How to Prepare for Your SOC 2 Readiness Assessment

Opting for a readiness assessment ahead of your SOC 2 examination is—while optional—a beneficial extra step when seeking compliance. Do you remember taking a practice test while preparing for an exam in school? Such a move could never hurt your chances of success. That being said, there are some things you should understand ahead of your readiness assessment that can help demystify your experience. 

As a long-time, leading provider of SOC reports, we’ve walked many an organization through readiness assessments to successful SOC 2 examinations and assurance, so we understand that for those new to these initiatives, there may be some misunderstandings.  

In this article, we’ll articulate three of the most common misconceptions organizations assume about their upcoming SOC 2 readiness assessment so that you can set proper expectations as you move forward. 

3 Common Misconceptions Regarding Your SOC 2 Readiness Assessment  

We know better than most the effort that goes into designing a suitable control environment for your SOC 2 examination, which is why we always recommend readiness assessments prior to audit kickoff.  

But when talking through this process with our clients, here are three things we’ve noticed organizations often misconstrue. 

1. “These results can negatively impact our overall audit opinion.” 

Many organizations first turn to SOC 2 due to external demand—your customers want assurances, in the form of a SOC 2 examination, that their information is safe with you.  

If you opt for a readiness assessment—while it is the first step that leads naturally into the formal SOC 2 examination that’ll provide your customers with the assurance they need—the results of this assessment are actually just for your organization.  

What does that mean, you might wonder? That actually leads us to our next misconception. 

2. “Everything needs to be perfect.” 

See, with such high stakes placed on your organization to deliver, some assume that there is little to no margin for error when you kick things off for your readiness assessment. 

In actuality, when you take advantage of this optional step, you get the unique opportunity to work alongside your assessor to obtain a comprehensive analysis of your control environment as-is and, together, identify any gaps in your control designs relative to your in-scope trust services criteria.   

You should know that it’s actually almost inevitable that gaps will be identified—speaking from two decades of experience, most of the readiness assessments we conduct result in identified areas for improvement. And that’s okay because that’s the ultimate purpose of a readiness assessment! Going back to our analogy of a practice test, this is the value in a readiness assessment—the “lower” stakes.  

So, don’t “worry” necessarily about the outcome of your readiness assessment. Of course, you should take the steps to bring your control designs up to standard, but expectations of perfection at this point are unreasonable. When executed correctly, you should come out of your readiness assessment with focus areas for improvement that point you in the direction of the necessary adjustments you’ll need to make to achieve a favorable opinion during your SOC 2 examination. 

3. “We’re on our own for this.” 

In fact, you’re not on your own, and such a belief completely contradicts the use case of a readiness assessment. Because while one part of its value is that it’s a practice run ahead of the ultimate test that is your SOC 2 examination, another value-add of a readiness assessment is that it allows you to gain unbiased insight into best practices from your expert auditors. 

Embracing the involvement of your assessor at this stage can provide meaningful interaction and discourse with all stakeholders within your organization. They’re there to help you, and you’ll want to take advantage by asking any questions you or your control owners have regarding your current controls and how you can best prepare for your audit. 

You’ve contracted them to perform a readiness assessment—an avenue that can facilitate productive dialogue with your chosen service auditor over the next steps that can be made in advance of your formal audit. So why not leverage everything your external SOC auditor can offer and maximize your time together? 

Going into Your SOC 2 Readiness Assessment 

Though not every organization opts to add on a readiness assessment ahead of a SOC 2 examination, these evaluations do provide value in that they give you the opportunity to: 

• Set your milestones  
• Close your design gaps
• Begin your SOC 2 examination with confidence   

Not only that, but a readiness assessment also helps your assessor to better position themselves for your formal audit, as they’ll gain familiarity with your processes, meet your control owners, and get an advanced look at the types of evidence you’ll have prepared to satisfy audit requirements. 

But it’s important to go into this readiness assessment step with the right idea of what you’re getting into and what you should get out of it, and hopefully, after reading, you feel more empowered to succeed in your upcoming audit.  

To learn more about SOC 2 examinations, access our comprehensive guide to shaping yours, and check out our other content detailing the different aspects of this very popular compliance initiative: 

• How to Perform a SOC 2 Risk Assessment 
• 4 Common SOC 2 Challenges Organizations Face 
• How to Read Your SOC Report