Compliance for Payroll Service Providers

 

The demand for payroll service provides to become SOC 1® attestation compliant has increased with the heighten awareness of information security breaches, identity thief and regulatory compliance. Third-party assurance over a company’s outsourced operations is playing an important role for compliance departments today. A SOC 1® attestation report can instill trust from your clients; if properly marketed, a SOC 1® attestation report will enable organizations to obtain new customers and expand their existing market share.

Information security is not the exclusive component of a SOC 1® attestation. Payroll service organizations are responsible for recording and processing their client’s financial transactions. The SOC 1® attestation for a payroll company includes information technology and quality control procedures, maintaining client and personnel records securely and recording account balances accurately.

A Payroll Service Provider’s SOC 1® attestation involves the following critical areas:

  1. Control Environment: the organizational level controls also known as “tone at the top” which consists of management’s oversight and internal operational level controls.
  2. Physical Security: the protection of information systems as it relates to third party data.
  3. Environmental Security: the protection of information systems and data from environmental threats.
  4. Data backups: the availability and protection of third parties’ data.
  5. System Availability: the availability of information systems to user organizations.
  6. Application Change Control: the processing and procedures used to ensure that systems function per user requirements.
  7. Information Security: the logical protection of data from unauthorized system access.
  8. Client Account Setup: new clients are setup according to contracted terms.
  9. Payroll Processing: payrolls are applied to the appropriate payroll account, calculated accurately and disbursed to each employee’s appropriate bank account.
  10. Payroll Master File Changes: changes to payroll accounts are authorized and accurately processed.
  11. Payroll Tax: payroll taxes are accurately calculated, withheld and paid to the appropriate tax authorities and jurisdictions.
  12. Tax Filings: tax filings and W-2s are recorded, processed and distributed accurately, completely and timely.

The scope of the SOC 1® attestation is determined by the payroll service provider. Accordingly, a well scoped attestation can clearly demonstrate your organization’s quality of service and ensure that sufficient information is provided to your user organization to communicate your stringent controls over physical security, environmental security, authorized access and continuous availability of services.

SOC 1 Compliance Process

We tailor every attestation engagement to our client’s requirements. However, we have a fundamental four phase process that normally meets our clients’ needs and creates an efficient, unobtrusive attestation that enables you to focus on your business while we focus on your compliance.

<h2 style="display:inline;">Scope</h2> (Phase 1): Not every SOC 1<sup>®</sup> attestation has the same requirements. Each company can vary depending on the type of services they perform for their customers. We have years of experience working with just about every industry and work with our clients to ensure that we cover the appropriate scope to ensure your customers’ needs are satisfied. While the scoping phase of our attestation is normally covered during our initial quoting process, we offer a formal meeting with our clients to ensure we have a mutual understanding of the attestation goals.
<p> <h2 style="display:inline;">Plan</h2> (Phase 2): We offer two options for the planning phase of your attestation:</p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><ol><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <li>We provide our in-house developed questionnaires and request list that are based on industry leading compliance frameworks such as CobiT, ISO 27000, PCI and HIPAA. Customers benefit from this approach by getting to work at their own pace with just a deadline in mind.</li><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <li>The other option is an onsite visit to perform walkthroughs of the relevant service offerings. We then customize our audit plan and deliver a detailed document request list to prepare our clients for phase three (fieldwork).</li><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> </ol>
<p><h2 style="display:inline;">Fieldwork</h2> (Phase 3): Our service auditors have a minimum of five years of experience with the Big 4 global CPA firms, large consulting firms and smaller boutique firms that specialize in SOC 1<sup>®</sup> attestations. Due to this, we are efficient and understand what is required for each attestation.</p>
<p> <h2 style="display:inline">Report & Market</h2> (Phase 4): Your SOC 1<sup>®</sup> service auditor’s report is essentially the product for which you pay. We provide well defined and quality written reports that focus on providing your customers with everything they need from a third-party assurance perspective. We take pride in delivering professional quality reports in a timely manner; we stand behind everything we issue. Publicizing or marketing your service auditor’s report is the opportunity for your attestation to pay for itself. A major benefit from completing the SOC 1<sup>®</sup> attestation is the tangible return on investment that is created from having your company examined under the SSAE 18 standard for SOC 1<sup>®</sup>. We provide customized press release information and a SOC for Service Organizations logo to place on your web site, all included in our fixed fee pricing.</p>

Project Timeline: Four Phase Attestation

For More Information Speak to a Service Auditor at Roosa CPA, LLC (877) 410-8516

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