SOC 2 Readiness — Type I & Type II Audit Support
SOC 2 is not a certification — it is an attestation report issued by a licensed CPA firm, built around the AICPA's Trust Services Criteria: Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy. It has become the default trust signal SaaS and B2B technology buyers ask for before signing, particularly for US-facing and enterprise deals, and increasingly appears in UK and EU procurement too.
Mutex Systems runs SOC 2 readiness programmes mapping controls to the Trust Services Criteria, automating evidence collection, and providing auditor liaison for both Type I and Type II reports.
- Category
- Compliance Framework
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- Issuing Body
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
- Current Version
- 2017 Trust Services Criteria, as revised (points of focus updated 2022)
- Who It's For
- SaaS companies and technology vendors selling into enterprise buyers who require independent assurance over security, availability, and data-handling controls before signing a contract.
Core Domains
A Practical Compliance Path
- 01
Scoping & Criteria Selection
Determine which Trust Services Criteria apply beyond the mandatory Security criterion, based on what your customers actually ask for.
- 02
Gap Analysis & Remediation
Map existing controls against the selected criteria, close gaps, and document policies and procedures the auditor will test against.
- 03
Type I Report
A point-in-time assessment of whether controls are suitably designed — the faster route to a first report for companies with buyer pressure.
- 04
Type II Report
Assesses operating effectiveness over an observation period, typically three to twelve months, with automated evidence collection reducing the audit-season scramble.
Automated Evidence, Auditor-Ready Documentation
SOC 2 readiness programmes typically run three to six months for a Type I report and a further six to twelve months for a Type II, with evidence collection automated rather than manually assembled at audit time.
- Trust Services Criteria gap analysis and remediation plan built around what your actual buyers ask for
- Automated evidence collection and policy documentation, reducing the pre-audit scramble
- Auditor liaison throughout the Type I and Type II audit process
Evidence Collected Continuously, Not Chased Before Audit Season
grComply automates the part of SOC 2 that burns the most calendar time — evidence collection over the Type II observation period — with agentless external scanning and agent-based internal scanning generating findings mapped directly to Trust Services Criteria controls as they occur.
- Evidence uploaded once is auto-linked to every Trust Services Criteria it satisfies, plus any overlapping ISO 27001 or NIST CSF control, cutting duplicate collection work
- A live audit trail across the full observation period gives the auditor exactly the operating-effectiveness evidence a Type II report requires, instead of a scramble reconstructed from memory
- Role-scoped access across defined roles keeps evidence visibility appropriate for engineering, compliance, and executive stakeholders throughout the audit window
- The AI assistant drafts policy documentation and explains control gaps, shortening the pre-Type-I gap-remediation cycle
grComply is Mutex Systems' own multi-tenant GRC automation platform — the framework library, hybrid scanning, risk and audit workflow, and AI-assisted compliance behind every point above are live in production today.
See How grComply WorksCommon Questions About SOC 2
What is the difference between SOC 2 Type I and Type II?
A Type I report assesses whether controls are suitably designed at a single point in time. A Type II report goes further, assessing whether those controls actually operated effectively over an observation period — typically three to twelve months, most commonly six to twelve. Type II carries more weight with enterprise buyers because it demonstrates sustained operation, not just design.
Which Trust Services Criteria do we need to include?
Security is mandatory for every SOC 2 report. The other four — Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy — are selected based on what your service actually does and what your customers ask for. Most SaaS companies start with Security and Availability, adding Confidentiality if they handle sensitive customer data, and Privacy if personal data processing is central to the product.
Is SOC 2 a certification like ISO 27001?
No. SOC 2 is an attestation report issued by a licensed CPA firm following the AICPA's auditing standards, not a certification issued by an accredited certification body in the way ISO 27001 is. The report is typically shared under NDA with prospective and existing customers rather than publicly listed.
How long does SOC 2 readiness take?
Readiness programmes typically run three to six months to prepare for a Type I report. A Type II report requires an additional observation period of three to twelve months on top of that, during which the auditor tests whether controls actually operated as designed.
Can Mutex Systems support both Type I and Type II readiness?
Yes. Mutex Systems provides Trust Services Criteria gap analysis, automated evidence collection, policy documentation, and auditor liaison for both Type I and Type II SOC 2 reports.
Ready to Start Your SOC 2 Programme?
Send us your current posture and timeline. Within two working days you will receive a written response and a proposed scoping call.