Author: Marçal Santos, vCISO | +20 Years Cybersecurity Experience
Why Audit Management Is Its Own Skill
Here’s what caught me off guard early in my career:
technical security expertise doesn’t automatically translate to audit management expertise. You can have perfect security controls and still create chaos during the audit process.
The best security programs can fall apart if you don’t know how to work effectively with auditors, manage expectations, or structure the engagement properly. Key challenges in audit management often include resource constraints—such as limited personnel, tools, or time—and the complexity of managing documentation and evidence across multiple compliance frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, and HIPAA. Audit readiness is a distinct skill that goes beyond technical expertise, requiring thorough documentation, record-keeping, and proactive preparation to ensure a smooth audit process. After helping several companies through this process, I’ve identified the patterns that separate smooth audits from audit disasters.
The Compliance Journey
Embarking on the compliance journey—whether you’re aiming for ISO 27001 certification, SOC 2 compliance, or both—can feel overwhelming, especially for fast-moving startups. The process starts with thorough risk assessments to pinpoint where your security posture needs strengthening. From there, you’ll implement the necessary security controls and develop a plan for ongoing compliance.
A readiness assessment is a crucial early step, helping you identify compliance gaps and prioritize remediation efforts before the formal audit begins. But achieving compliance isn’t a one-and-done project. Continuous monitoring and improvement are key to ensuring your controls remain effective as your business grows and threats evolve. Leveraging compliance automation tools can streamline the compliance process, reduce manual workloads, and give your compliance management team real-time visibility into your progress.
By investing in the right tools and prioritizing your compliance efforts, you’ll not only achieve compliance but also foster a security culture that supports your business objectives and builds customer trust. Remember, the compliance journey is about more than passing an audit—it’s about creating a foundation for long-term security and growth.
The 10 Critical Audit Process Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)
Preparing for SOC 2 and ISO 27001 audits can be daunting, especially for startups and SMBs navigating compliance for the first time. Many organizations encounter common pitfalls—frequent mistakes and challenges that can derail the process, such as incomplete risk identification, stakeholder omission, and inadequate documentation. Avoiding these common pitfalls not only leads to smoother audits but also delivers significant benefits, including faster sales cycles, increased customer trust, and stronger risk management. Here are 10 process mistakes to watch out for as you prepare for your SOC 2 or ISO 27001 journey.
Mistake #1: Not Setting Clear Boundaries and Expectations Upfront
What I Used to Do Wrong: Let auditors drive the entire process and timeline without pushback.
What Actually Happens: Auditors start requesting everything under the sun. “Can we also see your marketing automation security settings?” “What about your facilities management documentation?” Before you know it, you’re documenting controls that aren’t even in scope. Organizations commonly struggle with defining the right audit scope for SOC 2 or ISO 27001, which can result in excluding critical systems or over-scoping, leading to failed audits, unnecessary costs, or compliance gaps.
How to Handle It Right:
- Define scope explicitly before the audit starts, making sure to include all critical systems and avoid the temptation to exclude critical systems like cloud infrastructure, electronic health records, or telehealth platforms.
- Agree on communication protocols (weekly check-ins, not daily requests)
- Set boundaries on what evidence formats you’ll provide
- Establish a single point of contact from your team to avoid conflicting information
Mis-defining the audit's scope can lead to failed audits or unnecessary costs, especially if you exclude critical systems or create compliance gaps.
Mistake #2: Incomplete or Inconsistent Documentation, Over-Documenting and Under-Organizing
The Problem: Thinking more documentation always equals better audit outcomes. Inadequate documentation—such as poorly maintained, outdated, or incomplete records—can create compliance gaps and hinder audit readiness.
What I Learned: I once watched a company spend 1 week creating a 47-page network security policy when a 3-page procedure would have satisfied the requirement. Meanwhile, they couldn’t find basic evidence the auditor actually needed.
The Right Approach:
- Quality over quantity – auditors prefer clear, concise documentation
- Proper documentation – maintain thorough, up-to-date records to ensure compliance with ISO 27001 and SOC 2, and regularly review documentation to keep it current
- Streamline documentation – create integrated documentation that addresses both ISO 27001 and SOC 2 requirements to reduce redundancy and ensure consistency
- Efficient evidence collection – maintain a centralized repository for audit evidence and use automation where possible to keep evidence organized and up-to-date
- Create an evidence repository organized by control family before the audit starts
- Use consistent naming conventions for all documentation
- Prepare executive summaries for complex technical controls
Regular reviews of documentation are essential to catch any misalignments early and prevent them from escalating into bigger issues.
Mistake #3: Treating Auditors Like Adversaries
Early Career Mistake: Viewing auditors as people trying to “catch” you doing something wrong.
Reality Check: Good auditors want you to succeed. They’re not paid more for finding issues. They’re paid to provide an accurate assessment of your controls.
How to Build a Collaborative Relationship:
- Be transparent about challenges you’re facing
- Ask questions when you don’t understand what they’re looking for
- Explain the business context behind your technical decisions
- Respond promptly to requests, even if it’s just to say “we’ll have this by Friday”
- Discuss audit findings openly with your auditors to ensure timely remediation and avoid delays in certification
Mistake #4: Not Preparing Your Team Properly
What Goes Wrong: Your engineering team gets frustrated because they don’t understand why the auditor is asking “obvious” questions. Your ops team provides inconsistent answers because they weren’t briefed on the audit scope.
Team Preparation Strategy:
- Hold a team kickoff meeting explaining the audit purpose and timeline
- Assign specific team members to handle different control areas
- Designate key personnel and form compliance teams to oversee audit preparation, evidence collection, and ongoing monitoring of controls
- Provide sufficient training to all employees on new policies and procedures to reduce human error and ensure compliance
- Create talking points for common questions team members will face
Insufficient training of employees on new policies can result in non-compliance with SOC 2 and ISO 27001 frameworks.
Mistake #5: Poor Evidence Collection and Presentation
What I See Constantly: Companies dump raw screenshots, logs, and documents on auditors without context.
Example: Sending a 500-line configuration file when you could highlight the 3 relevant security settings and explain what they do.
Professional Evidence Presentation:
- Add context to every piece of evidence – don’t make auditors guess
- Use consistent formatting across all documentation
- Highlight relevant portions of a lengthy documents
- Efficient evidence collection is critical—organize and centralize audit data to demonstrate ongoing control effectiveness throughout the audit period.
- Include documentation of processing integrity as part of SOC 2 compliance, showing controls that ensure accuracy, completeness, and reliability of system processing.
- Include logs of real incidents and how they were handled to provide proof of operational response and satisfy audit requirements.
SOC 2 Type II requires continuous monitoring and evidence collection over a year. Evidence gaps can result from failing to document control effectiveness and incident response throughout the audit period.
Mistake #6: Reactive Rather Than Proactive Communication
The Problem: Only communicating with auditors when they request something or when problems arise.
Better Approach:
- Weekly status updates even when everything is going well
- Proactive escalation when you know you’ll miss a deadline
- Regular check-ins to ensure you’re providing what they actually need
- End-of-week summaries showing progress on open items
- Highlight ongoing monitoring and continuous compliance efforts as part of your updates to demonstrate a proactive approach to maintaining audit readiness and improving security controls
Both SOC 2 and ISO 27001 require ongoing monitoring and regular updates to maintain compliance, so communicating these activities helps reinforce your commitment to continuous compliance.
Mistake #7: Not Managing Internal Stakeholder Expectations
Career Learning: The CEO expects audit results in 2 weeks, but you know it takes 6-8 weeks minimum. Instead of managing expectations upfront, you promise to “see what you can do.”
Stakeholder Management Strategy:
- Create a realistic timeline with buffer time for revisions
- Communicate milestones clearly to internal stakeholders
- Provide regular updates on audit progress and any delays
- Explain the “why” behind audit requirements to frustrated team members
- Demonstrate the organization's commitment to security standards and compliance to build trust and ensure ongoing adherence
Engaging leadership early is crucial for defining the scope of compliance efforts and securing the necessary resources to support a successful SOC 2 or ISO 27001 preparation.
Mistake #8: Inadequate Issue Response and Remediation
What Happens: Auditor finds a gap in your controls. Instead of addressing it systematically, you panic and implement a quick fix that creates new problems. Failing to conduct readiness assessments can also result in unexpected compliance gaps that surface during the audit process.
Professional Issue Management:
- Acknowledge findings promptly and professionally
- Provide realistic timelines for remediation
- Document your remediation approach before implementing
- Follow up to confirm the auditor accepts your resolution
- Address issues systematically to reduce the risk of audit failure due to overlooked gaps in compliance or controls
- Regularly review remediation actions to ensure ongoing control effectiveness and prevent recurring issues
Mistake #9: Not Setting Buffer Time When Requesting Audit Evidence from Colleagues
The Painful Learning: You tell your DevOps lead the auditor needs AWS access logs by Friday. Friday comes, and they say “Sorry, got pulled into a production issue. Can you give me until Monday?”
What Actually Happens: The auditor is expecting evidence on Friday. You have to ask for an extension, which makes you look disorganized. This happens repeatedly, and suddenly your 6-week audit becomes an 8-week audit.
Better Time Management:
- Always build in 2-3 day buffer when requesting evidence from team members
- Set internal deadlines earlier than auditor deadlines
- Follow up 48 hours before your internal deadline
- Have backup plans for critical evidence if the primary owner is unavailable
- Track requests in a shared system so nothing falls through the cracks
- Leverage automation tools to streamline compliance tasks and simplify evidence collection for both ISO 27001 and SOC 2 compliance
Streamlining compliance processes with automation and integrated management tools helps avoid delays and missed deadlines, ensuring you stay audit-ready.
Mistake #10: Not Ensuring Key Stakeholders and Department Leaders Are Aware and Aligned
The Scenario I See Too Often: The auditor wants to interview your Head of Engineering about deployment practices. You schedule the meeting, and 10 minutes before the call, they message: “Can’t make it today, dealing with a customer escalation.”
What This Really Means: Leadership wasn’t properly bought into the audit process. They don’t understand that their participation isn’t optional – it’s critical to getting certified and closing enterprise deals. Leadership buy-in is also essential for managing third-party risks and maintaining compliance with SOC 2 and ISO 27001, as these standards require ongoing oversight of vendor relationships and security practices.
Leadership Alignment Strategy:
- Get explicit commitment from all department heads before the audit starts
- Explain the business impact of delays and non-participation
- Block time on leadership calendars for audit activities in advance
- Have backup subject matter experts identified for each area
- Include compliance clauses in vendor contracts to ensure ongoing adherence to compliance frameworks like SOC 2 and ISO 27001, and to help manage third-party risks effectively
The Strategic Takeaway
Here’s what I wish someone had told me 20 years ago: managing a cybersecurity audit is a distinct professional skill. It’s not just about having good security controls – it’s about effectively demonstrating those controls to external assessors while managing the business impact of the audit process. Integrating compliance frameworks like SOC 2 and ISO 27001 delivers significant benefits, including improved risk management, streamlined compliance, and faster sales cycles.
The companies that master audit management don’t just get through compliance requirements faster and cheaper. They build stronger relationships with auditors, create reusable processes for future audits, and turn compliance from a business burden into a competitive advantage. Embracing continuous compliance and continuous improvement ensures organizations stay audit-ready year-round and avoid last-minute scrambles during audits.
When you handle audits professionally, you’re not just getting a report – you’re building institutional knowledge that makes every subsequent audit smoother and more cost-effective.
FAQ
Why is defining the audit scope important for SOC 2 and ISO 27001?
Mis-defining the scope can lead to failed audits or unnecessary costs if you exclude critical systems. You must explicitly define boundaries to include all critical infrastructure before the audit starts.
How should I handle documentation for a security audit?
Prioritize quality over quantity because auditors prefer clear and concise documentation over excessive paperwork. Focus on maintaining thorough and up-to-date records that directly address specific requirements.
What is the best way to interact with auditors?
Treat auditors as collaborators rather than adversaries because they want you to succeed. Be transparent about challenges and ask questions when you do not understand what they are looking for.
How should I prepare my team for a compliance audit?
Hold a kickoff meeting to explain the audit purpose and timeline to your staff. You should also assign specific team members to handle different control areas and provide sufficient training on policies.
How should I present audit evidence?
Add context to every piece of evidence instead of dumping raw screenshots or logs on the auditor. Use consistent formatting and highlight relevant portions of lengthy documents to prevent confusion.
Your Next Step
If you're staring down your first major compliance audit and feeling overwhelmed by the process management side, you're not alone. This is exactly the kind of operational challenge SecureLeap specializes in helping founders navigate.
SecureLeap offers tailored cybersecurity compliance and risk management services designed specifically for seed-to-Series B startups and SMBs. Whether you're aiming for SOC 2, ISO 27001, or HIPAA compliance, need virtual CISO leadership, or require penetration testing, SecureLeap provides expert guidance to streamline your compliance journey.
Our team also supports implementation of leading compliance automation tools like Drata, Vanta, and Secureframe, enabling you to accelerate audit readiness and reduce manual workloads. With SecureLeap, you get a partner who understands the unique challenges of high-growth technology startups and helps you close enterprise deals faster with confidence.
Ready to take the next step? Book a free consultation with SecureLeap today to review your specific situation and create a customized compliance roadmap:
