10 Things I’ve Learned from Thousands of IT Audits

‍Chris Beiro, Sr Director InfoSec Solutions

IT audits can seem like an incredibly daunting prospect, but they don’t have to be, as long as you know what to expect. Managing audits isn’t just about passing a test, it’s about proving (to customers, prospects, and internal stakeholders) that your security program actually works in the real world. 

In almost 15 years as an IT auditor, I’ve performed many hundreds of audits for companies of all shapes and sizes. Add in the deep experience of my colleagues in the Thoropass audit team, and we have several thousand audits under our collective belt. Many of these went smoothly, others … less so. And while no two audits are exactly the same, certain themes tend to come up time and time again. If you’re a security or compliance professional preparing for an audit – especially if it’s your first – these lessons can help you avoid the most common pitfalls, reduce stress, and get more value out of the process.

1. The biggest audit failures aren’t technical, they’re operational

When organizations fall short, it’s rarely because they didn’t have a fancy tool or the “right” security product. It’s because the operational rhythm didn’t match what the organization said it was doing. Things like frequency-based controls (monthly access reviews, quarterly vulnerability scans, SLA-driven patching) often slip due to competing priorities, unclear ownership, or inconsistent execution.

Audits reward repeatable behavior. If your controls rely on humans taking action, you need clear procedures, accountability, and evidence that the work happened – every time, on time.

2. Control deficiencies are normal. Compliance is hard … for everyone

The truth is simple: maintaining a compliant and secure environment is hard. Large enterprises struggle with complexity, sprawl, and multiple overlapping requirements. Startups and mid-sized companies often struggle with limited bandwidth and not enough dedicated GRC expertise. That’s why findings are common, even among organizations with strong intentions and good security fundamentals. Treat findings as a signal, not shameful. They usually reflect real constraints: scaling pains, shifting priorities, and growth happening faster than processes can keep up with.

3. Don’t force a “square peg” control into your environment

Controls aren’t meant to be copy-and-pasted. They should be purpose-built to fit how your business actually operates, while still satisfying the risk objective of the framework. When someone insists you implement a specific control “because compliance,” it’s worth pausing and asking: Is this the best control for our environment, or just the most convenient one to explain?

A well-designed control doesn’t just make an auditor happy. It makes your organization safer and easier to manage.

4. Exceptions aren’t failure – they’re the start of improvement

Exceptions and deviations happen everywhere. A misconfigured SIEM solution, an overdue access removal, or a gap in evidence don’t automatically mean you “failed.” They mean you’ve identified an opportunity to strengthen execution, improve automation, or tighten ownership.

Sometimes there are also mitigating factors that reduce the true risk. A mature organization doesn’t pretend exceptions never happen, instead they prove they can detect, respond, and improve or mitigate.

5. Prioritize real risk reduction, not compliance theater

Not all controls are created equal. Some controls are critical, some are good practice, and some are unfortunately just fluff. The most successful teams focus engineering and process efforts on the controls that materially reduce risk – especially those that protect confidentiality, integrity, and availability in ways that matter to your customers.

If a control doesn’t reduce risk or improve resilience, challenge whether it’s worth the time, or whether it can be simplified.

6. There’s no “one-size-fits-all” audit path – think like a bad actor

SOC 2 (and most modern frameworks) are ultimately risk-based. The most valuable exercise you can do before an audit is to pressure-test your environment with real-world thinking:

“If I were malicious, how would I break in?”
“What’s the worst thing I could do?”
“What’s stopping me from going wild right now?”

Understand the scope of what you’re aiming to protect and conduct a risk assessment before you start marching down the path of compliance. That mindset naturally leads to better control design, because it’s rooted in threat realities, not checklist compliance.

7. First-time audits shouldn’t be done alone

Organizations attempting a framework for the first time often underestimate the depth and nuance. Requirements get misinterpreted. Controls get missed. Evidence gets collected incorrectly. And the result is usually a painful audit cycle and a higher risk of an unfavorable report.

Tooling helps. Expert guidance helps. In combination, they dramatically increase your odds of getting it right the first time, and building a program that holds up as you scale.

8. Pick an audit period that your controls can actually support

Audit timing matters more than most teams realize. Yes, audit windows should align to customer expectations and business needs. However, they also need to reflect reality: Are the right people available? If you have multiple frameworks in-scope for your compliance program, how can you maximize your audit period to consolidate audit efforts and drive efficiencies? Are your controls actually operating consistently during that window? Is there a clean period of evidence you can produce without chaos?

Audits require coordination, and auditors can only issue an opinion when controls are demonstrably in operation throughout the period. Choosing the wrong window can create unnecessary pressure and avoidable gaps.

9. Master the balance: transparency without overload

One of the most common mistakes is getting transparency wrong in one of two directions:

• Withholding uncomfortable information almost always backfires. Good auditors are trained to spot gaps, and incomplete answers tend to trigger deeper scrutiny.
• Overloading auditors with unfocused documentation creates noise, slows the audit, and often generates more questions.

The best approach is intentional clarity: provide complete, relevant information that directly answers what’s being tested. And when you’re unsure what’s being asked, ask clarifying questions. The smoothest audits feel collaborative, not defensive, because both sides are aligned on what evidence is needed and why it matters. 

10. It’s not just you! Whatever happens, you’re not the first person to experience it

However unique you think your organization, your challenges or your deficiencies may be, an experienced audit team will have encountered it before. More importantly, they’ll know how to navigate the situation, guide you through the process of your audit, and potentially help your organization become stronger and more secure as a result. If you view your audit team not with fear, but as a helpful resource that’s looking out for your best interests, you’ll be able to get much more out of the relationship.

Another consideration here is to find an audit firm that strives to be an audit partner and trusted advisor, while at the same time maintaining its due diligence and conflict of interest avoidance responsibilities.Transparency is a two-way street and not all firms rise to this level of service – get references from your network and vet auditors’ methodologies and delivery approaches in the selection process to help give you confidence in your choice  

The best audits provide value and build trust

A great audit outcome isn’t just a report. It gives you, your executives, partners, investors and customers confidence. Confidence that your controls run when they’re supposed to, that your risks are understood and managed, and that your organization can scale trust without scaling chaos. The teams that consistently succeed treat audits as a forcing function: a way to refine operations, strengthen security habits, and turn compliance into a competitive advantage.

That’s exactly where Thoropass stands apart. Modern compliance shouldn’t be a once-a-year scramble. It should be a continuous, guided process that makes security easier to run, easier to prove, and easier to improve. When you approach audits with the right mindset, structure, and support, you don’t just “get through” compliance, you build a program your customers can rely on.

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