SOC 2 Compliance with AWS Audit Manager ?

Hey there!

It’s been a whirlwind few weeks on my end—I’ve been heads-down building SOC 2-compatible CI/CD pipelines, tinkering with automated controls, and exploring a handful of other security goodies. The good news: all that experimentation has paid off, and I’m excited to start sharing what I’ve learned. First up is a quick dive into AWS Audit Manager and how it can turbo-charge your SOC 2 program.

What is AWS Audit Manager?

AWS Audit Manager is a built-in AWS service—there’s no separate license to buy, so you can turn it on at no extra charge and simply pay as you go for the evidence it gathers—designed to make cloud audits and compliance painless. Instead of juggling spreadsheets, you start an assessment with the pre-built SOC 2 framework, and Audit Manager automatically maps your AWS resources to each requirement. From there it continuously collects evidence—CloudTrail activity records, AWS Config snapshots, Security Hub findings, and more—filing each item under the right control. When audit time arrives, you already have neatly organized, tamper-evident documentation and one-click, audit-ready reports. In short, Audit Manager acts like a Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) assistant that lives right inside your AWS console: always on, always up-to-date, and best of all, ready to use without a separate subscription fee.

Key Features of AWS Audit Manager for SOC 2

• Pre-Mapped Control Framework: AWS Audit Manager provides a ready-made SOC 2 framework with controls already mapped to AWS data sources​. This means you don’t have to start from scratch figuring out which AWS services or settings relate to each SOC 2 requirement – Audit Manager gives you a head start with built-in control mapping aligned to the SOC 2 trust principles. You can also customize these control mappings or add your own controls if needed to fit your organization’s specific policies.

• Automated Evidence Collection: One of the most powerful features is automatic evidence gathering. Audit Manager continuously collects evidence from your AWS environment for each control in scope. For instance, it can retrieve user access logs, configuration snapshots, and security alert data automatically, without you having to manually grab screenshots or export logs. This automation ensures that evidence is gathered consistently and regularly over time. By the time you’re ready for a SOC 2 audit, you have a rich collection of evidence organized by control, rather than scrambling to collect documents at the last minute.

• Continuous Monitoring & Automation: AWS Audit Manager runs in the background to monitor your controls. It keeps assessments active year-round (or as long as you need) so that compliance is an ongoing process, not a one-time project. This continuous approach means that if something drifts out of compliance, you can catch and fix it early. The tool’s automation reduces the manual effort in tracking dozens of requirements. You can set it up once to start an assessment, and then it will automatically update evidence and control statuses on a regular basis. This helps your team focus on improving controls and remediation, rather than on tedious data collection.

• Built-In Reporting and Auditing Tools: AWS Audit Manager makes it easy to compile all the collected information into audit-friendly formats. It can generate assessment reports that summarize your compliance status and include links to all evidence for each control​. These reports are extremely useful when you’re undergoing a SOC 2 audit – you can simply provide the auditor with the Audit Manager report, which shows each SOC 2 criterion, how you meet it, and the supporting evidence attached. Additionally, AWS Audit Manager’s dashboard allows you to track progress and see any controls that might be failing or missing evidence, so you can address issues before the formal audit. All evidence is stored securely and remains tamper-evident, helping maintain integrity of your audit data.

Benefits of Automating SOC 2 with AWS Audit Manager

Using AWS Audit Manager for your SOC 2 program comes with several big benefits for your organization:

• Save Time: By automating evidence collection and using pre-mapped frameworks, AWS Audit Manager dramatically reduces the time your team spends on manual compliance tasks. You no longer need to chase down screenshots or pull data from multiple AWS consoles one by one – the tool gathers what you need in seconds or on a set schedule. This frees up your compliance and engineering teams to work on other important tasks.

• Reduce Errors: Manual processes can lead to missed steps or mistakes (for example, forgetting to collect a required log or misplacing a file). AWS Audit Manager minimizes these human errors by systematically collecting and organizing evidence. The data comes straight from the source (your AWS services), so it’s accurate and up-to-date. With less manual handling, there’s less risk of something being overlooked or misrecorded.

• Streamline Audits: Audit preparation becomes much more straightforward. Since all your SOC 2 controls and evidence live in one centralized tool, it’s easy to review everything when you need to. Your internal audit reviewers and external auditors can be given access to review evidence in Audit Manager, or you can export the reports for them. This streamlines the audit process, making it less disruptive to your business. Instead of a frantic rush to assemble documentation, you’ll find that most of the work is already done by the time the audit begins.

• Stay Audit-Ready Year-Round: Perhaps one of the greatest benefits is that AWS Audit Manager helps you maintain an “always audit-ready” posture. Because it continuously monitors and updates evidence, you are essentially keeping your SOC 2 documentation live and current at all times. Even if an auditor comes by on short notice or you decide to go for additional compliance certifications, you have a solid foundation of evidence ready to go. This continuous compliance approach gives peace of mind – you know that compliance isn’t just a once-a-year exercise, but a steady state that you’re managing effortlessly.

A Few Cons to Keep in Mind

• Limited automated evidence collection – The built-in SOC 2 framework contains far more manual controls than automated ones (only 8 automated vs. 53 manual in AWS’s template), so you’ll still need to upload documents, link custom AWS Config rules, or add free-form evidence for many requirements.

• No policy-generation help – Audit Manager tracks whether controls are met, but it won’t draft or maintain your written security, privacy, or HR policies for you—you’ll still have to create and version those documents outside the tool.

Ready to Simplify SOC 2 Compliance?

Achieving and maintaining SOC 2 compliance doesn’t have to be a painful, time-consuming project. AWS Audit Manager is a friendly ally that can simplify your compliance journey by automating the heavy lifting of evidence collection and control tracking. If you need any help setting up AWS Audit Manager for your SOC 2 program, we’re here to help. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions or for hands-on assistance. I’m happy to guide you in getting your compliance program up and running so you can stay secure, compliant, and ready for that next audit with confidence. I can even help in the actual implementation of AWS, Azure, CICD etc. to be compliant. Let’s make SOC 2 compliance easier – contact me today to get started!