Assurance over outsourced processes and IT controls

An increasing number of organisations are outsourcing processes, IT, and data processing activities. This offers economies of scale, greater speed, and access to specialist expertise. However, responsibility remains with your organisation. Customers, regulators, and supply chain partners want assurance that their data, processes, and systems are secure, reliable, and properly controlled.

With third-party assurance, you can provide that confidence. An ISAE or SOC report demonstrates that your organisation effectively manages risks, internal controls, and cyber resilience. This assurance is not based on individual statements, but on an independent assessment of the effectiveness of your control measures.

How do we help you?

We help you make outsourced processes, IT services, and control measures transparent, controlled, and verifiable. Together, we determine which type of assurance best fits your organisation, customers, and risk profile. This may include ISAE 3402, ISAE 3000, SOC 1, or SOC 2.

Is your organisation not yet ready for an assurance report? We can start with a readiness assessment. This provides insight into your current situation, the improvements required, and the steps needed to work in a focused way towards a successful assurance report. We bring structure, support you in establishing or strengthening a control framework, and guide you step by step towards a report that builds confidence among customers and other stakeholders.

What do we offer?

  • Readiness assessment
    We assess the maturity of your internal controls and identify the steps required to achieve a successful ISAE or SOC report.
  • ISAE 3402 and SOC 1 reporting for processes that are relevant to financial transactions and financial reporting. We assess both the design and operational effectiveness of internal controls.
  • ISAE 3000 reporting for outsourced processes that are not directly related to financial transactions, but where demonstrable assurance is required.
  • SOC 2 reporting for assurance relating to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy.
  • Control framework support
    We help you establish, improve or refine a control framework that aligns with your services, risks and customer expectations.
  • Agreed-Upon Procedures (ISRS 4400)
    We perform procedures agreed with you on specified financial or non-financial information and report the resulting factual findings. No assurance opinion or conclusion is provided; intended users draw their own conclusions from the report.

What are the benefits?

With third-party assurance, you demonstrate that your organisation takes risks seriously and manages them effectively. You provide customers, supply chain partners, and executives with insight into how processes and IT systems are designed, managed, and monitored. This helps reduce duplicate audits, respond to customer requests more efficiently, and strengthen your position in tender processes.

In addition, assurance helps your organisation continuously improve internal controls. As a result, assurance shifts from being a compliance exercise completed after the fact to becoming a practical tool for enhancing control, reinforcing trust and strengthening cyber resilience in a sustainable manner.

Benefits for your organisation

  • You provide customers with independent assurance regarding your control measures.
  • You reduce duplicate audits and recurring customer requests for information.
  • You make risks, processes, and responsibilities transparent.
  • You strengthen your commercial position in tenders and client selection processes.
  • You work in a focused way towards a higher level of internal control maturity.
  • You demonstrate that cyber resilience is embedded in day-to-day operations.
  • You build trust throughout the supply chain.

Discuss your assurance needs

Would you like to know which type of assurance best suits your organisation? Or would you first like to gain insight into your level of readiness? Contact us. Together, we will clearly identify your risks, control measures, and next steps.

Our experts

Jeffrey Martens

Partner | IT Assurance & Information Risk...
Amsterdam  Office
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Arno Kroese

Partner Business Risk Services
Amsterdam  Office
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Freek van Velsen

Partner Advisory
Hilversum  Office
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Gijs Seeder

Partner Advisory
Hilversum  Office
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    Curious about how we can help your organisation?

    Thanks to CPI, we can not only advise organisations but also support them in execution. Our consultants help to implement changes and embed them sustainably within the organisation. This way, we bring strategy and implementation together to achieve lasting results.

    Contact us
    Thanks to CPI, we can not only advise organisations but also support them in execution. Our consultants help to implement changes and embed them sustainably within the organisation. This way, we bring strategy and implementation together to achieve lasting results.
    Curious about how we can help your organisation?

    Frequently asked questions and answers

    Third-party assurance provides independent assurance over the processes, systems, and control measures of a service provider. This is particularly relevant when your organisation delivers services to other organisations and manages processes, IT environments, or data on their behalf. Through an ISAE or SOC report, you demonstrate how risks are managed and which control measures are in place.

    As a result, customers no longer need to conduct extensive audits themselves each year. Instead, they receive a single report that provides insight into your internal controls, reliability, and approach to risk management.

    An ISAE or SOC report becomes relevant when customers require assurance regarding your services, IT controls, or cyber resilience. This is often the case in outsourced environments, cloud services, financial processes, data processing activities, and other critical business processes.

    Assurance reports can also play a significant role in procurement processes and tenders. They demonstrate that your organisation manages risks and internal controls in a professional and structured way. Not sure whether your organisation is ready? A readiness assessment quickly provides insight into your current situation and the improvements needed to achieve a successful report.

    ISAE 3402 and SOC 1 focus on processes that affect financial transactions or financial reporting. ISAE 3000 has a broader scope and is suitable for other outsourced processes where independent assurance is required.
    SOC 2 focuses primarily on IT-related controls and criteria such as security,

    availability, confidentiality, privacy, and processing integrity. The most suitable type of assurance depends on your services, customers, risks, and market expectations. We help you determine the right scope and avoid unnecessary complexity.