A SOC 2 Type 2 audit is a significant undertaking for any organization. After working with an AICPA firm to define your controls, someone has to implement the controls and manage them over the reporting period—typically 3-12 months.
How do you cover all your bases in SOC 2?
Whether you engage an MSP for SOC 2 control management or do everything in house, you can use your SOC 2 Type 2 Checklist to get a handle on your requirements.
Download the checklist now to get started.
Key takeaways:
- Corsica Technologies’ SOC 2 Type 2 checklist can give you a high-level picture of what you need to do to prepare for your SOC 2 audit.
- Corsica Technologies’ SOC 2 Type 2 checklist begins with audit scoping and planning decisions, then walks through 38 operational control practices.
- Corsica Technologies’ SOC 2 Type 2 checklist can help you understand your requirements at a high level, but you’ll still need to work with a CPA firm to determine your SOC 2 scope and undergo your audit.
- If you need extra bandwidth and expertise to manage your controls over the audit period, Corsica Technologies can assist with managed IT and cybersecurity services.
What is a SOC 2 Type 2 checklist?
A SOC 2 Type 2 checklist is a structured list of the controls, policies, and evidence an organization needs in place to pass a SOC 2 Type 2 audit. This is an independent CPA firm’s assessment not only of the organization’s security controls but of whether those controls operate effectively over a period of time, typically 3 to 12 months. A SOC 2 Type 2 audit is organized around the AICPA’s Trust Services Criteria: Security (required), plus optional Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy. It usually covers the steps in order:
- Scoping: defining which systems and criteria are in scope.
- Gap assessment: finding where current controls fall short.
- Policies: documenting policies such as access control, change management, incident response, vendor management, and risk assessment.
- Technical controls: implementing controls such as MFA, encryption, logging and monitoring, and backups.
- Evidence collection: gathering proof continuously throughout the observation window, such as access reviews, training records, and change tickets.
- Audit: selecting an auditor and working through fieldwork.
The Type 2 distinction matters because auditors sample evidence from across the whole period, so the checklist doubles as an ongoing operational discipline rather than a one-time readiness exercise.
What’s included in this SOC 2 checklist?
Corsica Technologies’ SOC 2 Type 2 checklist is a self-assessment tool that helps organizations evaluate their readiness for a SOC 2 Type 2 examination. It begins with audit scoping and planning decisions, then walks through 38 operational control practices across governance, security, risk management, resilience, and evidence collection. Organizations rate each practice as “In Place,” “Partial,” or “Not Yet” to determine their overall readiness level.
Part 1: Decisions That Shape Your Audit
- Report type and timing (Type 1 vs. Type 2)
- Review period planning
- Trust Services Categories selection
- Scope definition (systems, locations, teams, infrastructure)
- Executive ownership and program leadership
- Budgeting and auditor engagement
Part 2: Operational Readiness Assessment
- Governance & People
- Policy Foundation
- Risk Management
- Identity & Access Management
- Infrastructure & Endpoint Security
- Change Management & Software Development
- Vendor & Third-Party Risk
- Incident Response
- Resilience & Backup (BC/DR, backups, recovery testing)
- Monitoring, Logging & Evidence Collection
Specific control areas assessed
- Security governance and employee training
- Background checks and offboarding
- Security policies and documentation
- Risk assessments and risk treatment
- Least-privilege access and MFA
- Privileged account reviews
- Asset inventory and endpoint protection
- Encryption, patching, vulnerability scanning, and penetration testing
- Change approval and software deployment controls
- Vendor assessments and contract requirements
- Incident response planning and testing
- Business continuity and disaster recovery
- Centralized logging, alerting, and evidence retention
Part 3: Readiness Scoring
- 30-38 points: Approaching audit-ready
- 16-29 points: Foundation built, gaps remain
- 0-15 points: Early stage readiness
Overall, the checklist contains 38 readiness practices designed to help organizations identify and remediate gaps before beginning a SOC 2 Type 2 audit review period.
Do we still need to work with a consultancy if we download the SOC 2 checklist?
A SOC 2 Type 2 checklist can help a company understand what SOC 2 requires, but staff resources using the checklist can’t produce a SOC 2 report. Under AICPA standards, only a licensed CPA firm can perform the examination and issue the attestation, and that auditor typically defines the control statements the organization will be measured against. The same auditor often performs the readiness assessment.
Therefore, the real requirement isn’t a consultancy; it’s an independent CPA firm, and no checklist replaces that.
The harder part of SOC 2 Type 2 preparation is what happens after the controls are defined. The auditor tests whether those controls operated consistently across the full reporting period, often 3 to 12 months. That means someone must monitor logs, conduct security awareness training, review access, apply patches, and retain evidence of all these initiatives that’s ready to hand to the auditor. Many mid-market organizations lack the in-house staff to sustain this level of effort day after day. They often turn to a managed service provider like Corsica Technologies to run those controls and gather the supporting evidence throughout the period, while the CPA firm stays responsible for defining the criteria and issuing the opinion.
