Video: Detecting Deficiencies in Availability Service Commitments in a SOC 2 Engagement

In this lesson, Nick Palazzolo, CPA, dives into the detailed procedures for detecting deficiencies in service commitments related to availability in a SOC 2 engagement. The focus is on understanding and evaluating the design of controls and their operational effectiveness to meet the system's availability obligations as specified in service agreements. Nick meticulously outlines the step-by-step approach, from reviewing service level agreements and system documentation to analyzing IT infrastructure and its redundancy capabilities. He also discusses how to identify and document any deficiencies in the control design and operational execution, comparing these against the trust services criteria specifically related to system availability. This comprehensive review culminates in preparing detailed reports to highlight any issues and recommend corrective actions, equipping you with the knowledge to effectively handle these aspects of SOC 2 engagements.

"Examprep.ai helped me pass all 4 CPA exams on the first try. I highly recommend. I especially like the feedback and ratings the software provides so I know where to focus my time."

Daniel H., CPA

"I can't recommend ExamPrep.ai enough. Nick's lessons turned concepts I struggled with into strengths. I was able to pass FAR right before other exams expired!"

Andrew K, CPA

"I just want to say thank you for the great lesson videos. I couldn't stay awake through lectures of another course. After watching all your FAR lessons I was finally able to pass!"

Alyssa M., CPA Candidate

Video Transcript

Instructor: Nick Palazzolo

Nick Palazzolo is head instructor of ExamPrep.ai CPA Review. Nick's teaching style is engaging & upbeat, combining practical Big 4 tax & assurance expertise with years of 1-on-1 coaching. His lessons are concise and emphasize what you need to know to pass. Whether you're a recent grad or working full-time, we’re confident you can conquer your CPA exams with Nick’s review.

Cite this lesson

Link to this page

[[ citeExample ]]

Copy to clipboard

Copy URL to clipboard

Copy HTML to clipboard

Alright, now we're kind of dealing with, I feel like a lot of lessons wrapping up with SOC 2, dealing with all of that. Our SOC 2 engagement, again reminding ourselves that it is tied intertwined with our trust services criteria. This involves, for the availability of services, we want to examine both the design of controls and their operational effectiveness in meeting the availability commitments and system requirements. So first off, review of service commitments and system requirements. What's the objective here? Well, we want to understand the organization's commitments regarding system availability as outlined in the service agreements and the specific system requirements that support these commitments. Now some actions here, we want to examine the service level agreements and other relevant documents to identify stated availability targets. We also want to review system documentation to understand the technical requirements for maintaining availability. Makes sense, pretty reasonable, nothing too crazy. Then we want to evaluate the control design. We want to assess whether the controls in place are suitably designed to meet the identified availability commitments. What are some actions we can take here? Well, we can analyze the IT infrastructure and its redundancy features. Just to interrupt myself, you can see a simulation where you're given each of these steps and what are some actions you could take for each of these. That's just, you know, just like an audit. You're given an objective, you want to verify the amount in the bank account. What are the actions you can take? You can send a bank confirmation. Let's say an action you could take. So again, just potential SIMs you could see, potential multiple choice. You could review policies and procedures related to system maintenance, monitoring, and incident response. And you could examine backup and disaster recovery

Unlock the full video transcript and subtitles support with a free account!

Get more from this lesson

Create an account 7-day free trial. No credit card required.

Data Management

Module: 5 Concepts, 48 Videos

IT Infrastructure - Overview

0:25

Introduction to IT Infrastructure

4:28

Key Components of IT Architecture

4:57

Cloud Computing