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SOC Examinations & Attestations

CSA Star Programs

Recognizing assurance requirements and maturity levels of cloud service providers (CSPs).

Contact a Specialist

Why the CSA STAR Programs?

STAR Program is a publicly available registry designed to recognize assurance requirements and maturity levels of cloud service providers (CSPs). Prior to issuing the guidance for STAR Certification and STAR Attestation, a CSP could only perform a self-assessment, which meant completing the Consensus Assessments Initiative questionnaire (CAIQ) and making the responses publicly available on the CSA Register.

  • Certification The CSA STAR Certification is a third party independent assessment of the security of a CSP that leverages the requirements of the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 (ISO 27001) management system standard together with the CSA Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM) version 3.0.1. In order to achieve the STAR Certification, a CSP must already have an active ISO 27001 certification or have the STAR Certification assessment performed in tandem with an ISO 27001 certification review.
  • Attestation The CSA STAR Attestation is a third party independent assessment of the security of a CSP. CSA STAR Attestation is a collaboration between the CSA and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) to provide guidance for CPA firms (or service auditors) to conduct STAR Attestations using criteria from the AICPA Trust Services Principles (TSP) and the Cloud Control Matrix (CCM). This assessment utilizes the SOC 2 framework to report on the suitability of the design and operating effectiveness of a CSP’s controls relevant to the applicable TSPs (which include Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy) and the suitability of the design and operating effectiveness of its controls in meeting the criteria in the CSA CCM.

Certification or Attestation?

Schellman is the only firm that can offer both CSA STAR Certification and Attestation services to CSPs allowing companies to decrease internal costs and increase efficiencies.
  • Certification The CSA STAR Certification is a third party independent assessment of the security of a CSP that leverages the requirements of the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 (ISO 27001) management system standard together with the CSA Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM) version 3.0.1. In order to achieve the STAR Certification, a CSP must already have an active ISO 27001 certification or have the STAR Certification assessment performed in tandem with an ISO 27001 certification review.
  • Attestation The CSA STAR Attestation is a third party independent assessment of the security of a CSP. CSA STAR Attestation is a collaboration between the CSA and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) to provide guidance for CPA firms (or service auditors) to conduct STAR Attestations using criteria from the AICPA Trust Services Principles (TSP) and the Cloud Control Matrix (CCM). This assessment utilizes the SOC 2 framework to report on the suitability of the design and operating effectiveness of a CSP’s controls relevant to the applicable TSPs (which include Security, Availability, Confidentiality, Processing Integrity, and Privacy) and the suitability of the design and operating effectiveness of its controls in meeting the criteria in the CSA CCM.

Our Process

We begin each project with your end goals in mind and to provide preparation for future key project activities. Effective communication and timely coordination of project planning activities are central to our methodology with our clients.

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Planning

After the agreement is executed, the first phase of the engagement is planning. This is to ensure that Schellman and the Client are fully aware of the what, who, when, why, and how prior to the beginning of testing.

Proper planning is imperative to the success of a project. Schellman has standard processes to cover the important pieces of the engagement.

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Understanding and Kickoff

The kickoff is considered the start of the engagement. If needed, Schellman will schedule a call at the beginning of, or just prior to, the kickoff to finalize any outstanding items. Schellman will be available to the client with any questions.

By including communication prior to starting, Schellman ensures that no last-minute changes to the project or team have occurred and the Client has the plan prior to the testing and on-site visit.

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Testing and Gathering

Testing and gathering is the core of the compliance engagement. Due to the planning and understanding processes, this phase will be an accumulation of gathering the evidence needed for the objectives discussed.

Schellman has a no surprise policy and has daily contact with the stakeholders during the testing and gathering activities. Furthermore, Schellman will begin documentation of the draft deliverable to be able to provide it to the Client efficiently after this phase. The Client will have confidence the Schellman team has completed this phase timely and completely.

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Reporting

Schellman’s testing methodology ends with reporting, but the entire assessment is focused on creating a deliverable that is clear, concise, and accurate.

Schellman’s report takes into account the entire process and customizes a report for each Client. The draft report will be provided within 2 weeks of the last day of testing and gathering phase, and a final report will be provided within 30 days. This timing is unsurpassed by the industry.

CSA Star Specialist

Ryan Mackie

Ryan is a Managing Principal at Schellman. Ryan manages SOC, PCI-DSS, ISO, HIPAA and Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) STAR Certification and Attestation service delivery and also oversees the firm-wide methodology and execution for the ISO certification services, including ISO 27001, ISO 9001, ISO 20000, and ISO 22301 as well as CSA STAR certification services.

Meet Ryan Contact Us

  • Fixed-Fee Using an outcome-based, fixed-fee pricing model based on our extensive experience
  • Scope Creep We see less than 5% of our clients that see amendments and are often the result of a scope expansion
  • Low Overhead Low overhead means a flexible financial structure

Learn more about our pricing process

Learn more about our pricing process

How much will your audit cost?

Whether it is an ISO 27001 certification, SOC 2 examination or a FedRAMP assessment, companies are often challenged by the need to address customer requirements while ensuring a return on compliance investment.

The most important factor in scoping a potential assessment is understanding what deliverable the recipient (i.e. your customer or partner) is expecting.

Once we have scoped your environment and needs, there are several factors that contribute to Schellman’s pricing:

  • Fixed-Fee Using an outcome-based, fixed-fee pricing model based on our extensive experience
  • Scope Creep We see less than 5% of our clients that see amendments and are often the result of a scope expansion
  • Low Overhead Low overhead means a flexible financial structure

Learn more about our pricing process

Learn more about our pricing process

Talk to a Practice Leader

866.254.0000

Contact a Specialist

4010 W Boy Scout Boulevard
Suite 600
Tampa, FL 33607

U.S. 1.866.254.0000

Outside the U.S.
1.813.288.8833

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“Schellman” is the brand name under which Schellman & Company, LLC and Schellman Compliance, LLC provide professional services. Schellman & Company, LLC and Schellman Compliance, LLC practice as an alternative practice structure in accordance with the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and applicable law, regulations and professional standards. Schellman & Company, LLC is a licensed certified public accounting firm (Florida license number AD62941) registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) that provides attest services to its clients, and Schellman Compliance, LLC provides nonattest cybersecurity and compliance professional services to its clients. Schellman Compliance, LLC is not a licensed CPA firm. Schellman & Company, LLC and Schellman Compliance, LLC are independently owned and are not liable for the services provided by any other entity providing services under the Schellman brand. Our use of the terms “our firm” and “we” and “us” and terms of similar import, denote the alternative practice structure conducted by Schellman & Company, LLC and Schellman Compliance, LLC.