Doing a SAS 70 Audit and What You Need to Know

Pricing for SAS 70 Audits

Traditionally, when service organization have to undertake or are doing a SAS 70 audit, the Big Four accounting firms have the highest fees for them regarding SAS 70 pricing, as expected, with their name recognition and perceived expertise. That’s not to say other accounting firms doing a SAS 70 audit are not viable options. In recent years, a number of highly qualified national boutique CPA firms specializing in SAS 70 audits, have surfaced. Additionally, a large number of small, sole practitioners are now performing these audits, making SAS 70 pricing more competitive and affordable. Additionally, CPA firms have historically charged hourly rates for SAS 70 services. However, the trend of late has been to charge a fixed fee per engagement for SAS 70 pricing.

Audit Pricing

Auditors can differ greatly in their methodologies when doing a SAS 70 audit. Some firms conduct in-depth SAS 70 Readiness Assessments, some don’t. Some firms spend much more time for on-site fieldwork than others. Some firms use off the shelf audit templates, while others start from scratch for each client. And all firms approach sampling and audit scope differently. Ultimately, this affects SAS 70 pricing when undertaking and doing a SAS 70 audit. Thus, service organizations are wise to gain an understanding of the scope of the audit, resources required by their organization, and if the service auditor has provided a SAS 70 roadmap for completing the audit.

Why No Two Reports Look Alike

There has been a fair amount of criticism of SAS 70 audits regarding the looseness of the auditing standard and why one report looks vastly different from another. As a result, service organizations would benefit from knowing what’s in a SAS 70 report.