Announcing Laika+, Laika’s integrated audit feature

Audits suck.

For everyone.

As the most important way to demonstrate compliance, audits are a necessary evil. Since conception, Laika has been working to make the audit process easier for our customers, our compliance architects, and auditors. 

We are thrilled to announce that Laika is offering an end-to-end audit experience directly through our platform, powered by our trusted audit partners.

Laika was born from an ambition to revolutionize the compliance space for growing startups. While Laika’s expert-built platform streamlines compliance implementation and demonstration to enterprises, we wanted to make lengthy, expensive audit processes a thing of the past. 

Audit cycles are lengthy, manual, and costly

In 2011, the AICPA introduced a SOC 2 audit report. This kicked off our current state of information security audits in the US. SOC 2 audits examine the security of service providers, including cloud technology and cutting-edge digital-based startups, but the process is maddeningly outdated. 

Picture it: you’ve successfully implemented hundreds of controls to secure your business’ and customers’ data. It’s finally time to pass your evidence along to auditors, who you’ve spent endless hours interviewing since SOC 2 was just a glimmer in your eye. 

The process begins with an auditors request list, typically between 80 and 120 requests. This kicks off a manual process of gathering information, taking screenshots of system settings, organizing, and sharing evidence. Inevitably, auditors will have additional questions (some of which won’t even apply to your business) and need more documentation, and your inbox will fill with urgent correspondence for about 10 to 14 weeks. 

You’ll need to take more screenshots, follow up on their questions with your stakeholders, implement last-minute changes to controls, and spend hours manually testing procedures with your auditors. And you’ll have very little insight into the process itself, from where the auditors stand to any issues that have been identified.

On average, assessors spend 150 to 200 hours testing SOC 2 controls

And let’s be clear: auditors don’t love this either. Technology to automate and streamline processes is virtually nonexistent. There is no other way to pass through information and verify security practices. 

Until now.

Introducing the new way to execute audits

Our team has been working to make Laika a platform loved by our customers and auditors.

In March, we quietly launched our integrated audit feature. When we say “integrated audit,” we mean that there is no experiential separation between building or maintaining your compliance and auditing it. Our customers access all audit updates through our platform. Through a proprietary and independent application, Laika Compliance auditors programmatically examine compliance postures to issue high-quality reports.  

Laika customers experience the smoothest audit process wrapped in Laika technology. This is the only transparent, tech-enabled audit with the best IT auditors in the industry. Customers track their progress throughout the audit, communicate with auditors, and see directly into the audit management process with our compliance architects. And over 80% of our customers are already taking advantage of this feature. 

In partnership with Leith Khanafseh, Laika Compliance’s principal and head auditors, our team wrapped the process in technology to create reproducible and transparent audits. We deliver the highest quality IT audit reports in 60% less time than the industry standard.

What does this mean for audits?

We’re eliminating risky procedures in audits that result in variable reports. 

No two auditors or audits are the same, particularly with frameworks like SOC 2. With nothing standardized about the audit except the framework, we removed the guesswork by verifying evidence through technology as often as possible and formalizing control reviews. 

This faster, more cost-effective approach produces a higher-quality audit than reliance on emails, spreadsheets, phone calls, and scattered communications. Any business can subscribe to Laika+ and execute their audit directly on our platform. 

We now have more subscription plans for small, medium, and large businesses. And we can’t wait to show them to you. Reach out for a demo today.

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