NDB offers comprehensive SOC 2 Type 1 and SOC 2 Type 2 audit reports for businesses in and around the Washington, DC, Baltimore, and Northern Virginia metropolitan area. From SOC 2 readiness assessments to policy writing, along with conducting the actual assessment itself, NDB is your total solution provider for today’s demanding regulatory compliance services, such as SOC 1, SOC 2, and much more.
The Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Northern Virginia metropolitan region is an absolute mecca for information technology, entrepreneurship, start-ups, and more, and it’s actually known as the second Silicon Valley. With all the technology placed into one regional area, the demand for regulatory compliance mandates has absolutely skyrocketed, and understandably so, as many of these businesses provides services to the federal government and other big corporations. Unfortunately, regulatory compliance is not generally high on the “to do” list with many businesses – but that’s all changed – thanks largely to the growth of cybersecurity concerns and threats for the North American economy.
The result – enter the politicians, pundits, and regulators who now are pouring out laws and regulations at a pace never seen before. It means that SOC 2 compliance is now a mandate for many Washington, DC, Baltimore, and Northern Virginia metropolitan area businesses, so now’s the time to learn in-depth details about the SOC 2 framework, courtesy of NDB, North America’s leading provider of SOC 2 compliance audits.
SOC 2 Type 1 & Type 2 Audit Reports | Washington DC, Baltimore, Northern Virginia
From nonprofits in the District of Columbia to technology startups in Reston, VA, wherever you are in the Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Northern Virginia metropolitan region, NDB is ready and willing to assist with your growing compliance needs. We’re often asked what it takes to become SOC 2 compliant – a checklist, that is – for ensuring an efficient process from day one.
Let’s take a look at the following elements for helping you gain a greater understanding of SOC 2 Type 2 and SOC 2 Type reports:
AICPA Framework: The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) – in an effort to align their reporting framework with internationally driven standards, while also putting to rest the often misused SAS 70 auditing standard – launched the AICPA Service Organization Control (SOC) reporting platform in 2011. It was a much-needed change, one that allowed the AICPA to keep pace with the ever-changing and complex global business environment, where the use of third-party services continues to grow rapidly. The SOC framework has three (3) reporting options – SSAE 16 SOC 1 assessments, SOC 2 assessments, along with SOC 3 assessments. As a service organization, you’ll need to be cognizant of the SOC background for ensuring the “correct” audit is chosen - which often is the source of confusion that’s fueling the SOC 1 vs SOC 2 debate!
Readiness Assessment: Want to gain a greater understanding of your control environment and learn about important issues and gaps that require immediate attention prior to the actual SOC 2 audit? Then it’s critical to undertake a SOC 2 readiness assessment with NDB – a highly beneficial and proactive exercise for ensuring all necessary gaps, deficiencies and internal control failures are corrected before the audit begins. It’s not just another expense or added fee to the SOC 2 process – rather – a readiness assessment is a long-term investment yielding substantial savings in terms of operational man-hours for years to come.
Trust Services Principles: Simply known as the TSP’s, the Trust Services Principles are the criteria based provisions which form the very fabric of a SOC 2 assessment, and they include the following: (1). Security. (2). Availability. (3). Processing Integrity. (4). Confidentiality. (5). Privacy. While the vast majority of services organizations do NOT assess against all five (5) of the TSP’s, you’ll no doubt need the expert advice of a well-qualified CPA firm – such as NDB – in helping to determine which of them to include in the scope of your SOC 2 assessment. Call and speak with CPA Christopher G. Nickell today at 1-800-277-5415, ext. 706, or email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to learn more.
Business Processes: It’s also important to pick and choose what specific business functions and services are going to be included within the scope of a SOC 2 assessment – the entire organizational service offerings, or just a micro-component of what your business offers? The greater the scope, the larger the audit cost, the longer it will take to complete, and the more likely that control deficiencies will be found in the report.
Remediation: Fixing problems under the hood – as the old saying goes – is without question one of the most important things to be accomplished during the SOC 2 auditing process. Look, every business will have some type of remediation to perform – some more than others – from updating policies to making system enhancements. Not only is remediation necessary for hopefully achieving a clean bill of health during the audit process, it’s also a best practice for helping secure critical organizational assets. NDB provides comprehensive remediation services, from policy writing to system configuration procedures – and more – so let’s talk today.
Washington DC, Baltimore, Northern Virginia SOC 2 Audit Experts
Talk to the trusted SOC 2 experts today at NDB when it comes to superior services and fixed fee pricing for Washington DC, Baltimore, and Northern Virginia businesses. Call and speak with CPA Christopher G. Nickell today at 1-800-277-5415, ext. 706 to learn more.