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Walk me through SOC2 prep

Your AI CEO turns 6 months of compliance theater into a 12-week sprint.

OperationsStrategyOne-shot for the assessment, then weekly progress reviews through the 12-week prep, then quarterly evidence collection during Type 2 observation.

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Free to startNo credit card requiredUpdated Apr 2026

You'd think SOC2 needs a $30k consultant and a dedicated compliance hire — Astra has the gap report and 12-week roadmap ready in an afternoon.

The short answer

Astra answers "walk me through SOC2 prep" by running a full gap assessment against the 64 Trust Service Criteria controls in your first session. She connects to Vanta or Drata if you have one, scans your GitHub for branch protection and code review enforcement, audits your AWS/GCP IAM for least privilege, checks your HR system for background checks and offboarding, and inventories vendors needing security questionnaires. The output is a Notion playbook: which controls already pass, which need policy docs (she drafts 18 of them — Access Control, Incident Response, Change Management, etc.), which need infra changes (MFA enforcement, log retention, encryption at rest), and the 12-week sequence to close gaps. She schedules the auditor selection call by week 4 and the Type 1 audit start by week 12. You stop guessing what SOC2 actually requires.

How Astra actually does it

1
Run a gap assessment
Connect Vanta or Drata if available; otherwise audit GitHub, AWS/GCP, Okta/Google Workspace, and your HR system manually. Score each of 64 controls pass/partial/fail.
VantaDrataGitHubAWSOkta
2
Draft the 18 required policies
Access Control, Incident Response, Change Management, Risk Assessment, Vendor Management, Data Classification, Backup, Encryption, BCP/DR, etc. — all in Notion, all reviewable by counsel.
Notion
3
Sequence the infra fixes
MFA enforcement, log retention to 1 year, encryption at rest verification, branch protection on main, code review enforcement, vulnerability scanning. Ordered by effort + audit weight.
4
Manage vendor questionnaires
Identify subprocessors, send security questionnaires, collect their SOC2 reports, file in vendor management system.
VantaOneTrustNotion
5
Schedule and own the audit
Shortlist 3 auditors (A-LIGN, Prescient, Johanson), book intro calls, select by week 4, kickoff Type 1 audit by week 12. Calendar holds and prep docs delivered before each call.
Google CalendarLark

What it looks like in chat

Walk me through SOC2 prep. We have 6 months before our biggest customer requires it.

Astra

Ran the gap scan. **38 of 64 controls already pass** (you have Vanta wired and GitHub branch protection on). **18 need policy docs only** — I'll draft these in Notion this week. **8 need infra work**, in order: 1. Enable MFA on AWS root + IAM (1hr) 2. Extend CloudWatch log retention to 365 days (~$180/mo cost) 3. Encrypt RDS at rest — already on, just need evidence screenshot 4. Add branch protection to `infra` repo (10 min) 5. Quarterly access review automation in Vanta (2 hrs setup) 6. Vendor questionnaires to your 11 subprocessors (I'll handle outreach) 7. Security awareness training in BambooHR (assign + track) 8. Incident response tabletop exercise (schedule in May) **Auditor selection:** I'll send 3 quote requests today (A-LIGN, Prescient, Johanson). Type 1 audit kickoff: week of June 16. Type 2 observation: 6 months after. Your customer's deadline is achievable. Want me to start the policy drafts now?

What you get back

A Notion workspace with the gap assessment, 18 drafted policies, the 12-week sequenced roadmap, vendor management tracker, auditor shortlist with quotes, and Google Calendar holds for every milestone.

Cadence

One-shot for the assessment, then weekly progress reviews through the 12-week prep, then quarterly evidence collection during Type 2 observation.

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Frequently asked questions

What if we don't have Vanta or Drata yet?

Astra runs the gap assessment manually by walking through GitHub, AWS/GCP, your identity provider, and HR system. She'll recommend whether Vanta/Drata is worth the $7-15k/year — for most companies pursuing SOC2 the answer is yes because evidence collection automation pays for itself by month 4.

Can Astra handle the audit itself?

No — SOC2 requires an independent CPA firm. Astra prepares everything, manages the auditor relationship, and answers their evidence requests, but the attestation has to come from an outside firm. She'll shortlist auditors and own the project, you stay out of the weeds.

What if a control fails and we can't fix it before audit?

Astra writes a documented exception with compensating controls, gets it reviewed before the audit, and includes it in your management assertion. Auditors expect a few exceptions on Type 1 — what they want to see is awareness and a remediation plan.

How long does this realistically take from kickoff to Type 2 report?

Type 1 (point-in-time): 12-16 weeks from gap scan to audit completion. Type 2 (6-month observation period): 6 months after Type 1 plus 4 weeks for the report. Most enterprise customers accept Type 1 with Type 2 in flight, so you can unblock deals at the 4-month mark.

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