Helping MSPs navigate their first audit with confidence

MSPs

MSPsManaged service providers (MSPs) are increasingly expected to provide more than just IT support—they’re becoming essential players in helping clients meet compliance and security requirements. Whether you’re building a SOC 2 practice or supporting a healthcare client subject to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), navigating the first audit process can feel overwhelming. The stakes are high: missed evidence, disorganized documentation, or unclear roles can quickly derail an engagement and delay timelines. 

Understanding the process and knowing how to prepare can be the difference between a smooth audit experience and a stressful one. MSPs who are well-prepared and understand the end-to-end journey of an audit become stronger strategic advisors to their clients. Preparation isn’t just about ticking boxes—it’s about building processes that scale. 

What makes the first audit so challenging?

The first audit usually brings the steepest learning curve. For many MSPs, it’s their first time formalizing security practices, controls, and documentation in a way that aligns with a framework like SOC 2. Teams may discover that the policies they’ve had in place aren’t sufficient—or, in some cases, don’t exist at all. Even when tools are in place to track access, log activity, or manage risk, mapping those tools to audit-ready controls can be confusing without expert guidance. 

Another major challenge is evidence collection. Auditors require specific evidence that security and compliance measures are functioning as intended. Gathering that evidence from across your stack—especially when it lives in different systems that were never designed to be audit-friendly—can become an operational headache that pulls technical teams away from their core responsibilities. 

Ultimately, many MSPs are surprised by the time commitment required. Audit readiness isn’t a one-week sprint. It requires months of preparation, alignment across teams, and often several cycles of back-and-forth with auditors. Without a structured plan, audits can become a fire drill that causes unnecessary stress and drains resources. 

Key phases of a first-time audit journey

  1. Scoping the audit: Start by defining the scope: Which services, systems, and processes will be covered? What’s in scope determines the controls, documentation, and data you’ll need to prepare.
  2. Framework alignment: Different frameworks have varying requirements. For example, SOC 2 focuses on trust principles such as security and availability, while HIPAA centers on protecting health information. Understanding the proper framework for your business (and customers) is critical.
  3. Gap assessment: A gap assessment identifies where your current controls, documentation, and processes fall short of meeting your objectives. This phase often reveals missing policies, unmonitored tools, or unassigned responsibilities.
  4. Evidence collection: This is where the rubber meets the road. You’ll need to collect logs, screenshots, and documentation to prove your controls are working. For many MSPs, this becomes a scramble if not automated or planned early.
  5. Audit readiness: Once controls are in place and evidence is collected, you’ll go through a readiness review or mock audit. This is an opportunity to identify and address any issues before formal testing begins.

Navigating audits with confidence

MSPs that approach audits with a clear and structured plan are far more likely to avoid costly delays and missteps. Rather than reacting to requests as they come in, building a phased process—starting with policy creation and moving through control monitoring and evidence collection—can help teams stay organized and audit-ready. 

Support from experienced compliance professionals can also make a significant difference. Interpreting framework requirements, aligning existing tools with necessary controls, and ensuring documentation is complete are all areas where many MSPs benefit from outside guidance. Leveraging templates and centralized systems for tracking progress can reduce the back-and-forth and help teams stay focused on their objectives. 

Ultimately, no two audits are precisely alike. Still, MSPs that invest in preparation and repeatable processes tend to navigate them more confidently—and set themselves up for long-term success as client demands continue to evolve. 

Building longt-term compliance confidence

For MSPs, completing an audit isn’t the end of the journey—it’s the beginning of building lasting trust and operational maturity. Establishing sustainable systems early on not only reduces future compliance overhead but also enables faster responses to client requirements, creating a foundation for scalable growth. 

Thoropass supports MSPs by streamlining the path to audit readiness and helping teams build repeatable processes that evolve with their client’s needs. From ongoing monitoring to evidence management, the platform allows MSPs to stay organized, responsive, and ahead of shifting compliance demands. 

If you’re preparing for your first audit—or guiding your clients through theirs—now is the time to establish a structure. Are you curious how other MSPs are building programs that scale with less effort? Let’s connect. 

Photo: iLixe48 / Shutterstock

This post originally appeared on Smarter MSP.