You may be asking yourself why are SOC Audits important? SOC (Service Organization Control) Audits ensure that your company has the proper safeguarding measures in place to assure clients and business partners that their information will be safe and secure in your hands. More and more companies, especially in the financial sector (banking, insurance, investment, etc.), are requiring any potential business partners, clients, or providers to be SOC compliant.
The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA) is the most prominent association of CPAs worldwide. AICPA represents almost 700,000 members and governs the “Five Trust Service Criteria”, on which SOC compliance is founded. The criteria for becoming SOC compliant are:
- Security – Information and data are safeguarded from unauthorized access
- Availability – Information and data are available and visible for operation
- Processing Integrity – Whether systems function in an unhindered manner and have no errors, delays, or manipulations.
- Confidentiality – The ability to safeguard information and data designated as confidential.
- Privacy – The ability to safeguard an individual person’s sensitive information
The most important tenet of the Five Trust Service Criteria is security. Security is the core doctrine and related to the other 4 principles. If your company has proper security controls in place, then privacy and confidentiality already exist in some manner. It is imperative that your company has proper security in place to safeguard against cyber-attacks, malware, and security breaches.
Healthcare sector businesses will almost certainly require your company to be SOC compliant. Since you will be handling so much confidential and private patient information, your company should invest in a SOC audit to maintain proper security measures to ensure patient privacy remains private. Most healthcare companies that need to adhere to HIPAA compliance will require your company to also maintain SOC compliance, since they are often closely related.
In addition to ensuring business partners that your company takes security and privileged data seriously, becoming SOC compliant can actually SAVE your company money in the long run. The price of a SOC audit is nothing compared to what the damages can be if your company suffers a data breach. According to IBM, the average cost of a data breach in the United States in 2022 is $9.44 million. That’s more than double what the worldwide average is since companies based in the United States are at higher risk for cyber-attacks, and the damages, financial and otherwise, can be astronomical.
If you’re still wondering why SOC Audits are important, or are ready to become SOC certified, contact us for more information today!
