BD Emerson's SOC Audit Services

Understanding SOC Audits

What is a SOC Audit?

A SOC audit, conducted by our team of certified professionals, thoroughly evaluates the controls within a service organization, focusing on critical areas essential to maintaining security, data protection, and operational integrity. These audits are vital for organizations committed to upholding rigorous governance and compliance standards. The benefits of conducting a SOC audit include:

• Enhanced Trust: Reassuring clients and stakeholders that robust, effective controls are diligently safeguarding their sensitive information.
• Regulatory Compliance: Ensuring adherence to stringent compliance standards and legal requirements, thereby minimizing the risk of penalties.
• Optimized Risk Management: Proactively identifying and mitigating potential security threats and vulnerabilities to maintain operational resilience.

Components of a SOC Audit

A comprehensive SOC audit report includes several key components that provide a thorough assessment of the organization's control environment:

• Opinion Letter: The auditor's formal opinion on both the design and operational effectiveness of the organization’s controls.
• Management Assertion: A statement by management confirming the accuracy and effectiveness of the system controls.
• System Description: An in-depth overview of the organization's systems, covering infrastructure, software, and procedural details.
• Control Activities: Detailed insights into the specific controls tested by the SOC auditor and the outcomes of these tests.

Focused SOC Audit Services at BD Emerson

SOC 2 Type 1 Audit Services

SOC 2 Type 1 audits evaluate the design of an organization’s controls at a specific point in time, ensuring they are properly configured to meet the relevant Trust Service Criteria—security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. The primary benefit of a SOC 2 Type 1 audit includes:

• Snapshot Assurance: Provides stakeholders with a concise "snapshot" assessment, verifying the adequacy of the system design to meet the trust principles at a specific date.

SOC 2 Type 2 Audit Services

SOC 2 Type 2 audits extend beyond the design to assess the operational effectiveness of these controls over a defined period, usually a minimum of six months. This type of audit is crucial for organizations that need to demonstrate both the design and operational effectiveness of their controls over time. Key benefits include:

• Extended Validation: Offers continuous assurance about the effectiveness of controls, providing stakeholders with confidence in the organization's ongoing compliance.
• Detailed Insight: Delivers a comprehensive view of the controls' performance, highlighting areas of strength and opportunities for improvement.

Innovative Partnerships and Continuous Support

Seamless Integration with Vanta

At BD Emerson, our SOC auditors are partnered with Vanta, a leading compliance and security platform that specializes in automated compliance monitoring. This partnership allows us to seamlessly integrate Vanta’s capabilities during audits, significantly enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of our audit processes. The use of Vanta's technology not only simplifies the compliance data gathering but also provides real-time insights that inform our audit strategies and decision-making. If you are a current or prospective Vanta customer, know that by choosing BD Emerson as your audit partner, you will never have to redo work or re-capture data that is collected through your integrations with Vanta. We understand how Vanta collects and captures auditable information and understand that companies go with Vanta to simplify the audit process. Our partnership and certification as Vanta technologist ensures our customer’s experience is as smooth as possible.

Ongoing Support Through Audit Slack Channels

To support the dynamic nature of business operations and ongoing technological evolution, BD Emerson establishes dedicated audit Slack channels for each client. These channels serve as vital communication pathways, offering ongoing support and strategic guidance post-audit. They enable us to address how organizational or technological changes might impact future audits and compliance statuses. Our team provides expert recommendations on establishing or adjusting controls to continuously meet compliance requirements, ensuring that our clients remain ahead of any potential compliance issues. This means when you engage us and have questions ahead of your audit, our team will provide you with recommendations on how to meet controls within your current technology environments. 

Trust Service Criteria (TSC) and Their Strategic Importance

Understanding the TSC

The Trust Service Criteria form the cornerstone of SOC 2 audits and include five trust services categories:

• Security (Mandatory): Ensuring protection of system resources against unauthorized access.
• Availability: The system's accessibility for operation and use as stipulated or agreed.
• Processing Integrity: The system's processing completeness, validity, accuracy, timeliness, and authorization to meet the entity’s objectives.
• Confidentiality: Protection of information designated as confidential from unauthorized access and disclosure.
• Privacy: Appropriate handling of personal information in accordance with the entity’s privacy policy.

Why Add Additional TSCs?

Including additional TSCs in your audit expands the scope and depth of the audit, enhancing the robustness of your security and compliance frameworks. Companies may opt to add TSCs such as availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, or privacy to their audits to:

• Demonstrate Compliance: Show adherence to industry-specific regulations and standards.
• Build Customer Trust: Provide customers with assurance that all aspects of private data handling and system management are thoroughly vetted and secure.
• Enhance Risk Management: Cover broader aspects of the organization’s operational and security risks.

Including these additional TSCs necessitates implementing and maintaining specific security controls relevant to each criterion, thereby broadening the operational focus and strengthening the overall security posture.

The SOC Audit Process at BD Emerson

Comprehensive Steps for Assurance

The SOC audit process at BD Emerson is meticulously organized into two main phases: preparation and execution:

Preparation Stage

• Scope and Engagement Planning: Defining the audit scope, setting clear objectives, and planning resources. This is also where we take the time to learn why your organization is seeking to comply with SOC 2 standards. We can provide guidance specific to your organization’s business and your customers as to which of the TSCs you should consider in your audit.
• Risk Assessment and Evaluation: Identifying potential risks within the service organization's controls to tailor the audit focus. Ahead of your audit, we highlight areas we have seen in past engagements that are particularly risky and could cause exceptions if not managed.
• Documentation and Review: Collecting and reviewing necessary documentation to ensure readiness for the audit phase. For Vanta customers, we simply request audit access to your environment.

Execution Stage

• Control Testing: Systematically testing defined controls to assess their operating effectiveness during the audit period.
• Evidence Gathering: Collecting and compiling evidence to substantiate the auditor’s findings and opinions.
• SOC Report Compilation: Creating a detailed and structured audit report that clearly communicates the auditor’s conclusions and recommendations.