TRACK: BUYING AND BUDGETING · GUIDE 09 OF 10
Auditor independence and your budget
Short answer
The cheapest audit is worthless if customers do not trust the report. Before you accept an audit bundled or brokered by a software vendor, check that the auditor is a licensed CPA firm enrolled in AICPA peer review, and ask how the audit firm is kept separate from the tool vendor. Recent AICPA and Journal of Accountancy items address SOC credibility and business arrangements with SOC tool providers.
By The Cost Desk, Compliance Pricing · Published 2026-09-29 · Updated 2026-09-29 · 3 min read
A SOC 2 report is valuable because a CPA firm stands behind it. When you choose an audit on price, you are also choosing whose opinion your customers will read. This guide covers what to check, and why it is a budget question.
Why it is a budget question
If a customer's security team does not accept your report, you pay twice: once for the audit you have, and again for the audit they will accept, plus the delay to the deal. A slightly more expensive audit that customers accept is cheaper than a report that has to be redone.
Check 1: a licensed CPA firm enrolled in peer review
SOC examinations are services that CPAs provide, according to the AICPA. Ask the audit firm for its licensing and whether it is enrolled in AICPA peer review. A firm that performs SOC engagements should answer both questions plainly.
Check 2: separation from the tool vendor
Many compliance platforms introduce auditors: through partner networks, auditor access in a plan, or an audit team inside the same company. None of these models is wrong in itself. What matters is how the audit firm keeps its independence from the company selling you the software. Ask:
- Is the audit firm a separate legal entity from the software vendor?
- Does the audit firm receive fees or referral payments from the software vendor?
- Can we choose a different CPA firm and keep the same platform?
The AICPA has published guidance on this topic: "Business arrangements with SOC tool providers" (AICPA Ethics Staff Insights, 2026-04-13).
Check 3: be realistic about speed
Faster is not always cheaper. A Type II report needs an observation period, and fieldwork takes the time it takes. Treat any promise of a very fast report as a question to put to the auditor, not a saving.
Further reading
These are the titles and dates we recorded from the AICPA and the Journal of Accountancy. We list them as general guidance for buyers; we have not summarized their contents.
- "Promises of 'fast and easy' threaten SOC credibility", Journal of Accountancy, 2026-02-01.
- "Business arrangements with SOC tool providers", AICPA Ethics Staff Insights, 2026-04-13.
- "The risks of quick-turn SOC engagements and what CPAs should know", Journal of Accountancy podcast, 2026-04-30.
- "AICPA guides peer reviewers to address SOC 2 risks", Journal of Accountancy, 2026-05-14.
How audit paths appear in our census
Our pricing census shows how each vendor describes its audit path: partner auditors, auditor access, bring your own auditor, a partner network, an Audit product, or an in-house audit team. None publishes an audit fee. Whichever path you choose, the three checks above apply to the CPA firm that signs the report.
The takeaway
Budget for an audit your customers will accept. Ask the three questions in writing, and keep the audit firm's answers with your quote.
Next guide: Where the penetration test sits in the budget