What Is a SOC 2 Audit, Why Should a Turkish SaaS Company Get One? The Type I and Type II Process

A US corporate customer receives a quote from a Turkish SaaS company, watches a demo, and likes the price. Then it comes to the procurement table and a single sentence puts the whole deal on hold: "Could you share your SOC 2 report?" The company cannot answer. The customer moves to another vendor.

This story plays out every week in the 2026 Turkey SaaS market. Because US and, in recent years, European corporate buyers want to see that a provider's internal controls have been verified by an independent auditor before buying a cloud-based service. The industry-standard document of this verification: the SOC 2 report.

In this article we will explain in detail what SOC 2 is, its difference from ISO 27001, the distinction between Type I and Type II, the real timeline of the preparation process, and why for Turkish SaaS companies it is no longer optional but a sales prerequisite.

What Is SOC 2?

SOC 2 (System and Organization Controls 2) is an audit framework developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, AICPA. It is designed for cloud service providers, SaaS companies, data centers, and all service organizations that process customer data.

SOC 2 is not a certificate. It is an audit report issued by an independent auditor (a CPA firm). The report evaluates whether your company's internal controls within the scope of certain Trust Services Criteria operate as designed.

The critical point: SOC 2 is not a "pass/fail" exam. The report contains the findings, the exceptions, and the auditor's opinion. The customer reads this report and performs a risk assessment.

The SOC Family: The Difference Between SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3

The AICPA SOC family covers three main reports:

SOC 1 audits the internal controls that affect the customer's financial reporting. It is suitable for companies such as payroll services, payment processors, and accounting SaaS. Focus: financial accuracy.

SOC 2 audits security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy controls. This is what the general SaaS world needs. The report is confidential and is shared under an NDA.

SOC 3 is the public summary of SOC 2. It is used for marketing purposes and can be published on the website. There is little detail, only the auditor's opinion and a general description of the system.

For most Turkish SaaS companies, the right target is the SOC 2 Type II report. SOC 3 can be added later as a marketing supplement.

Type I vs Type II: The Two Most Confused Concepts

Type I evaluates the design of the controls as of a specific date. Example statement: "As of 31 December 2026, the company's control environment is designed as follows." This is like a photograph. It is usually completed with 2-3 months of preparation + 1 month of audit. It is a good starting point for companies that want to get their first report in hand.

Type II evaluates over a specific period (usually 6 to 12 months) that the controls are both designed and operating effectively. This is like a video. Over 12 months the auditor looks at logs, tickets, change request records, and employee onboarding documents. Corporate buyers almost always want Type II.

Practical recommendation: progressing in stages as Type I in the first year + Type II at the beginning of the second year both spreads the budget and lets the organization settle its control culture. Going to Type II in one go is possible for mature companies.

The 5 Trust Services Criteria (TSC)

The SOC 2 audit is performed on selected ones of the five trust criteria defined by AICPA:

1. Security, mandatory. No SOC 2 report is issued without security scope. Protection against unauthorized access, authentication, network security, and vulnerability management are evaluated under this heading.

2. Availability, whether the system runs in accordance with the SLA. The disaster recovery plan, backups, RTO/RPO targets, and capacity management are within scope.

3. Processing Integrity, that data is processed completely, accurately, on time, and in an authorized manner. It is important for e-commerce and financial-transaction SaaS.

4. Confidentiality, contractually protected trade secrets, intellectual property, and customer business information. Critical for B2B SaaS.

5. Privacy, the collection, use, storage and sharing of personal data. If you operate in compliance with KVKK and GDPR, most controls are ready here.

Most SaaS companies choose the Security + Availability + Confidentiality combination in their first SOC 2 report. Privacy and Processing Integrity are added in subsequent years.

For Which Company Is SOC 2 a Must?

SOC 2 is today a de facto requirement for the following profiles:

• B2B SaaS companies, especially if targeting corporate customers
• Cloud service providers (IaaS, PaaS)
• MSPs and MSSPs (managed IT and security services)
• Fintech companies, platforms operating a payment layer
• HealthTech and insurtech companies
• Data analytics and BI platforms
• HR-Tech, SaaS holding employee data
• MarTech, platforms processing customer data

The critical trigger for Turkish companies: the first corporate sales attempt in the US or UK market. The procurement team asks for SOC 2 on the vendor form. A "no" answer is often a disqualification before negotiation even begins.

Strategic Importance for Turkish SaaS

The average US corporate SaaS contract starts at 50,000 dollars annually and exceeds 500,000 dollars with large customers. For a Turkish software company to capture the same revenue in the Turkish market, it must scale up for years. The SOC 2 report is the only key that opens this door.

Alongside this, SOC 2 preparation also settles the company's internal discipline:

• Access management processes become written
• Change management ticket discipline is established
• Employee onboarding/offboarding steps are documented
• Backup and disaster recovery are tested
• Vendor risk assessment (vendor management) enters the process

So SOC 2, beyond being a sales tool, is an indicator of engineering maturity.

SOC 2 vs ISO 27001: Which First?

The two frameworks are often confused. ISO/IEC 27001 is an international Information Security Management System (ISMS) standard. SOC 2, on the other hand, is a US-based audit framework. In our article What is an ISO 27001 certificate and how to obtain it we went into the ISO side in detail.

Practical differences:

• ISO 27001 is a certificate; SOC 2 is an audit report.
• ISO 27001 emphasizes risk management and ISMS documentation.
• SOC 2 emphasizes the operating effectiveness of specific controls.
• European and Asian corporate buyers prefer ISO 27001.
• US corporate buyers want SOC 2.

In terms of the control set there is nearly 70% overlap. A company can start with ISO 27001 and move to SOC 2 6 months later, or vice versa. Doing a joint gap analysis provides budget efficiency for both frameworks.

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework, meanwhile, is used as a reference for control mapping in both audits. In addition, the Cloud Security Alliance STAR program can be layered on top of SOC 2 for cloud vendors.

Its Relationship with KVKK

For Turkish companies, KVKK is a legal requirement, SOC 2 is a commercial requirement. The two do not replace each other. KVKK regulates the data controller title, explicit consent, VERBIS registration and disclosure obligations. The SOC 2 Privacy criterion, on the other hand, audits the operating effectiveness of KVKK controls. The policies you prepared during the KVKK compliance consultancy process are used directly as evidence in SOC 2.

The Preparation Process: The Anatomy of 12-18 Months

A realistic SOC 2 Type II journey passes through the following stages:

Months 1-2: Gap Analysis Comparison of existing controls with the Trust Services Criteria. A policy, procedure, and technical control inventory is produced. Gaps are listed, and owners are assigned.

Months 2-6: Control Implementation Missing controls are put into action. Access management platform, SIEM, log collection, MFA, backup testing, change management ticket discipline, employee security training, vendor risk register. For endpoint security you can look at our article EDR vs antivirus comparison; SOC 2 expects modern endpoint protection.

Months 6-7: Internal Audit Internally testing that the controls really work. This step is skipped by most companies; as a result the exceptions in the auditor's report increase.

Months 7-8: Penetration Test SOC 2 does not require a mandatory pentest, but corporate customers want to see a pentest report alongside the report. We explained how the pentest process runs in a separate article.

Months 8-9: Type I Audit The first photograph. The auditor comes and examines the control design. The Type I report is used as a bridge in sales.

Months 9-15: Observation Window A 6-12 month observation window for Type II. During this period the logs, tickets and evidence files produced are saved for the audit.

Months 15-18: Type II Audit and Report The auditor examines the 6-12 month evidence set by sampling. The fieldwork takes 3-6 weeks. The report writing takes another 4-8 weeks. The final report is delivered as a PDF.

This timeline is typical for an average 30-80 person SaaS. 5-10 person startups can run faster.

How to Choose an Audit Firm?

The SOC 2 audit must be performed by a CPA firm licensed in the US. There are three types of options:

• Big 4 (the large audit firms): High brand value, high cost, long waiting time. It makes sense if there is an IPO plan or a large corporate customer.
• Tier 2 national firms: Balanced cost and brand value.
• SOC 2-focused niche CPA firms: Familiar with the SaaS world, fast process, reasonable cost. The most common choice for early and mid-stage companies.

The number of firms in Turkey that perform the SOC 2 audit directly is limited. Turkish companies generally work with a CPA firm in the US directly or through local consultancy. The local partner plays a critical role in preparation, documentation and control implementation.

Cost Categories

The SOC 2 budget consists of three items:

1. Internal implementation cost: Software licenses (SIEM, MDM, MFA, vendor risk platform), personnel time.
2. Consultancy cost: Gap analysis, policy writing, control implementation, internal audit, communication with the auditor.
3. Audit firm (CPA) cost: Fieldwork, report writing.

Each of these three items is meaningful on its own. To roughly estimate the total cost, the formula "personnel time + tool licenses + external services" is used. Dividing the budget planning into quarterly plans together with the CFO or finance team is healthy for cash flow.

How Is the Report Shared with the Customer?

The SOC 2 report is a confidential document. It contains your company's internal control details, system description, and exceptions. Before sharing it with the customer, signing an NDA is standard. Some companies only let the report be examined in a data room and do not give a copy.

For marketing use, the SOC 3 report or the AICPA logo is appropriate. The full text of the SOC 2 report is never published on the website.

The customer typically follows these steps:

1. NDA signing request
2. Report PDF delivery (usually via email or a secure portal)
3. The customer's security team reads the report
4. They send their questions as "follow-up questions"
5. A bridge letter may be requested, for the period from the report's end date to today

The Current Landscape in Turkey

As we stated in our main article describing Turkey's 2026 cyber threat landscape, in the last two years the international sales initiatives of SMEs and mid-sized companies have increased. This in turn has caused SOC 2 demand to explode. The number of firms providing SOC 2 preparation consultancy in Turkey has grown rapidly in the last two years. Preparation is generally done in Turkey, and the audit is performed by an overseas CPA. Alongside PCI-DSS for the e-commerce sector, SOC 2 is positioned as a second-stage compliance target.

FAQ

1. Is SOC 2 mandatory? Not legally. Commercially it is a de facto requirement in the US corporate market.

2. Is SOC 2 a certificate or a report? It is a report, not a certificate. There are AICPA rules for logo use.

3. Can I start with Type I and move to Type II? Yes, this is the most common path. It proceeds as Type I + 6 months of observation + Type II.

4. If I have ISO 27001, do I need SOC 2? If the customer is American, yes. If you work Europe-focused, ISO may be sufficient.

5. Is SOC 2 renewed every year? Yes. The Type II report covers a 12-month period. To appear continuously valid, a new report must be issued every year.

6. Is a penetration test mandatory for SOC 2? The AICPA framework does not explicitly say "do a pentest," but there is a vulnerability management control. Most auditors want evidence of regular pentests; customers also want to see pentest results alongside the report.

7. Does SOC 2 make sense for a small startup? If there is a real sales pipeline to the US market, yes. If you serve the domestic Turkish market, ISO 27001 and KVKK compliance may be the priority first.

8. Who prepares the SOC 2 report? An independent CPA firm prepares it. The internal team cannot audit itself, it can only be audited.

Conclusion and the First Step

SOC 2 is no longer an optional certificate of the Turkish SaaS world, but a prerequisite of the international growth plan. With the right preparation, a Type II report is possible within 12-18 months. At every stage of gap analysis, control implementation, documentation, internal audit and auditor selection, the difference of an experienced local partner is decisive.

At DSET, from our Hacettepe Teknokent Ankara office, we offer SOC 2 Type I and Type II preparation consultancy to Turkish SaaS companies. We provide support in all of gap analysis, control design, policy documentation, internal audit, auditor coordination, and customer sharing processes.

If you have a goal of opening up to the US market, or are looking for an answer to a SOC 2 request coming from a corporate customer, you can call +90 536 662 38 09 for a preliminary meeting or fill out the contact form on our website.