Controls Advisor, LLC

Note: After June 2011, the audit of third party service organizations by external CPA firms was modified slightly and renamed from SAS 70 to SSAE 16.  SSAE 16 requires more business management documentation, such as a full business narrative and controls listing, PRIOR to audits.  We can produce these critical documents for you and assign your SSAE 16 audit work to separate auditors.  See our PreAudit services for details.

Are you a candidate for a less expensive SSAE 16 alternative?  Our survey at the bottom of this page can help us decide for you.  Who is really REQUIRED to get the more expensive SSAE16 (formally SAS 70) audit report? Read the following to find out if your organization requires a SSAE 16, Type I, Type II, or if you can use a lower cost alternative certification (Audit-READY IT).

 IT Service Vendors or other organizations are sometimes required to become SSAE 16 certified, but other can have the same review, and same result by a qualified auditor, but pay 25% less by obtaining an Audit-READY IT certification and audit report. 

There are alternatives to the SSAE 16 (Type I or Type II) which are less expensive but equally effective, having the same requirements and same testing as SSAE 16 audits.  The key difference is that a SSAE 16 audit oversight is conducted by a registered CPA firm, but the work of the auditor is conducted by a CISA (Certified Information Security Auditor), the same CISA type auditors who conduct reviews for Controls Advisor and the Audit READY certification.  Controls Advisor is not a registered audit firm, but when we are specifically conducting a SSAE 16 audit, we work under a partner CPA. Instead, we are a group of independent CISA auditors who have, in the past, worked for CPA firms. Being independent when conducting Audit READY reviews is how we save you money.

Another benefit to Audit-READY certification over SSAE 16 is our audit reports are easier to read and understand, and our service offers more than a SSAE 16 review.  We include:

• educating businesses on what auditors look for during their review, prior to the start of our certification process
• opportunities to help businesses remediate gaps in controls
• a low cost followup review, prior to your fiscal year-end, if you do not achieve a 'high' level of assurance during our review
• opportunities to market your certification through our B2B network

Complete the survey below, and our representative can determine if you are a candidate for a SSAE 16 alternative, the Audit-READY certification or if you require a true SSAE 16 and the type needed.

Are you a candidate for a Lower-cost alternative to SSAE 16 audits?

Fill out the short survey, and we will quickly return an email to you with the answer.

Survey