NDNB is one of North America’s leading providers of SOC 2 compliance reporting for software development businesses, having successfully audited over 100 highly diverse and complex software firms since 2005. With advances in technology – particularly the ability to deliver software via SaaS platforms – software firms are experiencing phenomenal growth, and especially when it comes to web-based software. NDNB also offers comprehensive SOC 1 and SOC 2 audits for businesses using Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google GCP.
If you're using AWS for hosting of your production environment, here's what you need to know NOW about SOC 2 audits.
NDNB. North America’s SOC 2 Software Development Auditing Experts
As a result, thousands of software firms are being mandated to undergo annual SOC 2 Type 2 compliance report – it’s just the nature of today’s regulatory compliance environment – and NDNB stands ready to assist with our vast expertise in auditing software firms. We’re highly familiar with all aspects of software development, having audited software developers who work with the following frameworks, and many others:
- C
- Java
- Objective-C
- C++
- C#
- PHP
- JavaScript
- Python
- Visual Basic .NET
- Visual Basic
Additionally, our expertise for auditing software developers also includes having extensive experience with a wide-range of production environments, from client-server architectures to cloud-based, hybrid models, and much more. Furthermore, NDNB can help plan all aspects of your SOC 2 assessment out, from beginning to end, which starts with a scoping & readiness assessment (optional), culminating with the successful issuance of a SOC 2 Service Auditor’s Report on Controls and Tests of Operating Effectiveness.
Essential Audit Tips for SOC 2 Reports for Software Developers
Determine Audit Scope Early On: One of the biggest keys for a successful SOC 2 audit for software development firms is scope. Specifically, determining what platform/platforms are in scope for the assessment. For example, is the SOC 2 audit just focused on a specific SaaS based portal providing healthcare analytics, or does the audit include all web-based productions systems for your organization? Scope creep is something you need and want to avoid, so work with your auditors very early on in determining scope.
Watch Out for Common Audit Roadblocks: Software development firms have a tendency to set aside many of the documented formalities necessary for today’s world of regulatory compliance. It’s understandable, after all, you’re developing software often via agile methodologies so why open a change ticket, why get approvals for testing and backout procedures, and more?
Compliance requires formality and documentation – so there needs to be a healthy middle-ground – so talk to NDNB today about developing essential processes and procedures relating to change control/change management, configuration management, code reviews, and more.
Perform Essential Remediation: Remediating control gaps is an important step in obtaining a “clean” SOC 2 audit report. With that said, here are the common problem areas we see with software development firms over the years in terms of necessary remediation:
- Missing information security and operational policies and procedures
- Missing formalities with many of the core software development best practices, such as change control, configuration management.
- Missing code reviews (manual or automated). While not a prescriptive requirement for SOC 2 audits, it is a best practice that should be tested.
- Missing training documentation regarding software developers keeping current on industry trends, security best practices (i.e., OWASP). Again, while not a prescriptive requirement for SOC 2 audits, it is a best practice that should be tested.
Put in Place Continuous Monitoring Measures: If this is your first SOC 2 audit report, it’s definitely not going to be your last, so you’ll need to start planning for future regulatory compliance measures. In short, you’ll need to put in place continuous monitoring initiatives for assessing and enhancing your internal controls for meeting continued SOC 2 testing parameters. NDNB can assist in developing a customized continuous monitoring program for software developers – we do it all the time for our clients.
Fixed-Fees. Superior Service. Nationwide Coverage
NDNB can assist in developing a program that’s efficient and cost effective. Contact Chris Nickell today at NDNB at 1-800-277-5415, ext. 706, or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to learn more about our SOC 2 – and other audit services – for software development firms.
