Six questions to ask about your SOC 2 auditor's independence
When a compliance tool arranges, bundles or performs your SOC 2 audit, ask six questions: is the auditor a licensed CPA firm, is it enrolled in AICPA peer review, what is its business arrangement with the tool vendor, who does the fieldwork, how are exceptions reported, and what happens if you change tools.
Several SOC 2 tools help startups reach an auditor. In this guide, Scytale offers Built-In Audit with partner auditors, Thoropass provides audit work from the same company through its audit partner, Secureframe lists access to its Audit Partner Network, and Vanta says 26k audits have been completed with AICPA-peer reviewed auditors. Arrangements like these can save weeks. They also make it worth asking how the auditor stays separate from the company that prepared you.
In 2026 the accounting profession's own publications discussed the subject several times. The AICPA's Ethics Staff Insights published 'Business arrangements with SOC tool providers' on 2026-04-13, and the Journal of Accountancy published 'Promises of "fast and easy" threaten SOC credibility' on 2026-02-01 and 'AICPA guides peer reviewers to address SOC 2 risks' on 2026-05-14. We list these titles as further reading for buyers; they are the profession's guidance, not findings about any tool in this guide.
1. Is the auditor a licensed CPA firm?
Only a licensed CPA firm can issue a SOC 2 report. Ask for the firm's legal name and where it is licensed, and check that the name on the engagement letter is the name that will sign the report.
2. Is the firm enrolled in AICPA peer review?
Peer review is the profession's quality check on firms that perform audit and attestation work. Ask whether the firm is enrolled and when its last review took place.
3. What is the business arrangement between the auditor and the tool vendor?
Ask both parties, in writing, whether there are referral fees, revenue sharing, joint ownership or exclusive arrangements. A clear answer is a good sign. An arrangement is not a problem in itself; not knowing about it is.
4. Who will do the fieldwork?
Ask for the names and experience of the people who will examine your controls, and whether any of them helped you prepare. The people who helped build your controls should not be the people who test them.
5. How are exceptions reported?
In a Type II report, exceptions are listed with the tests. Ask how the firm decides what is an exception, when you will see a draft, and how management responses are included. A report without any exceptions is not automatically a better report.
6. What happens if we change tools?
Ask whether you can keep the same auditor if you move to a different compliance tool, and whether the price changes. The answer tells you how tied the audit is to the software.
Why this matters for a first report
Your customers read the report because they trust the CPA firm behind it. A first report from a firm your customers' security teams recognise and respect is worth more than a faster report they question.
Sources
- AICPA SOC suite of servicesSource: aicpa-cima.com · Read 2026-09-29
- Scytale audit managementSource: scytale.ai · Read 2026-09-29
- Thoropass homepageSource: thoropass.com · Read 2026-09-29
- Secureframe pricingSource: secureframe.com · Read 2026-09-29
- Vanta for startupsSource: vanta.com · Read 2026-09-29
Questions founders ask
Is a bundled SOC 2 audit a problem?
Not in itself. Ask the six questions above and get the business arrangement in writing.
What did the AICPA publish about SOC tool providers?
Its Ethics Staff Insights item 'Business arrangements with SOC tool providers' is dated 2026-04-13. We cite the title and date; read the AICPA material for its content.