Which SOC 2 auditor fits you?
Audit firms are not interchangeable, and the differences that matter are buyer expectations, capacity and price rather than quality. This works out which kind of firm to shortlist, and whether you are ready to hire one at all.
The wrong shortlist wastes a month. Companies with mid-market buyers pay for a national firm's name that nobody asked for, and companies selling to banks shortlist boutiques their customer's reviewer will query. Five questions sorts that out, and the answer appears on this page.
On its way
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What this is matching on
Not quality. SOC 2 reports are confidential, opinions are not published anywhere, and no regulator scores assurance engagements, so nobody can tell you which Canadian firm issues better opinions. What can be matched is fit: whether your buyer cares about the firm's name, whether your deadline needs capacity more than it needs a discount, and whether a second framework is coming that one kind of firm handles better than another. The categories themselves are set out on the guide to choosing between firms.
It also checks whether you should be hiring an auditor yet. A firm cannot examine controls that do not exist, and engaging one months before there is anything to test is the most common expensive mistake.
Send your scope to firms that match
One written scope, several Canadian firms, quotes that price the same engagement.
Get matchedCommon questions
Does it matter which firm signs our SOC 2 report?
It matters to some buyers and not to most. Banks, insurers and government-adjacent organisations sometimes hold internal policies about acceptable assurance providers. Mid-market reviewers generally check that the firm is a licensed CPA practice and that the opinion is unqualified. Ask your customer rather than assuming.
Can we shortlist firms before our controls are ready?
Yes, and you should, because assurance practices book fieldwork two to three months ahead. What you should not do is sign an engagement letter for an observation window you are not ready to start. Talk to firms early, agree dates against a realistic readiness plan, then commit.
Should we use the auditor our compliance platform recommends?
Treat it as one quote among three. Platform partner networks are commercial arrangements and mostly American. A Canadian CPA firm issues a report that United States buyers accept, bills in Canadian dollars and knows that PIPEDA exists.
How many firms should we approach?
Three, each given the same written scope. Fewer gives you nothing to compare, more turns a decision into a project. Most of the price variation companies report comes from quotes covering different scopes rather than from firms valuing the same work differently.