This leads some to question the value of getting this report at all, as in this humorous take from Mark Graziano.

So in the absence of specific standards from the regulating body, you’re left with evaluating your own specific use case and observing the industry expectations to determine the frequency of the assessment.

If you have a very limited set of report users, you can simply ask them how often they want to see a new report.

However in general, it is a common practice for organizations to undergo SOC 2 assessments every 12 months. This timeframe ensures that the information in the report remains current and relevant to stakeholders who rely on it, such as clients, partners, regulators, or other interested parties.

You do see certain companies, such as AWS, GCP, Azure, putting out a SOC 2 report every 6 months. This is usually in cases where you have a system that performs a critical function for their users (infrastructure management) and have a huge amount of report users.

An annual SOC 2 audit schedule allows organizations to demonstrate their commitment to maintaining robust security controls regularly, while not crippling the team financially or robbing their time year-round. It also tells the report readers that you’re committed to security on an ongoing basis, not just passing an audit and moving on.

Looking for an auditor who can help guide you through the SOC 2 process? –  Contact Render