SOC 2: What It Is and How Purplecop Helps You Prepare
SOC 2 is an attestation report, not a certification, issued by an independent CPA firm under AICPA's Trust Services Criteria. It evaluates a service organization's controls around security and, optionally, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy.
SOC 2 is an attestation report, not a certification, issued by an independent CPA firm under AICPA's Trust Services Criteria. It evaluates a service organization's controls around security and, optionally, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy. Purplecop Security's GRC & Compliance Advisory service helps organizations prepare for a SOC 2 Type I or Type II report.
What is SOC 2?
SOC 2 ("System and Organization Controls 2") is a reporting framework created by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) for evaluating the controls a service organization has in place around the systems it uses to process customer data. It is built on the Trust Services Criteria (TSC): Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality and Privacy. Security (the "Common Criteria") is mandatory in every SOC 2 report; the other four categories are selected based on the services the organization provides and what its customers need assurance over.
A key distinction buyers often miss: SOC 2 is an attestation, not a certification. An independent, licensed CPA firm examines the organization's controls and issues a report containing its professional opinion — there is no pass/fail "SOC 2 certified" badge issued by AICPA itself, and vendors should be precise about saying they have "a SOC 2 report" rather than being "SOC 2 certified."
What is the difference between SOC 2 Type I and Type II?
- Type I reports on whether controls are suitably designed as of a specific point in time.
- Type II reports on whether those controls operated effectively over an observation period — commonly cited in industry guidance as ranging from about three to twelve months, with six months a common choice for a first-time report.
Type II is generally considered to carry more weight with enterprise buyers because it demonstrates sustained operation of controls over time rather than a single snapshot.
What does a SOC 2 report cover?
Every SOC 2 report includes the mandatory Security (Common Criteria) category. Organizations then add any of the four optional categories relevant to their service:
- Availability — the system is available for operation and use as committed.
- Processing Integrity — system processing is complete, accurate, timely and authorized.
- Confidentiality — information designated confidential is protected.
- Privacy — personal information is collected, used, retained and disposed of in line with the organization's privacy notice.
Most SaaS companies start with Security alone, or Security plus Availability, and add further categories as customer requirements demand.
How long does a SOC 2 audit take?
Timing has two parts, and figures below come from industry/consultancy guidance rather than an AICPA-published figure:
- Preparation (control implementation and evidence readiness) commonly takes several weeks to a few months, depending on how mature existing controls already are.
- The observation period for a Type II report is the window the auditor actually tests — commonly three to twelve months, chosen by the organization based on customer expectations and how quickly it needs the report. (A Type I has no observation period, since it reports on a single point in time.)
What does SOC 2 cost?
AICPA does not publish standard pricing for SOC 2 audits; cost is set by the CPA firm performing the audit and scales with company size, scope (how many Trust Services Categories are in scope) and auditor tier. Industry cost guides commonly cite rough total ranges from the low tens of thousands of dollars up to $150,000–$200,000+ for larger or Type II engagements with larger audit firms, with the audit fee itself often only part of the total cost once internal readiness work is included. These are market estimates, not figures published by AICPA, and will vary significantly by your actual scope and chosen auditor — get a direct quote from a CPA firm for an accurate number.
Does Purplecop help with SOC 2 compliance?
Yes. Purplecop Security's GRC & Compliance Advisory service includes SOC 2 in its supported framework adoption work, alongside ISO/IEC 27001, NIST CSF 2.0, PCI DSS, HIPAA, DPDPA and GDPR, and includes audit readiness and auditor liaison.
As with any SOC 2 engagement, the report itself must be issued by an independent, licensed CPA firm. Purplecop's advisory work supports readiness, not the attestation itself.
How is SOC 2 different from ISO 27001?
Both relate to information security, but they are not interchangeable:
- SOC 2 is an attestation report from a CPA firm under AICPA criteria, reporting on a point in time (Type I) or a period (Type II), and is most common among US-based and US-facing SaaS vendors.
- ISO 27001 is a certification against an international ISO/IEC management-system standard, issued by an accredited certification body and valid for a three-year cycle with annual surveillance audits.
Many vendors selling into global markets pursue both. See our ISO 27001 page for the full breakdown.