SOC 2 Type II Access Reviews: Auditor Expectations and Common Compliance Gaps Explained

📋 GRC education: If you're pursuing SOC 2 Type II, access reviews are a required periodic control — and most auditors expect them quarterly. Here's what auditors look for: ✅ Evidence that you reviewed who has access to each in-scope system ✅ Documentation of your review decisions (approve, revoke, escalate) ✅ Timely revocation of access for anyone flagged during the review ✅ Consistent cadence — not just a one-time review right before the audit Common gaps we see: ❌ Reviews run once a year instead of quarterly ❌ No documentation of decisions — just informal Slack threads ❌ Terminated employees missed because they had direct app logins outside SSO The good news: when access reviews are run in Vanta, the evidence is captured automatically — no manual screenshots required. How frequently is your team running access reviews? 👇