SOC 1 Compliance for Financial Integrity
Independent, CPA-led attestation of controls relevant to your customers' internal control over financial reporting (ICFR).
Why B2B financial services need SOC 1
If your software handles payroll, billing, billing APIs, or transaction reconciliations, your B2B customers' financial auditors require assurance that your systems process financial data accurately and securely.
A SOC 1 (SSAE 18) examination provides your clients' finance teams and corporate auditors with an independent attestation showing that your financial controls are designed and operating effectively, preventing material misstatements.
Engagement Options
- SOC 1 Type I: Evaluates whether controls are designed appropriately at a single point in time. Best for starting compliance.
- SOC 1 Type II: Evaluates whether controls also operate effectively over a period (usually 6–12 months). Preferred by enterprise buyers.
Typical controls under evaluation
SOC 1 covers both IT General Controls (ITGC) and Business Process Controls.
User Access Control
Ensuring financial application access is restricted to authorized personnel and regularly reviewed.
System Change Control
Documented approvals and testing for all changes to billing, ledger, and transaction code bases.
Data Transmission
Secure encryption protocols for transferring financial data between client databases and bank gateways.
Reconciliation Procedures
Formalized controls verifying transaction balances, currency conversions, and automated totals.
Our practical, CPA-led methodology
- 01
Control Scoping
We map your platform's financial transaction flow and define the specific control objectives relevant to your clients' general ledger integrations.
- 02
Readiness Check
We identify gaps in segregation of duties, approval trails, and database change logs, ensuring they are remediated before testing starts.
- 03
Audit Fieldwork
Our CPAs review evidence samples, test transaction processing logic, and interview control owners to evaluate design and effectiveness.
- 04
Report Delivery
We issue a comprehensive SOC 1 report detailing our testing results, which you can immediately share with user entities and their auditors.
Expected deliverables
- CPA-Signed Attestation Report
- Description of the Control Environment
- Detailed Risk-to-Control Mapping
- Auditor's Test Results & Findings
Common Obstacles
- Undefined Control Owners
Delays occur when financial operations teams do not have assigned owners for specific reconciliation checks.
- Weak Change Management Logs
Auditors require strict proof of developer approvals and QA testing for all financial software updates.
- Inconsistent System Logs
Lack of immutable logging for ledger edits or manual transaction overrides makes testing impossible.
Who we support
Payment processing gateways, subscription billing platforms, and treasury APIs.
Third-party payroll systems, employee benefit trust administrators, and time-tracking services.
Fund administration systems, loan servicing software, and investment platforms.
Readiness versus independent examination
AICPA guidelines require that CPAs maintain strict independence in fact and appearance during attestation engagements.
Advisory & Readiness Roles
We support your organization during the readiness phase to design financial control systems, map transactional workflows, and recommend policies. To ensure independence safeguards:
- Management Responsibility: Management retains sole authority to review, approve, and implement all internal controls, pricing approvals, and financial reconciliation configurations.
- Separate Engagement Teams: If you select Expert Insights for both readiness advisory and the formal audit, we utilize completely separate engagement teams to perform the work.
- Auditor Selection: You are never locked into our CPAs for the examination. You can hire us for readiness and select any independent CPA firm to sign the report, or vice versa.
Independent CPA Examination
The attestation audit is an objective, separate procedure conducted by our licensed CPA team under SSAE 18 attestation standards:
- Independent Opinion: Our examination team performs independent testing of your transaction processing evidence and issues a report expressing our unbiased professional opinion.
- No Audit-Team Configuration: The CPA auditors conducting the testing are restricted from configuring your billing systems, writing your policies, or conducting management decisions.
- Formal Safeguards: We apply formal independence checks to identify, assess, and document safeguards against potential advisory-to-audit conflicts.
Related Resources
Get helpful guides and checklists to plan your SOC 1 compliance path:
Frequently Asked Questions
Who needs a SOC 1 report instead of a SOC 2?
You need a SOC 1 if your system processes transactions, payroll, billing, or financial data that directly impacts your customers' financial statements. If they ask for proof of general IT security and cloud hosting safety, you typically need a SOC 2.
How long does a SOC 1 Type II audit take?
A Type II audit evaluates controls over an observation period, usually 6 or 12 months. The final audit fieldwork and report generation take about 4 to 6 weeks after the period ends.
What are the main areas tested in a SOC 1 audit?
SOC 1 focuses on two categories: IT General Controls (ITGCs like change management, access controls, backups) and Business Process Controls (like invoice accuracy, payroll calculation, user reconciliation).
Can we use compliance automation platforms for SOC 1?
Yes, platforms can help automate ITGC evidence (like system settings and code approvals), but Business Process Controls (reconciliations, accounting reviews) still require manual processes and documentation.