Texas Compliance, LLC, an affiliated member of NDNB, offers industry leading SOC 2 Type 1 and SOC 2 Type 2 audits and assessment reports for Dallas, Texas businesses. With the continued growth of third-party service providers being used by businesses for handling a wide-range of activities, SOC 2 audits have been – and still are – the go-to assessment for these very third-parties. Tens of thousands of businesses all throughout the country have to undergo annual SOC 2 compliance, with a large number of them residing in the greater Dallas area. As a leading provider of security, governance, and compliance solutions, Texas Compliance, LLC offers fixed fees and superior services.

Call our Dallas office today at 214-430-3146. And if you’re in need of SOC audit services in Houston or Austin, call us at 713-496-0293 or 512-643-1520.

Specifically, we offer the following services and solutions to Dallas businesses relating to SOC 2 compliance:

SOC 2 Scoping & Readiness Assessments

Performing a SOC 2 Scoping & Readiness Assessment is one of the most important activities a business can do prior to commencing with an actual SOC 2 audit. Why? Because it’s important to gain a strong understanding of scoping & readiness issues relating to the following:

• What business processes are to be included within the scope of the SOC 2 audit?
• What relevant personnel and third-party organizations will be involved in the audit?
• What gaps and control deficiencies have been identified that require remediation prior to the audit starting? Note: Gaps are typically found in two areas: 1. Documentation gaps in terms of policies and procedures and 2. Security gaps in terms of software tools and solutions that are missing and must be acquired.

SOC 2 Remediation

When it comes to remediation for SOC 2 audits, its generally a two-fold process. The first being documentation remediation, with the second being operational/security remediation. Let’s take a look at both and discuss them in more detail. Regarding documentation remediation, this requires service organizations to develop a wide-range of information security policies and procedures. Here’s just a small example of some of the documents that need to be developed:

Texas Compliance, LLC offers numerous PCI DSS compliance services and solutions for Austin, TX merchants and service providers looking to become compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) provisions.

If you’re an Austin business that stores, processes, and/or transmits cardholder data, you’ll need to be compliant with PCI. We can assist. We have years of experience helping Austin businesses become – and stay – PCI DSS compliant. We also offer fixed-fees for a wide-range of services and solutions for the PCI DSS industry. Contact our most senior PCI specialist at 1-800-277-5415, ext. 705 today to learn more.

Services offered for PCI DSS compliance for Austin Businesses consist of the following:

PCI DSS Scoping & Readiness Assessments

Getting off on the right track in terms of PCI DSS compliance starts by performing a much-needed scoping assessment BEFORE you try and actually become compliant. After all, Austin merchants and service providers need to gain a strong understanding of project scope in terms of personnel, business systems, third-parties and more.

Additionally, areas that require remediation (both in terms of documentation and technical remediation) will also need to be identified and addressed. When performed correctly, a PCI DSS scoping & readiness assessment will save Austin merchants both time and money in the long run. Contact our most senior PCI specialist at 1-800-277-5415, ext. 705 today to learn more.

If you as a service organization in Texas are working towards becoming compliant with the SSAE 18 assurance standard, then it's important to understand all aspects of SSAE no. 18 audits – what they are, what do they include, and what they're designed to do. SSAE, which stands for Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements, is a broad umbrella of standards contained within a report – whether Type 1 or Type 2, about a given organization's reporting standards and controls.

With so many letters and numbers, however, the landscape of SSAE 18 audits can easily – and problematically – become a minefield. Luckily, once you're over the initial hump of learning, things get a little simpler. So, let's start with the basics: what exactly does an SSAE 18 audit entail?

AICPA: Their Role in SSAE 18 SOC 1 Audits

The AICPA, for starters, refers to the American Institute of Certified Public Accounts. They're the ones who have set up SOC – the System and Organization Controls – the reporting framework we're working with, the platform that essentially replaced the aging and antiquated SAS 70 standard. As of June 15, 2011, the professionally mandated form of doing that reporting for SOC 1 reports is by using the SSAE no. 16 audit procedures. But that was replaced also, and now we’re onto SSAE 18.

Texas Compliance, LLC is Texas’ premier provider of SOC 2 Type 1 and SOC 2 Type 2 audits, offering exceptional services and fixed-fee pricing for service providers in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.

We’ve performed hundreds of SOC 2 audits over the years, effectively establishing ourselves as a true household name throughout Texas, and beyond.

With a challenging business world that’s become even more competitive by the day, businesses need to meet demanding compliance mandates from their customers – such as SOC 2 reporting – but also find ways for ensuring an efficient and cost-effective audit process is maintained.

Texas businesses in Houston, Austin, Dallas – and all other surrounding locations – are being hammered with growing regulatory compliance audits, particularly SSAE 18 SOC 1 and SOC 2 audits. They can be expensive, time-consuming, and operationally challenging – no question about it – so now’s the time to learn essential best practices for helping slay the regulatory compliance dragon once and for all. After all, you’ve got a business to run, so turn to the Texas compliance experts today at Texas Compliance, LLC for learning important points about today’s demanding regulatory compliance challenges.

Texas’ Leading Provider of Fixed-Fee SOC Audits – Learn More

As for SSAE 18 SOC 1 and SOC 2 compliance, thousands of businesses throughout North America are performing these annual compliance audits, many of them in an efficient and cost-effective manner, thanks to learning important information regarding audit planning, preparation, and execution.  Here’s what you need to know about SOC 1 and SOC 2 audits, compliments of the Texas compliance experts at Texas Compliance, LLC

1. Find a Firm that Provides Fixed-Fees:  Not only do you want to find a firm that offers fixed-fees, you also want to have a multi-year engagement for ensuring a consistent and efficient audit process from year to year. Changing auditors every year results in inefficiencies that often create additional costs for the overall audit.  Texas Compliance, LLC offers fixed-fees for all SOC 2 engagements – it’s been our standard pricing model for years.

2. Begin with a Scoping & Readiness Assessment: Any type of compliance mandate – and especially SOC 1 and SOC 2 assessments – need to begin with a comprehensive scoping & readiness assessment, and for some obvious reasons.  First and foremost, service organizations need to identify and confirm audit scope in terms of business processes, personnel involved, physical locations, and what relevant third-parties are considered part of the audit. Next, it’s highly essential to identify all gaps and control weaknesses that require remediation.

The SOC 2 Type 1 guidelines, which have been published by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), consist of the AT 101 professional standard, along with the inclusion of the following five (5) Trust Services Principles (TSP):

• Security
• Availability
• Processing Integrity
• Confidentiality
• Privacy

The Importance of a SOC 2 Scoping & Readiness Assessment

Want to save time, money, while reducing cost overruns and headaches when it comes to SOC 2 compliance? If so, and we’re sure you do, then begin the process with a much-needed SOC 2 scoping & readiness assessment. Benefits of such an assessment include the following:

• Effectively identifies audit scope in terms of business processes to be examined, which would include physical locations to assess, personal involved in the audit, relevant third-party providers, and more. 
• Assesses current internal controls in terms of policies, procedures, and processes, and what gaps and deficiencies exist that require remediation prior to the commencement of the actual SOC 2 audit.
• Helps ensure transparency for the entire audit process, while also putting in place a roadmap for auditing success.

Additional points worth noting about Texas Compliance, LLC’s industry leading SOC 2 Type 1 guidelines are the following:

• SOC 2 Type 1 assessments are done for a point in time, whereas SOC 2 Type 2 assessments are conducted over an agreed upon time period.
• Becoming SOC 2 Type 1 compliance means putting in place numerous information security policies and procedures, for which Texas Compliance, LLC offers a complimentary SOC 2 Policy Packet with all the documentation needed.
• SOC 2 Type 1 guidelines call for the use of the five (5) Trust Services Principles.
• SOC 2 Type 1 guidelines require management of the service organization to develop a written statement of assertion and provide a description of its “system”.

Other Important Considerations for SOC 2 Type 1 Reports

Policies and Procedures are Key to Compliance: That’s right, having well-written information security policies and procedures are a big part of becoming – and staying – SOC 2 compliant. In fact, many Texas businesses quickly find that developing such documentation is often the most time-consuming and taxing aspect of the entire audit!

For that reason alone, we offer industry leading InfoSec policy templates for helping Texas businesses save thousands of dollars and dozens of operational hours on critical policy development.  It’s just another reason why so many firms in Texas look to Texas Compliance, LLC for SOC 2 audit guidance and expertise.

PCI DSS Compliance Overview for Austin Merchants & Small Businesses

Call Texas Compliance, LLC at 1-888-447-2209, ext. 700 for high-quality, fixed fee compliance and certification services for Austin, TX businesses. As one of North America’s longest licensed PCI-QSA firms, Texas Compliance, LLC, and its affiliated entities, has built an efficient PCI DSS compliance model consisting of lockstep phases for rapid and complete compliance.

While most merchants and service providers in Austin are spending hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of dollars on annual PCI DSS compliance, Texas Compliance, LLC’s clients are building an efficient process that saves both time and money. From essential policy templates to Level 1 onsite assessments – and more – Texas Compliance, LLC offers a wealth of cost-effective, fixed-fee solutions for PCI DSS compliance.

PCI DSS QSA Compliance & Certification Austin, TX | Fixed Fees

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) are an important component for ensuring cardholder data is secure when being stored, processed and/or transmitted, so talk to the industry leaders today at Texas Compliance, LLC by contacting our most senior PCI-QSA at 1-888-447-2209, ext. 700.

Texas Compliance, LLC offers the following PCI DSS services to merchants and service providers throughout the Austin, TX area: