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SOC 2 Compliance: Your Canadian B2B Security Guide

By Mindsec Staff 16 February, 2024

In today’s dynamic world of B2B security, knowing whether a supplier is capable of handling sensitive data is critical. But how can you know?

Enter SOC 2.  Developed by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), it is a standard that offers companies and their clients some reassurance. But what is it exactly and why has SOC 2 become essential for B2B organizations?  Let us help answer these questions.

 

What is a SOC 2 Report?

If you’re selling to a larger company in Canada or the U.S., you will at some point be asked: “are you secure?” What they really want to know is: “if we give you our data, how do we know you won’t leak it on the internet?”

Think of a SOC 2 report as the most generalized answer to that question: “yes, we’re secure! We had an objective third-party come in and look at our practices. They wrote everything up! We’re in good shape!”

A SOC 2 report essentially shows potential clients that your business takes security seriously. It gives stakeholders, including potential customers, actual proof that you have safeguards in place to protect their information.

 

Is SOC 2 necessary?

Most Canadian businesses looking to expand may find it extremely difficult to sell to larger companies in North America if they don’t have SOC 2 compliance systems in place. But SOC 2 is more than just a compliance program.  It allows you to pitch to bigger companies and reassures them that you are taking precautions to safeguard the information they have entrusted to you. As a result, it serves as both a compliance program and a sales enablement tool.

You should therefore start thinking about your organization’s security compliance program as soon as possible, because you will be asked those questions, and you will need to reassure your potential clients. Basically, your prospect won’t buy without SOC 2, so you need SOC 2.

But in a less cheeky regard, consider the following business math in deciding whether you need SOC 2.

  • Is the value of this one deal greater than the cost of SOC 2? Here, the contract’s value can be measured either by its magnitude or the credibility of the customer’s logo. That determination is up to you.
  • Is the value of all deals lost to security requirements greater than the cost of SOC 2?
  • Is the value of all deals stalled because of security requirements greater than the cost of SOC 2?

Achieving SOC 2 certification enables Canadian companies to join profitable markets and streamline business dealings with large customers.

 

How do you get a SOC 2 audit?

The process requires two key steps: 1) becoming audit ready and 2) hiring an auditor.

Becoming audit ready: This involves creating your list of controls or rules that are going to make up the security program you are going to follow; then ensuring that all rules have been and are being followed; and finally ensuring you have documentation that shows the rules have been and are being followed.

Hiring an auditor: Once you’re ready for an audit, the next step is to review the list of controls with an auditor and to prove to the auditor that you’re following each rule.

 

How much does SOC 2 cost?

The costs of readiness evaluations and the audit itself can differ greatly. It will rely on several factors, including your organization’s size, complexity of business procedures, sensitivity of relationships, and the desire to handle it internally or with outside expertise.

But when you consider sales enablement, increased credibility, and business growth, the expense starts to look more like a strategic investment than an ordinary one. You can tell your CFO we said that 😉

 

Below is a breakdown of the costs you should expect:

  • Readiness Assessment

A readiness assessment can cost up to $20k. This is where you get the controls – the rules you need to follow to get SOC 2. You could do this step internally, but considering there are 73 pages of criteria to analyze, implement, document, and follow, it’s not super fun and people generally hate this project. So, companies will often engage an external consultant like a former auditor or security specialist to do the work.

  • Tools

Based on the assessment results, you will have to purchase tools that will enable you to follow those rules, like employee background checks, vulnerability monitoring, laptop monitoring, and more. In Canada, we’ve seen an average of $2k-$10k spent on tools for small and mid-market businesses.

  • Outsourced Prep Work

In addition to buying tools, you should expect another $2k-$10k in outsourced prep work. This can include activities like writing policies and training employees. Technically, this type of work can be done internally.

There are several resources online that provide basic templates for different policies. Some of them are pretty good but we’ve mostly seen this work get outsourced, not only as a de-risking mechanism but also because shifting internal resources and your team members’ time away from business processes and towards compliance work is a tradeoff most businesses don’t want to make. It drastically slows down the process, increases errors, and can lead to failed audits.

  • The Audit

Last but not least, is the audit itself. We’re seeing small and mid-market businesses budgeting between $10k-$50k depending on the size of the organization, the industry, and the audit period.

You may be audited, for instance, based on information from a particular moment in time, the last six months, or longer. The timeline is usually specified by your business prospect or client.

In total, the market costs for SOC 2 can reach up to $90k for small and mid-market Canadian businesses.

 

Simplifying SOC 2 Compliance

Ensuring SOC 2 compliance can be a complex, time-consuming, and costly process for most small and medium companies, but it doesn’t have to be!

Meet Mindsec — your trusted partner during every step of your SOC 2 compliance journey.

With our automation software and compliance specialist services both in English and French, our offering focuses on your business needs and can save you up to 70% of your SOC 2 compliance costs.

By taking care of the full cycle and supporting all elements of SOC 2, including our network of certified auditors, we can significantly reduce the amount of internal resources you would need to assign.

 

Mindsec adds value to your business and helps you:

  • Eliminate costs and complexity with automated risk assessments and policy builders.
  • Gain peace-of-mind with pre-mapped validated security and privacy controls.
  • Save time and build trust fast with automated evidence collection.
  • Accelerate business confidence and prove continuous compliance with real-time monitoring dashboards.

At Mindsec, we are not just a compliance automation solution; we are your professional partner at every step of your security compliance journey. From start to audit-ready and beyond.

Our team is made up of security and compliance gurus, so you don’t have to be one.

Let Mindsec take care of your SOC 2 compliance so that it’s built to last. We are committed to ensuring you meet compliance requirements, boost sales, shorten cycles, and instill unwavering confidence in your customers.

To learn more about the benefits of having SOC 2 compliance streamlined with our automated solution and compliance specialists, reach out to us here.

 

Mindsec Staff

Mindsec staff