Full Answer
What is SSAE 16?
SSAE 16 stands for Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements No. 16. Effective in mid-2011, this new auditing standard superseded the SAS 70 standard.
What is AICPA SSAE 16 and why does it matter?
According to AICPA, the SSAE 16 requires companies, like data centers, to provide a written report that describes any and all controls at organizations that provide services to customers when those controls are likely to be relevant to user entities internal control over financial reporting. In May of 2017, SSAE 16 was super-ceded by SSAE 18.
Who is responsible for SSAE 16 physical security compliance?
As with any information security management, SSAE 16 for physical security solutions are written into the job description of whoever is held responsible - usually company leaders, CEOs or CIOs. Also, they usually include all staff and outsourced partners. What Does CPA Reporting Mean for SSAE 16 Physical Security Compliance?
What is the difference between SOC 1 and SSAE 16?
It is important to note that the SSAE 16 standard was specific to service organizations and the SSAE 18 is for all attestation engagements which essentially means that referring to a SOC 1 as an SSAE 16 examination will go away and will not be replaced by the term SSAE 18 examination but will be referred to simply as the SOC 1.
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What does SSAE 16 stand for?
16 (SSAE 16) is a set of auditing standards and guidance on using the standards, published by the Auditing Standards Board (ASB) of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), for redefining and updating how service companies report on compliance controls.
What is a SSAE 16 report used for?
SSAE 16 reporting can help service organizations comply with Sarbanes–Oxley's requirement (section 404) to show effective internal controls covering financial reporting. It can also be applied to data centers or any other service that might be used in the delivery of financial reporting.
Is SSAE 16 same as SOC 1?
The SSAE 16 audit will result in a Service Organization Control (SOC) 1 report. This report focuses on internal controls over financial reporting. A SOC 1, Type 1 report focuses on the auditors' opinion of the accuracy and completeness of the data center management's design of controls, system and/or service.
Who needs a SSAE 16 audit?
SSAE 16 (Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements 16) is a must for CPAs (Certified Public Accountants) who need to follow the regulations set by the U.S. Auditing Standards Board (ASB). It describes and identifies how service companies report on compliance controls.
Is SSAE 16 the same as SOC 2?
While SAS 70 and SSAE 16/SOC 1 are designed to measure financial controls, the SOC 2 audit is designed to measure Service Organization Controls related to: Security. Availability. Processing Integrity.
What replaced SSAE 16?
SSAE 18The AICPA has replaced the audit standard known as SSAE 16 with a new standard effective for report dates on or after May 1, 2017. This new standard, known as SSAE 18, is designed to address and clarify concerns over the clarity, length and complexity of the many other AICPA standards.
What is soc1 and SOC 2 compliance?
Summary. A SOC 1 report is designed to address internal controls over financial reporting while a SOC 2 report addresses a service organization's controls that are relevant to their operations and compliance.
What is SSAE 16 Type II audit?
SSAE-16 SOC 2 Type 2 stands for Standards of Attestations Engagement No. 16, System and Organizations Controls Report 2, Type 2. This AICPA-developed auditing report assesses how well organizations handle data security, system privacy, data confidentiality and data processing processes.
Are SOC 1 reports mandatory?
No, SOC reports are not required by law; meaning that government laws and regulations do not require a business to obtain a SOC report to register the organization or operate the delivery of its system or services.
What is soc1 and SOC 2 audit?
A SOC 1 Audit is focused on internal controls related to financial reporting (ICFR). A SOC 2 Audit is focused on information and IT security identified by any of 5 Trust Services Categories: security, confidentiality, information privacy, processing integrity and availability.
What is a SOC 2 report used for?
A SOC 2 audit report provides detailed information and assurance about a service organisation's security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy controls, based on their compliance with the AICPA's TSC, in accordance with SSAE 18.
Is SSAE 18 the same as SOC 2?
SSAE18 SOC 3 reports are similar to SOC 2 in that they provide assurance about the controls at a service organization regarding security, availability, processing integrity confidentiality, or privacy, but they do not provide the same degree of detailed information regarding a service organization's systems.
What is a SSAE 16 SOC 2 report?
SSAE-16 SOC 2 Type 2 stands for Standards of Attestations Engagement No. 16, System and Organizations Controls Report 2, Type 2. This AICPA-developed auditing report assesses how well organizations handle data security, system privacy, data confidentiality and data processing processes.
What is a SOC 2 report used for?
A SOC 2 audit report provides detailed information and assurance about a service organisation's security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy controls, based on their compliance with the AICPA's TSC, in accordance with SSAE 18.
What is the difference between SSAE 16 SOC 1 and SOC 2?
16 (SSAE 16). SOC 1 offers both Type 1 and Type 2 (also written as “Type ii”) reports. A Type 1 report demonstrates that your company's internal financial controls are properly designed, while a Type 2 report further demonstrates that your controls operate effectively over a period.
What is the difference between Ssars and SSAE?
The deciding factor is the type of client the company is. If the client is an issuer (i.e. public company), then a review engagement is subject to SSAE standards. If the client is a non-issuer (private), then the review engagement is subject to SSARS standards.
What is SSAE 16?
SSAE 16 reporting can help service organizations comply with Sarbanes–Oxley 's requirement (section 404) to show effective internal controls covering financial reporting.
What is SOC 2 audit?
In technology SaaS companies, the SOC 2 audit is purchased to provide an assurance on various aspects of the software including security, availability, and processing integrity.
How long does it take to get a SOC 1 type 2 report?
The SSAE 16 standard requires a minimum of six months of operation of the controls for a SOC 1 Type 2 report. Public companies in the United States fall under the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act, also known as Sarbanes–Oxley or SOX.
What is SAS 70 SOC?
The "service auditor’s examination" of SAS 70 is replaced by a System and Organization Controls ( SOC) report. SSAE 16 was issued in April 2010, and became effective in June 2011. Many organizations that followed SAS 70 have now shifted to SSAE 16. Some service organizations use the SSAE 16 report status to show they are more capable, ...
What is AICPA section 101?
For reports that are not specifically focused on internal controls over financial reporting, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has issued an Interpretation under AT Section 101 permitting service auditors to issue reports.
Continuum GRC Clarifies What SSAE 16 Compliance Means
When contracting with a service provider, such as a data center, it is important for companies to ensure that their provider possesses the cyber security-related certifications and compliance standards that are applicable to the company’s industry.
What is SSAE 16?
SSAE 16 is an internationally recognized auditing standard for service organizations. It was developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and replaces the previous standard, SAS 70.
Need SSAE 16 Compliance Auditing Services?
If you have questions about SSAE 16 compliance, or if your company needs SSAE 16 auditing services, Continuum GRC can help! Continuum GRC provides both do-it-yourself and Cybervisor®-supported SSAE 16 modules to support SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOC 3 audit reports.
What Is SSAE 16?
SSAE 16 stands for Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements No. 16. Effective in mid-2011, this new auditing standard superseded the SAS 70 standard. According to AICPA, the SSAE 16 requires companies, like data centers, to provide a written report that describes any and all controls at organizations that provide services to customers when those controls are likely to be relevant to user entities’ internal control over financial reporting. In May of 2017, SSAE 16 was super-ceded by SSAE 18.
When does SSAE 18 go into effect?
The SSAE 18 standard will go into effect for reports dated after May 1, 2017. It is important to note that the SSAE 16 standard was specific to service organizations and the SSAE 18 is for all attestation engagements which essentially means that referring to a SOC 1 as an SSAE 16 examination will go away and will not be replaced by ...
What Is SOC 1?
The SSAE 18 SOC 1, sometimes just stated as SOC 1, is the report you get when you are audited for SSAE 18. The SOC 1 Type 1 report focuses on a service provider’s processes and controls that could impact their client’s internal control over their financial reporting (ICFR). The examination helps ensure that both the system and personnel responsible for these controls at the third-party provider are doing their job in a manner that will not adversely affect their client’s ICFR. This report is key with respect to services such as payroll and taxation since when performed by a third-party provider, such services will have a direct impact on a client’s ICFR. For example, if you outsource payroll management to a provider that doesn’t have the proper controls in place, you risk payroll errors in your internal data. This will come with problematic consequences since, in the end, you will be held accountable for those errors.
What is the key to a secure service provider?
The key is to employ the services of a provider that is properly certified and meets the demand for confidentiality and privacy of information. This is what you’ll need to guarantee your users’ trust, especially if you are dealing with financial or health-related personal data. To obtain this assurance, you are entitled to require from the service provider proof that it has proper controls in place, as verified by a third-party accounting firm. This proof comes in the form of SOC 1 and SOC 2 reports.
What is SOC report?
SOC (‘Service Organization Control’) reports were created by the AICPA in order to set compliance standards and keep pace with the rapid growth of cloud computing and businesses outsourcing their services to third-party providers.
What is SAS 70?
Before AICPA drafted the SSAE 16 standards and the SOC reports, it had a single examination for Service Providers based upon Statement s on Auditing Standards (SAS) 70. This standard was launched to ensure that third-party providers had the proper controls in place to prevent the service provider from having an errant material impact on its customer’s internal control over financial reporting (ICFR). With the development of cloud computing and an increase in the number of companies entrusting third-party providers with their customer data, a need emerged for a standard that expanded beyond financial controls to also include security and confidentiality of the entrusted data. To clarify the new set of standards and include new business practices, the AICPA replaced the SAS 70 report with the SOC framework.
What Is SSAE 18?
The S tatement on Standards for Attestation Engagements No. 1 6, or simply SSAE 18, is a set of guidelines for reporting on the level of controls at a service organization. The guidelines were created by the AICPA and went into effect May 1, 2017; replacing SSAE 16 which replaced SAS 70 as an auditing standard for service organization.
What Is SSAE 18 Type I and Type II?
An SSAE 18 Type I and Type II report is an effective way to communicate information about the controls a service organization has on its system. Both reports detail the opinion of an independent service auditor’s report on the organization’s system and the service organization’s description of the system.
What Is SSAE 18 Compliance?
With the new framework of the SOC reports added to the SSAE 18 standards, SSAE 18 can now replace SAS 70 for service organizations to report on its internal business practices and system controls. The SOC reporting framework consists of 3 types of reporting standards; the SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOC 3.
What is SSAE 18?
As a revision of SSAE-16, the Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements No. 18 (SSAE-18) establishes the standards for how ColoCrossing handles, operates, and controls data related to customers and financial reporting. Through these standards we provide the ability for customers to gain insight into the controls we have in place which maintain a controlled environment for colocation and dedicated server hosting services. There are various frameworks under SSAE-18 called Service Organization Controls (SOC)s. ColoCrossing has undergone both SOC 1 and SOC 2 assessments and can provide the resulting compliance reports to clients upon request.
What are the new SSAE 18 guidelines?
The new SSAE-18 guidelines require service providers to evaluate the effectiveness of controls put in place at the organization level.
What is colocrossing SSAE 18?
ColoCrossing is committed to providing above-industry controls and safeguards when providing colocation, dedicated server hosting, and network services to customers. To ensure these highest of standards, we’ve successfully completed SSAE-18 audits through an independent accounting and auditing firm. This audit helps clients seeking services understand the conditions of operational controls and business processes set in place to help keep their colocation services and dedicated servers housed in a safe and controlled environment.
What is compliance in colocrossing?
Compliance ensures the accuracy of ColoCrossing's description and implementation of their services. It lets you know that the controls and processes we have set in place are diligent and documented.
Why is security audited?
Security is audited to insure our data centers, systems, and services are protected against unauthorized access, use, or unattended modification. We provide personalized tours for any one of our perspective customers to help give them a full understanding of our IT solutions.
