Preparing for Your First SOC 2 Audit: Expert Insights

From the Auditor and Operational Perspective

Preparing for your first SOC 2 audit is about more than documenting controls and collecting evidence. It's about demonstrating that your organization has the right processes in place, that they work effectively, and that they can be maintained as your business grows.

But what does audit readiness actually look like, and how can organizations avoid the common pitfalls?

Hicomply and Drummond Group explored exactly this in our latest webinar, mapping out The Smarter Path to SOC 2 so organizations can approach their first audit with greater clarity and confidence.

Bringing together Hicomply's whole-business ISMS platform and Drummond's independent assessment expertise, our partnership supports organizations across North America on their journey from initial readiness to independent validation.

The webinar heard Michael Henry, VP of Growth Strategy at Drummond’s, auditor perspective on SOC 2 readiness, while Simon Noble, Hicomply’s SVP of Global Channel explored how businesses can build sustainable compliance programs that deliver value beyond their first audit.

Here’s a recap of everything we covered. If SOC 2 is on your compliance roadmap now or in future, save this as a handy guide.

Key Takeaways

• SOC 2 readiness depends on effective control design, reliable evidence and sustainable processes
• Weak evidence trails, outdated policies and unclear ownership are common audit prep challenges
• Technology should simplify the processes behind managing compliance while keeping people accountable for governance decisions
• A continuous approach built from the outset helps organizations move beyond last-minute audit scramble and establish stronger foundations for sustainable compliance that genuinely supports growth

Firstly, what's the difference between SOC 2 Type I vs Type II?

Before preparing for your first SOC 2 audit, it's important to understand the difference between the two types of reports:

• SOC 2 Type I: Assesses whether your controls are appropriately designed at a specific point in time. Often a starting point for organizations beginning their SOC 2 journey
• SOC 2 Type II: Assesses whether your controls have operated effectively over a defined period, providing greater assurance of consistent control performance. Often preferred by enterprise customers and partners

Both assess controls against the relevant Trust Services Criteria, but the right approach depends on your organization's requirements, customer expectations and readiness.

Approaching SOC 2: What do auditors look for?

From the auditor's perspective, SOC 2 readiness goes beyond having policies documented or security tools implemented.

Michael highlighted three areas auditors focus on.

1. Control design: Are your controls fit for purpose?

• Clear objectives: Does each control address the relevant SOC 2 requirements?
• Defined scope: Is it clear who is responsible, what the control covers and when it applies?
• Risk mitigation: Will the control actually reduce the risk it's designed to address?

2. Operating effectiveness: Can you prove your controls work?

For a SOC 2 Type II audit, auditors assess whether controls have operated effectively throughout the reporting period.

• Consistent evidence: Can you demonstrate that controls operated throughout the audit period?
• Complete audit trails: Are supporting logs, approvals, timestamps and records accessible and traceable?
• Exception management: Are control failures documented, investigated and resolved?

One of the most common challenges is having controls that operate correctly but lack the evidence to demonstrate their effectiveness.

3. Maturity and sustainability: Will your controls continue to work?

Auditors also consider whether an organization's control environment is sustainable beyond the assessment.

• Are controls embedded into everyday business processes?
• Is there clear ownership and accountability?
• Are policies regularly reviewed and updated?
• Is there a process for ongoing control monitoring?

The key learning: SOC 2 readiness isn't simply about having controls in place. It's about demonstrating that they work and can be maintained consistently.

Common mistakes when preparing for SOC 2

Even organizations with established security practices can encounter challenges when preparing for their first SOC 2 audit.

Michael identified several common pitfalls to address early:

• Incomplete documentation: Controls exist inpractice but aren't formally documented
• Informal manual processes: Activities areperformed routinely but lack defined procedures, ownership or supportingrecords
• Misaligned scope: Relevant systems or processesfall outside the controls being assessed
• Outdated policies: Documentation no longerreflects how the business operates
• Weak evidence trails: Controls have beenperformed, but there's insufficient evidence to prove it

How to operationally build for SOC 2 compliance beyond the audit

While auditors focus on control effectiveness, the operational challenge is ensuring those controls can be maintained across the business.

Simon explored three principles for building a sustainable SOC 2 program.

1. Use technology to support people, not replace them

Technology can simplify SOC 2 audit preparation by reducing repetitive admin, manual processes and evidence organization and management, whilst improving overall programme visibility.

But software alone cannot deliver an effective compliance program.

• Good technology will reduce the manual work: Streamlining workflows, evidence management and control monitoring to free up valuable time
• People should always retain accountability and expertise: Leading on risk decisions, control ownership and governance responsibilities. Technology can highlight gaps, but people must interpret findings and determine the right action

The objective isn't to remove people from compliance.

It's to give them the tools and information to manage a sustainable and scalable approach more effectively.

2. Make compliance a whole-business responsibility

SOC 2 compliance doesn't sit exclusively with IT or security teams.

People, processes, and technology all contribute to an effective control environment, making shared responsibility essential.

There are three questions every organization should be able to answer:

• Who is responsible? Every control, task and risk should have a clearly defined owner
• What needs attention? Teams need visibility into outstanding actions, gaps and emerging risks
• What's our current posture? Leadership should understand compliance readiness across the organization

3. Build for continuous compliance, not periodic preparation

One of the biggest operational challenges is the cycle of intensive preparation that often precedes an audit.

Evidence is gathered retrospectively. Policies are updated at the last minute. Teams spend valuable time chasing information and digging through disconnected systems.

This is where the operational shift to continuous compliance is becoming more and more important in today’s landscape. This includes:

• Evidence that’s updated and maintained throughout the year: Captured and organized as it’s created
• Controls that are monitored continuously: Gaps and changes are identified early, rather than at assessment
• Visibility is maintained all year round: With a clear understanding of your organization's security posture between audits

This drives the move away from reactive scramble in the approach to an audit to a more sustainable process.

But, outside of the operational value, why is this important?

Why SOC 2 should deliver value beyond certification

Achieving your first SOC 2 report is an important milestone. But it shouldn't end there.

The greatest value comes from building a compliance program that supports wider business objectives.

A sustainable approach can contribute to:

• Stronger commercial outcomes: Demonstrating independently assessed security controls can help meet procurement requirements, build customer trust and support growth
• Greater assurance and confidence: Clear governance and ongoing monitoring give stakeholders greater confidence in how risks are managed
• A foundation for future growth: Established processes can support expansion into additional frameworks, including ISO 27001, without unnecessarily duplicating work

For growing organizations, compliance should evolve alongside the business, rather than becoming an exercise repeated at every audit.

Explore the insights in more detail

Catch up on the full discussion with Hicomply and Drummond, including practical guidance on preparing for your first SOC 2 audit.

• Watch the webinar on demand
• Download the slides

Where internal compliance management meets independent assessment

Hicomply provides a whole-business ISMS platform to manage risks, controls, evidence, and responsibilities across SOC 2, ISO 27001 and other frameworks, supported by unlimited in-house expert guidance.

Drummond brings independent audit and assessment expertise, helping organizations validate their controls and demonstrate assurance to customers and partners.

Together, we're supporting organizations looking to move beyond initial readiness toward sustainable, independently validated compliance.