Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements no. 16 (SSAE 16) is an
auditing standard for service organizations, produced by the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Auditing Standards Board In the United States, the Auditing Standards Board (ASB) is the senior technical committee designated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) to issue auditing, attestation, and quality control statements, standards and g ...
, which supersedes
Statement on Auditing Standards no. 70 (SAS 70) and has been superseded by
SSAE No. 18.
The "service auditor’s examination" of SAS 70 is replaced by a ''
System and Organization Controls
System and Organization Controls (SOC), (also sometimes referred to as service organizations controls) as defined by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), is the name of a suite of reports produced during an audit. It is ...
'' (SOC) report. SSAE 16 was issued in April 2010, and became effective in June 2011. Many organizations that followed SAS 70 have now shifted to SSAE 16. Some service organizations use the SSAE 16 report status to show they are more capable, and also encourage their prospective end-users to make having an SSAE 16 a standard part of new vendor selection criteria.
SSAE 16 mirrors the
International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3402. Similarly, SSAE 16 has two different kinds of reports. A SOC 1 Type 1 report is an independent snapshot of the organization's control landscape on a given day. A SOC 1 Type 2 report adds a historical element, showing how controls were managed over time. The SSAE 16 standard requires
minimum of six months of operationof the controls for a SOC 1 Type 2 report.
Public companies in the United States fall under the
Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act, also known as Sarbanes–Oxley or SOX. However, there are also a number of provisions of the Act (e.g. the willful destruction of evidence to impede a federal investigation) that apply to privately held companies. SSAE 16 reporting can help service organizations comply with
Sarbanes–Oxley's requirement (section 404) to show effective internal controls covering financial reporting. It can also be applied to data centers or any other service that might be used in the delivery of financial reporting.
For reports that are not specifically focused on internal controls over financial reporting, the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has issued an Interpretation under AT Section 101 permitting service auditors to issue reports. These reports will now be considered SOC 2 audits and focus on controls at a service organization relevant to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, or privacy.
SSAE 16 provides guidance on an auditing method, rather than mandating a specific control set. In this respect, it is similar to
ISO 27001:2013.
Technology services
In technology
SaaS
Software as a service (SaaS ) is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. SaaS is also known as "on-demand software" and Web-based/Web-hosted software.
SaaS is con ...
companies, the SOC 2 audit is purchased to provide an assurance on various aspects of the software including security, availability, and processing integrity.
References
{{reflist
Sarbanes–Oxley Act
Auditing standards
Standards
International standards