SOC 2 compliance is a rigorous framework designed to ensure businesses handle customer data with the utmost care. It covers five key areas - security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy.
Achieving SOC 2 compliance requires an overhaul of an organization's systems and processes. Companies must implement a high level of security measures, conduct thorough risk assessments and maintain detailed documentation. This extensive undertaking often involves investments in time, resources and specialized expertise.
The SOC 2 compliance journey is not a one-time event, though. It demands ongoing maintenance and adaptation to evolving threats and industry standards. Businesses must continuously monitor their systems, update security controls and prepare for regular audits to maintain compliance.
To alleviate some of the burdens associated with these assessments, Armanino LLP, an accounting and consulting firm, recently announced a new AI-powered tool designed to speed up the SOC 2 assessment process. The firm's custom-built platform, Audit Ally, has been enhanced with generative AI capabilities to automate tasks, improve efficiency and provide clearer communication between auditors and clients.
Audit Ally, now fortified with AWS Bedrock and Anthropic Claude 3, automatically summarizes complex audit notes into plain language to provide clients with actionable insights. This feature is expected to save auditors countless hours while making sure clients are fully informed about the progress of their assessment.
Audit Ally's AI capabilities also help identify missing information or documentation by creating a comprehensive paper trail within the platform. This reduces the back-and-forth between auditors and clients.
To further enhance client support, Armanino integrated Intercom's Fin AI Agent into Audit Ally. This AI-powered chatbot answers client questions about the assessment process and provides immediate responses to inquiries about progress, missing items or other concerns. If a client's question requires more in-depth attention, the chatbot easily connects them with an Armanino team member for further assistance.
“Any auditor can tell you how challenging it is to use compliance-friendly language that clients understand and how much they agonize over time lost trying to translate audit-speak into action items, so that clients and auditors are on the same page,” said AJ Yawn, Partner, Product and Innovation for Armanino. “With generative AI in Audit Ally, translating audit-speak into clear guidance speeds up the process significantly, improving clarity.”
Armanino emphasizes that data privacy and security remain paramount. The firm has implemented measures to be certain that all client information is handled in accordance with applicable data privacy regulations. As the firm continues to refine its AI capabilities, it plans to explore additional opportunities to improve efficiency and deliver even greater value to its clients.
“At Armanino, we are leading the charge in unlocking the transformative power of AI in the accounting and consulting space," said Matt Armanino, CEO of Armanino. "Audit Ally is just one example of our team’s commitment to deploying AI in smart ways to truly improve how we service our clients while maintaining the highest standards of quality and security.”
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Edited by
Alex Passett
