Audit support
SOC readiness bookkeeping
SOC readiness bookkeeping from Finbryn keeps a UK company's billing, revenue and vendor-payment records current while it goes through a service organisation examination, usually requested by a US customer during procurement. Our accounting team tracks the finance side of the evidence list and works with your security lead; the examining firm performs the examination and issues the report.
Auditor request list
Illustrative client · August 2026
GBP
- Trial balance and general ledger exportDone
- Bank confirmations and statementsDone
- Receivables and payables listingsDone
- Fixed asset register with additionsIn progress
- Accruals and prepayments supportNext
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
An American request landing on a UK finance team
SOC 2 has no place in UK accounting standards. It is an American attestation, issued under AICPA rules by a firm entitled to issue that specific report, and most UK companies only meet it because a US buyer will not sign a contract without one. The security work behind it sits with your engineering or infrastructure lead; the piece that lands on finance is narrower, and that is the piece we cover.
The evidence that is actually finance's job
Examiners ask for things a bookkeeper already touches: invoices matching signed contracts, revenue recognised on a consistent basis month to month, a vendor payment trail that shows who approved what, and a record of who could log into systems holding customer data. An examination window usually runs several months rather than a single date, so books kept current through the whole period matter more than a clean set on the last day of it.
Running a tracker, not answering for the auditor
We hold a running list of the finance-side items the examiner has asked for and where each one stands. A question that needs technical detail, an access log or a network control, goes to your security lead rather than getting an answer from us that oversteps what the accounting records actually show.
The line we do not cross
We do not sit the examination and we do not sign or issue the report; only the authorised examining firm does that, working from evidence your business assembles across finance and security together. The control matrix built under internal controls documentation usually answers a good share of the finance-side requests before the examiner even asks a second time.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: SOC readiness bookkeeping
Can Finbryn issue our SOC 2 report?
No. Only a firm entitled to issue SOC reports under AICPA attestation standards can do that, and that entitlement sits outside anything a UK accounting team holds. We keep the finance records and evidence behind it in order.
Why does a UK company need an American examination at all?
Usually a US customer's procurement team requires it before signing. The standard itself is American regardless of where the company being examined operates from.
Who do you talk to when the examiner asks a security question?
Whoever runs security or compliance on your side. We stay on the finance evidence and hand technical questions straight to them rather than guessing at an answer.
How long does readiness work typically take before an examiner engagement starts?
It depends on how far your current bookkeeping and access controls are from what a SOC 2 examiner expects, but most UK companies preparing for a first US customer's requirement need a few months of readiness work before engaging an examiner, not a quick tidy-up the week before.
Do you coordinate with the SOC 2 examiner directly?
We prepare the bookkeeping and financial-control evidence the examiner is likely to ask for, and can join calls with the examiner where a financial process needs explaining. The examination itself, the testing and the report, is carried out entirely by the examiner, not by us.
Do you perform the SOC examination or issue the report?
No. An independent, credentialed audit firm you engage separately performs the examination and issues the report. We keep the financial records and evidence behind it organized and current.
What is the difference between this and general bookkeeping?
The bookkeeping itself is the same discipline, kept to a documentation and consistency standard that holds up when an examiner asks for evidence on demand rather than at month end.
Who reviews the work before it reaches us?
Every deliverable under sOC readiness bookkeeping is reviewed by a senior reviewer before it reaches you. You keep access to the underlying file at every stage, so nothing about the work happens somewhere you cannot see it.
What is included in sOC readiness bookkeeping?
SOC readiness bookkeeping covers books and financial records kept current and reconciled through the examination window and billing, revenue-recognition and vendor-payment records organized for evidence requests. The exact scope is agreed and set out in writing before work starts, so you know precisely what is and is not covered before the first deliverable arrives.
Related services
- Audit supportInternal controls documentationFinancial process controls, such as who approves a payment or reconciles an account, written down and walked through with your team, so an auditor or funder can see how the numbers are actually produced.
- Audit supportWorking paper preparationSupporting schedules and reconciliations built the way an auditor expects to see them, cross-referenced to the trial balance, so review comments come back with fewer open questions.
Industries
- SaaSBookkeeping and reporting for subscription software businesses tracking recurring revenue, deferred revenue and burn.
- Startups and VC-backed companiesBookkeeping and reporting for early-stage, venture-backed companies watching burn, runway and investor reporting closely.
- Agencies and consultanciesBookkeeping for marketing agencies, design studios and consulting firms billing clients on retainers and project fees.
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.