When you combine Concord Compliance’s comprehensive strategies, policies, and standards with automated tracking and documentation of compliance activities through our Practical Compliance Automation (PCA) platform, you have laid the foundation for successfully completing nearly any kind of IT audit, regardless of type. If your organization operates information systems on behalf of other organizations, or if you provide information system services to other entities, there is a very good chance that you will be asked to provide one or more audit reports describing the controls you have put in place to protect your systems and services, and, by extension, how you protect your clients and partners. The most common audit reports describe the findings from an SSAE 16/ 18 audit conducted by a CPA firm. These reports are typically called Service Organization Controls (SOC) reports and come in three flavors. SOC 1 reports focus primarily on maintaining internal control over financial reporting (ICFR), while SOC 2 and SOC 3 reports focus on information system security, availability, integrity, privacy, and confidentiality using standard Trust Services Principles and Criteria. The AICPA issued SSAE18 SOC1/SOC2/SOC3 structure as an update in May of 2017, as replacement for SSAE16. Concord Compliance’s compliance programs and our Practical Compliance Automation software fully support the standard Trust Services Principles and Criteria, and our direct mapping to frameworks like COBIT and ISO 27001 give you the tools you need to painlessly meet your SOC reporting requirements. Also, by collecting and maintaining all of your compliance records in one place, the PCA platform can help your audits proceed more quickly and efficiently, translating to lower internal costs and disruptions and lower bills from the CPA firm performing your audit. Taken together, Concord Compliance’s compliance programs and our Practical Compliance Automation software provide you with a foundation for passing SSAE 18 audits, getting favorable Service Organization Controls (SOC) reports, and assuring your stakeholders that you are fully in compliance and ready to do business.