SOX Compliance Consulting

SOX readiness, scoping, control design, ITGCs, and audit-ready evidence for public and IPO-track companies. We work management's side, so your external auditor can rely on the work without independence problems.
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Definition

What is SOX compliance consulting?

SOX compliance consulting builds and maintains the internal control over financial reporting that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires management to stand behind. It applies to US public companies and to IPO-track companies preparing to become one. Section 404(a) requires management's own assessment of ICFR starting with the first annual report, and Section 404(b) adds an external auditor attestation for accelerated filers. BD Emerson works management's side of that split. We are not your external auditor and we do not opine on ICFR: the 404(b) opinion belongs to the firm that audits your financial statements, and independence rules keep it there. That separation is the reason to hire us. We scope, document, rationalize, and remediate controls as management's advisor, then package evidence so your auditor can test it without friction or independence questions.

Services

What SOX compliance services are included?

SOX readiness for IPOs
Risk assessment and scoping
Narratives and walkthroughs
Control rationalization
IT general controls
Remediation and evidence

SOX readiness for IPO-track companies

Companies preparing to list get a sequenced path to 404 compliance: scoping, documentation, control build, and management testing planned against the filing timeline. Since 404(a) applies from your first annual report as a public company, readiness work runs best when it starts twelve to eighteen months before listing. We build the program so your team can run it after we leave, rather than one that needs a consultant permanently attached.

SOX risk assessment and scoping

Scoping decides what SOX costs every year afterward. We set materiality with your finance leadership, identify significant accounts and disclosures, map them to processes and locations, and name the in-scope systems. The result is a scoping memo your external auditor can react to early, so nobody discovers a missed process or system during testing season.

Process narratives, walkthroughs, and RCMs

Each in-scope process gets a narrative that matches how the work actually happens, confirmed by walkthrough rather than copied from last year's file. Risk and control matrices tie every what-could-go-wrong to the key control that prevents or detects it, with owner, frequency, precision, and evidence named. Audits move faster when the narrative, the RCM, and the people interviewed all tell the same story.

Control design and rationalization

First-year programs are usually over-controlled, and over-controlled environments waste testing hours every year. We rationalize toward fewer, stronger key controls: one precise management review control with defined thresholds can replace several shallow checks. Each control removed saves management testing, auditor testing, and an annual argument about samples, while the remaining population still covers every risk in the RCM.

ITGC design across access, change, and operations

IT general controls fail more SOX audits than any financial process, most often on user access. For each in-scope system we design provisioning and deprovisioning, privileged access management, periodic access reviews, change management with segregation between developer and migrator, and the operations controls behind jobs and backups. When ITGCs hold, your auditor can rely on automated controls and system reports, which is where audit efficiency comes from.

Deficiency evaluation, remediation, and PBC evidence

Control failures are classified as deficiencies, significant deficiencies, or material weaknesses based on likelihood and magnitude, then remediated and retested. Ahead of external audit fieldwork we prepare the PBC evidence end to end, indexed to the request list, so samples arrive complete the first time. Sustaining support covers quarterly 302 certification cycles and the annual refresh of scoping, narratives, and matrices.

Our approach

Our approach to SOX compliance

We implement AuditBoard for SOX programs. For how the platforms compare, read our practical evaluation of GRC software.
01

Scope to what matters

Materiality, significant accounts, in-scope processes, and systems get settled in a scoping memo shared with your auditor early. A defensible, tight scope is the largest cost lever in any SOX program.

02

Document how work happens

Narratives, walkthroughs, and risk and control matrices are built from the process as it runs today, so external testing does not stumble over documentation drift.

03

Design fewer, stronger controls

Key controls are rationalized before anyone tests them: precise review controls with defined thresholds replace clusters of shallow checks, and ITGCs cover the systems those controls depend on.

04

Hand your auditor a clean file

PBC evidence arrives indexed to the RCM on the auditor's calendar, and deficiencies found in management testing are remediated and retested before the auditor encounters them.

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Preparing for SOX 404 compliance?

Speak with BD Emerson about your filing timeline, your systems, and how much control rationalization would save this cycle.

Our Advantage

Why BD Emerson for SOX

Independence by design

The 404(b) opinion belongs to your external auditor, and we never touch it. Because we advise management rather than perform your financial statement audit, your auditor can rely on our documentation and testing without independence conflicts.

ITGC depth from a security firm

Access, change management, and operations controls are designed by people who run cybersecurity and compliance programs every day, so ITGCs stand up to the audit and to an actual incident.

Tooling without lock-in

We implement AuditBoard when a platform helps and say plainly when a spreadsheet still fits your size. The program design works either way, and nothing about the methodology depends on a license.

How We Work

How we deliver SOX compliance

One sequence runs every engagement, from first-year readiness ahead of an IPO to rationalizing a mature program. Each step leaves an artifact your external auditor can rely on.
Reviews

What our customers say

Great consulting firms for scaling security, compliance, and appsec.

Outstanding partner in Technical and Cyber Due Diligence

Appsec maturity and application hardening.

BD Emerson helped us simplfiy our compliance management.

BD Emerson did such a phenomenal job. What started as privacy support quickly became a full partnership across compliance, engineering, and even business operations. They’re embedded with our team. They understand our product. They move fast. They’re simply invaluable.

Adam Ben Jacobs

CTO @ OneStep GPS

Great consulting firms for scaling security, compliance, and appsec.

Outstanding partner in Technical and Cyber Due Diligence

Appsec maturity and application hardening.

BD Emerson helped us simplfiy our compliance management.

BD Emerson did such a phenomenal job. What started as privacy support quickly became a full partnership across compliance, engineering, and even business operations. They’re embedded with our team. They understand our product. They move fast. They’re simply invaluable.

Adam Ben Jacobs

CTO @ OneStep GPS

We had a hard time finding the right company to partner with in support of our compliance journey. Some vendors sell the idea that they do the work, but then you end up doing everything. The ambiguity is what killed our last project. BD Emerson’s team has such great technical knowledge and understands the standard so well that they made us comfortable with moving fast. This has led to us closing major enterprise customers that were previously out of reach because of security and compliance.

Tom Watkins

CEO @ AMI AssetTrack

Lead an enterprise initiative to overhaul the organization's technology stack from ecommerce, corporate tech, and corporate security.

Supported ISO 42001 exercise and served as internal auditor.

Rubrik's privacy and compliance team began with the backbone of BD Emerson. BD Emerson supported building out the privacy program, GRC (ISO 27001, SOC 2, CMMC, FedRAMP), and the appsec function.

We needed a partner who could move quickly, without sacrificing precision. BD Emerson brought the expertise, structure, and speed we were looking for. Their team became an extension of ours, embedding themselves across the organization, guiding us step by step, and giving us confidence in areas we hadn’t tackled before. The internal audit they conducted was so detailed that even the external auditors called it out. Achieving ISO 27001 with zero nonconformities says everything you need to know about the quality of the partnership.

Walid Souilem

CTO @ FGI Worldwide

We had a hard time finding the right company to partner with in support of our compliance journey. Some vendors sell the idea that they do the work, but then you end up doing everything. The ambiguity is what killed our last project. BD Emerson’s team has such great technical knowledge and understands the standard so well that they made us comfortable with moving fast. This has led to us closing major enterprise customers that were previously out of reach because of security and compliance.

Tom Watkins

CEO @ AMI AssetTrack

Lead an enterprise initiative to overhaul the organization's technology stack from ecommerce, corporate tech, and corporate security.

Supported ISO 42001 exercise and served as internal auditor.

Rubrik's privacy and compliance team began with the backbone of BD Emerson. BD Emerson supported building out the privacy program, GRC (ISO 27001, SOC 2, CMMC, FedRAMP), and the appsec function.

We needed a partner who could move quickly, without sacrificing precision. BD Emerson brought the expertise, structure, and speed we were looking for. Their team became an extension of ours, embedding themselves across the organization, guiding us step by step, and giving us confidence in areas we hadn’t tackled before. The internal audit they conducted was so detailed that even the external auditors called it out. Achieving ISO 27001 with zero nonconformities says everything you need to know about the quality of the partnership.

Walid Souilem

CTO @ FGI Worldwide

BD Emerson didn’t just help us meet our compliance goals; they integrated security and privacy into the core of our operations. I highly recommend BD Emerson to anyone seeking SOC 2 or GDPR compliance, or simply looking to enhance their security team and boost customer trust in their product and services. Their dedication and expertise have been invaluable to our success.

Padraig Reilly

CEO, Boxcore

BD Emerson understood our business requirements and worked side-by-side with us. The policies and controls we developed together not only meet compliance standards but improve how we operate day to day.

Matt Meierdierks

IT Manager, Lincoln Industries

From day one, BD Emerson brought urgency, clarity, and a sharp understanding of what truly matters to our business — earning and keeping customer trust. They went beyond helping us meet compliance requirements; they helped build a foundation for secure, scalable growth. That kind of partnership is rare.

Jason Marker

CEO @ LifeLenz

BD Emerson didn’t just help us pass an audit—they helped us build a sustainable culture of security.

Alexey Indeev

CTO Spare

BD Emerson was essential in helping our company navigate the daunting process of leveling up our security infrastructure. BD Emerson’s impressive expertise and confidence throughout the process helped our team exceed HIPAA and SOC 2 Type 1 standards quickly, distilling what can be an overwhelming process into a streamlined, organized effort. From day one they began adding value and getting us on course. With their help we delivered on a massive security overhaul with both extreme efficiency and thorough attention to details. Because of BD Emerson’s support, we’ve increased our clients’ trust in Titan Intake and the life-changing work it accomplishes for those seeking specialist referrals.

Patrick Bruce

CEO, Titan Intake

BD Emerson didn’t just help us meet our compliance goals; they integrated security and privacy into the core of our operations. I highly recommend BD Emerson to anyone seeking SOC 2 or GDPR compliance, or simply looking to enhance their security team and boost customer trust in their product and services. Their dedication and expertise have been invaluable to our success.

Padraig Reilly

CEO, Boxcore

BD Emerson understood our business requirements and worked side-by-side with us. The policies and controls we developed together not only meet compliance standards but improve how we operate day to day.

Matt Meierdierks

IT Manager, Lincoln Industries

From day one, BD Emerson brought urgency, clarity, and a sharp understanding of what truly matters to our business — earning and keeping customer trust. They went beyond helping us meet compliance requirements; they helped build a foundation for secure, scalable growth. That kind of partnership is rare.

Jason Marker

CEO @ LifeLenz

BD Emerson didn’t just help us pass an audit—they helped us build a sustainable culture of security.

Alexey Indeev

CTO Spare

BD Emerson was essential in helping our company navigate the daunting process of leveling up our security infrastructure. BD Emerson’s impressive expertise and confidence throughout the process helped our team exceed HIPAA and SOC 2 Type 1 standards quickly, distilling what can be an overwhelming process into a streamlined, organized effort. From day one they began adding value and getting us on course. With their help we delivered on a massive security overhaul with both extreme efficiency and thorough attention to details. Because of BD Emerson’s support, we’ve increased our clients’ trust in Titan Intake and the life-changing work it accomplishes for those seeking specialist referrals.

Patrick Bruce

CEO, Titan Intake

Certificates

Our accreditations

At BD Emerson, we believe that our team's extensive certifications not only set us apart but also ensure that we provide the highest level of service to our clients.
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between SOX 404(a) and 404(b)?

When should a pre-IPO company start SOX readiness?

What are ITGCs and why do they fail audits?

How many key controls should we have?

Can you work with our external auditor?

Do we need a GRC platform like AuditBoard for SOX?

How long does SOX readiness take?

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