Audit Checklist (SOC 2)

Ensure success while getting prepped for your audit

Written By Micah

The Audit Readiness Checklist is designed to help you prepare for upcoming SOC 2 audit. With this structured list of essential pre-audit tasks, this feature ensures your team addresses critical compliance requirements before your auditor gets involved, minimizing the potential for exceptions or findings during your audit.

The Audit Readiness Checklist can help you:

  • Reduce Audit Exceptions: Proactively identify and resolve potential issues before your audit begins

  • Save Time and Resources: Minimize the cumbersome back and forth requests that come up during audits

  • Improve Team Accountability: Ensure nothing falls through the cracks

  • Minimize Audit Fatigue: Well-prepared teams experience smoother, faster audits

Getting Started

Accessing the Audit Readiness Checklist

  1. Navigate to the Compliance Dashboard in Strike Graph

  2. Click on Audit Checklist in the navigation menu

  3. You'll see the Audit Readiness Checklist page with your upcoming audit information

Configuring Your Audit Details

When you first access the Audit Readiness Checklist, you'll need to configure your audit details:

  1. Click the "Configure audit details" button in the audit information card

  2. Enter the following information:

    • Framework: Select your compliance framework (e.g., SOC 2:2022)

    • Monitoring Period: Set your monitoring start and end dates

    • Audit Start Date: Enter when your audit is scheduled to begin

  3. Click Save to apply your configuration

Once configured, the system will display:

  • A countdown showing how many days until your next audit

  • Your framework type

  • Your monitoring period dates

Using the Audit Checklist

Understanding Checklist Items

The Audit Readiness Checklist contains various types of review items, each tagged by category:

  • Control: Items related to control ownership, descriptions, and linkages

  • Evidence: Items focusing on evidence currency, completeness, and accuracy

  • Population: Items concerning lists and attestations needed for sampling

  • Control & Evidence: Items that span both control and evidence considerations

Working Through the Checklist

To complete checklist items:

  1. Review and perform the checklist step

  2. Click on the checklist step to view more details

  3. Once completed, check the box

Once you have completed the checklist, you should celebrate! And then inform your CSM that you're ready for audit.

Tips for Audit Success

  1. Start Early: Begin working through the checklist at least 60 days before your audit

  2. Be Thorough: Don't skip items even if they seem minor — even small issues can lead to audit findings

  3. Collaborate: Use mentions and comments throughout Strike Graph to coordinate with control and evidence owners

  4. Document Everything: If a control or evidence doesn't apply, document why with clear explanations in the item's description

  5. Continuous Compliance: Set up integrations and use Verify AI for continuous monitoring of evidence and controls