of features and integrations, while the organizations they worked for employed spreadsheets for the preparation of critical auditing pieces. For smaller organizations, simpler SOC 2 compliance software can sometimes be the more practical answer.
Start by identifying the task that must be completed
Take out the jargon in software and it becomes easier to understand. The company should work through Trust Services Criteria and establish the appropriate controls. They must also create the policies, document evidence, keep track of their performance, and make this material available to independent auditors. Platforms can manage these functions without having to be linked with the various identity or cloud-based services that the company uses.
Integrations that are automated can be extremely useful. Automating the process of gathering evidence for a large company in an environment that is constantly changing could save time. However, this doesn’t mean the same structure is required to be used for SOC 2 in startups. A startup with a relatively limited technology environment might choose to present evidence in person and avoid the need to maintain numerous integrations.
Both the Software and Audit are different expenses
Budgeting becomes confusing when companies consider every compliance expense as one number. The SOC 2 cost includes more than just software. Internal staff are required to spend time on things like preparing policies and fixing control gaps. They also manage evidence. The independent audit also has its own fee.
Companies researching SOC 2 certification costs must be aware of a distinction in terminology: SOC 2 produces an independent attestation report instead of an official certification in the same terms as ISO 27001. Nevertheless, “certification cost” is commonly used when businesses search for price information. Software cannot substitute for the independent auditor irrespective of the terms employed within the budget.
The Middle Ground Doesn’t Need to Be an Excel Spreadsheet
Spreadsheets might be familiar and cheap, but they can be uncomfortable when multiple spreadsheets are used to share policies, controls, evidence, ownership and auditing communication.
It isn’t necessary to use an enterprise platform to serve as a substitute. CertAssist centralizes the SOC2 control and allows users to edit policies and templates for proving. It also provides auditors and progress management with access only to read. Access to the platform is protected by the requirement of multi-factor authentication. The price of the platform’s initial launch is $225 per month. The normal price is $375 a month or $3999 per year.
In addition, no integration could mean More Exposure
CertAssist is not designed to connect to the systems that run a company. The evidence provided is not given without giving the compliance platform access to cloud or identity environments.
This option is not without its trade-offs. The evidence that could have been obtained automatically has to be supplied by the company. However, for small teams, the added work could be justified with a simple set-up, lower software costs, and with fewer external connections.
Buy Complexity When Complexity Solves a problem
A company that is growing may arrive at a point when the manual method of gathering evidence becomes inefficient. Continuous monitoring and massive integrations will pay off when you reach that point.
The aim of a compliance stack is not to be the most technological one in the market. The aim is to arrange compliance, maintain credible evidence and ensure that independent audits are managed. Software that’s designed properly will help with this. If implementing the compliance platform is beginning to appear like a more complex task than preparing for SOC 2 itself, it might be just a different tool than what the business currently requires.