Interdepartmental Involvement for SOC 2 Readiness

Preparing for your first SOC 2 audit requires contributions from multiple parts of your organization. While Vanta streamlines and automates much of the work, successful preparation depends on clear communication across departments and alignment on responsibilities.

This guide outlines the typical time investment, areas of involvement, and how different teams play a role in SOC 2 readiness.

Time Investment

On average, companies using Vanta should plan to spend about 40 hours on their first SOC 2 readiness effort. This time is spread across several departments and varies based on the scope of your SOC 2 audit and how many processes you already have in place.

We recommend reviewing the Tests and Documents section in Vanta after:

Determining the scope of your SOC 2.
Connecting your integrations.

From there, you’ll see your true list of “to-dos.” This helps you:

Identify what’s already in place.
Understand where additional work is required.
Accurately set expectations for cross-functional involvement.

For example:

Background checks may already be part of your HR workflows - meaning minimal effort is needed from People Ops.
Access control processes may already exist within Engineering/IT - reducing the need for new setup.

The key is to align on what’s truly open before involving other departments.

Departmental Roles in SOC 2

SOC 2 readiness is a team effort. Here’s how different functions typically contribute:

Engineering / IT / Security (~50% of time)

These teams own many of the technical

controls auditors look for, including:

Access Control: User provisioning, modification, and removal; access reviews; authentication standards.
System Security: Encryption, firewalls, and secure network configurations.
Change Management: Deployment reviews, change approvals, and documentation of modifications.
Logical & Physical Security: Defining clear boundaries for system access, physical server rooms, and network segmentation
to prevent unauthorized access.
Encryption & Key Management: Applying encryption to sensitive data in transit and at rest, and maintaining secure key
management practices.

Security / DevSecOps (~20% of time and effort)

Security focused teams lead the ongoing monitoring and incident management activities that keep systems compliant and secure:

System Operations Monitoring: Continuously monitoring system performance, security logs, and alerts to detect and respond to anomalies.
Vulnerability Management: Conducting regular vulnerability scans, tracking remediation progress, and verifying fixes to reduce risk.
Incident Response: Developing, testing, and refining incident response plans, including defined roles, escalation paths, and post incident reviews.
Continuous Improvement: Reviewing security findings and audit outcomes to strengthen processes and reduce recurring issues

Operations / Leadership (~25% of time/effort)

Operations and leadership teams ensure governance and oversight across SOC 2 domains:

Policies: Creating and maintaining policies that align with SOC 2 criteria.
Risk Assessments: Conducting annual reviews and tracking remediation.
Vendor Management: Establishing a process for evaluating and managing third-party risk.
Executive Involvement: Ensuring leadership and the board understand and support SOC 2 obligations.

HR / People Operations (~25% of time/effort)

People teams are essential to the “human” side of security:

Onboarding/Offboarding: Ensuring secure and consistent employee lifecycle processes.
Background Checks: Verifying compliance with screening requirements.
Training: Running security awareness programs for all employees.
Agreements: Managing confidentiality and employment/contractor agreements.

Key Takeaway

A successful SOC 2 effort isn’t about any one department - it’s about clear ownership and cross-functional alignment. By reviewing your open items in Vanta and assigning responsibilities early, you can set realistic expectations, reduce duplicate work, and ensure a smoother path

to audit readiness.

Updates to SOC 2 Framework

Frequently Asked Questions: SOC 2 Bridge Letter

Vanta Guide to SOC 2: Type I & Type II

Personnel Onboarding Template: SOC 2

Vanta GRC Implementation Guide