When you partner with BARR for SOC 1, our experts will help to increase transparency and confidence in your stakeholders while simplifying the entire compliance process and easing the burden on your team.
Decrease Cost, Improve Risk Management and Control
When you partner with BARR for SOC 1, our experts will help to increase transparency and confidence in your stakeholders while simplifying the entire compliance process and easing the burden on your team.
A SOC 1 report is used by organizations that outsource a specific service or system that likely impacts their internal controls over financial reporting.
A control objective outlines the target or purpose of a specific group of controls within an organization. SOC 1 control objectives are not pre-defined, and may differ for each organization. The control objectives should cover all major aspects of the organization relevant to the SOC 1 report, and usually consist of both general information technology controls (i.e., logical access, change management, and operations) and business process controls (i.e., completeness and accuracy of transaction processing). Depending on the scope, there can be anywhere between 10 and 30 control objectives in a SOC 1 report.
Organizations that should consider a SOC 1 report include Cloud ERP service providers, financial services, payroll processing, healthcare claims processing, and data center colocation. If your organization plays any role in client financials, then a SOC 1 report may be right for you.
A SOC 1 report demonstrates the effectiveness of your processes and procedures to your clients. Not only will this differentiate your organization from competitors, but additional benefits include:
The SOC 1 Type 1 Report (referred to as a point-in-time report), includes an opinion over the suitability of the design of controls at the service organization at a specific point in time. An initial type 1 report often serves as the starting point for subsequent type 2 reviews.
The SOC 1 Type 2 Report (referred to as a period of time report) includes an opinion over the suitability of the design of controls at the service organization and the operating effectiveness of the controls throughout a specified period of time. This type of report is often issued annually.
SOC 1 compliance comes with multiple benefits, including increased level of trust from your clients, resulting in client retention and acquisition; less need for frequent audits, resulting in decreased costs for your organization; improved risk management; and satisfaction of customer and stakeholder compliance requirements.
After your SOC 1 report is issued, it is valid for one year from the issuance date. Organizations will have to undergo another audit each year to continue to maintain SOC 1 compliance, which gets easier year over year since the necessary controls are already in place.
SOC 1 reports are intended to be shared privately with necessary stakeholders, including prospective customers and partners. Since a SOC 1 report often contains sensitive information, most businesses require signed non-disclosure agreements prior to sharing a SOC 1 report.
SOC 1 is not a mandatory legal requirement for any organization. However, some customers and third parties may only choose to work with vendors that have a SOC 1 report—meaning without one, you could be missing out on certain customers and blocking your company’s growth.
A SOC 1 report can take several weeks or months depending on the type of audit, scope, and complexity of the organization’s environment. Learn more about each step of the SOC 1 compliance process here.
The SOC 1 Type 1 Report (referred to as a point-in-time report), includes an opinion over the suitability of the design of controls at the service organization at a specific point in time. An initial type 1 report often serves as the starting point for subsequent type 2 reviews.