When a customer asks for SOC 2.
A SOC 2 request is not yet a work plan. Clarify the customer's decision, the requested report type, the period, the system boundary and who owns the evidence.
Start with the event that made SOC 2 current.
A named deal requires a report
Procurement or security review has asked for a specific form of assurance before a decision can proceed.
The requested scope is unclear
The customer may mean Type I, Type II, a bridge letter or evidence of a credible plan. Those are different requests.
Existing evidence has no owner
Policies and control evidence may already exist, but nobody can assemble, test and maintain them across the review period.
Turn the request into owned work.
- Confirm what the customer has asked for and what decision depends on it
- Define the system boundary and the relevant Trust Services Criteria
- Map controls and evidence to the actual infrastructure and operating process
- Name internal owners for evidence, exceptions and follow-up
- Separate preparation support from the independent CPA firm's examination and opinion
How to define a customer-driven evidence problem.
Illustration, not a client result
Map the customer's actual request, the control basis, the evidence already available and the internal owner. Use a defined decision point to choose internal execution, an independent examination or further scoped work.
Source
Customer request
Owner
Internal responsibility
A focused assessment of the customer requirement.
The engagement records the customer requirement, system boundary, control and evidence gaps, and the next decision. An independent CPA firm performs the examination and issues the report.
What has the customer actually requested?
Send the non-sensitive part of the request or describe the decision that is blocked.
Send a question→Put the requirement into a plan that leadership and the responsible people can run.
A requirement becomes useful only when the company has chosen the goal, assigned responsibility, planned capacity and supplier contributions and agreed how the result will be checked. Accel Comply can advise leadership and lead the agreed work from decision to handover.
Clarify the customer requirement.
Start with the customer's specific requirement and the decision that depends on the answer.
You will receive a direct answer on fit, what the first deliverable could be and what information is needed to begin.