In summary, to determine the most appropriate
SOC report for your purposes, a service
organization should:
Understand the needs of user entities:
A. Are they focused on internal control
over financial reporting? Then a SOC 1
report is most appropriate.
B. Are key compliance and operational
controls (such as those related to
security, availability, processing integrity,
confidentiality or privacy) of primary
interest? Then a SOC 2 or SOC 3 report
may be most appropriate.
Understand the best communication
mechanism for your users:
A. Are they in need of detail about
your systems and processes? Then a
SOC 1 or SOC 2 report may be most
appropriate.
B. Will the posting of a summary
report/seal suffice? Then a SOC 3 report
may be most appropriate.