What IT security processes need to be documented before a compliance audit?
Before a compliance audit, document your access control procedures, incident response plan, data handling policies, change management process, backup and recovery procedures, and employee onboarding/offboarding workflows. Auditors want to see that processes are documented, followed consistently, and have evidence of execution. Visual SOPs with screenshots serve as both the procedure and the evidence.
What processes must be documented?
| Process | Audit Requirement | What Auditors Look For |
|---|---|---|
| Access control | Who has access to what, and how is it granted/revoked | User provisioning SOP, access review logs |
| Incident response | How security incidents are detected, contained, resolved | Incident response plan with defined roles |
| Change management | How changes to systems are approved and implemented | Change request workflow with approval records |
| Data handling | How sensitive data is stored, transmitted, and deleted | Data classification policy, encryption procedures |
| Backup & recovery | How data is backed up and how systems are restored | Backup schedule, recovery test results |
| Onboarding/offboarding | How employee access is set up and revoked | Checklists with completion timestamps |
| Vendor management | How third-party access is controlled | Vendor security assessment process |
| Monitoring & logging | How systems are monitored for anomalies | Alert configuration, log retention policy |
Which compliance frameworks require this?
| Framework | Focus Areas |
|---|---|
| SOC 2 | Security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, privacy |
| ISO 27001 | Information security management system |
| HIPAA | Protected health information handling |
| PCI DSS | Cardholder data protection |
| GDPR | Personal data processing and storage |
How do you document quickly before an audit?
Record each IT admin workflow using Glyde — user provisioning in Okta, access reviews in your identity provider, backup configuration in AWS. The auto-generated guides with timestamps serve as both the SOP and the audit evidence. Start with the processes auditors always ask about first.
This answer is part of our guide to SOPs by role and use case.