Trust and transparency: Reporting on controls at a service organization

What is Third Party Assurance (TPA)?

Share with your customers your confidence in your systems, processes and controls through an independent assurance report.

The concentration on the core business and the increasing cost pressure are the two main factors for the steady rise of outsourced services. Due to increasing national and international requirements, outsourcing services gained in importance. In addition, the extent and the nature of the outsourced services became more complex. Service providers of all types, especially those servicing the financial institutions, hosting data centers, providing payroll related services and managing logistic procedures, must demonstrate to their customers and their stakeholders that they provide complete, accurate and secure transaction processing in a well controlled environment. Indeed, in many instances, service provider companies are required by their customers to have a third party examination of their services to provide assurance in connection with financial or internal audits.

For organizations providing transaction processing for their customers, an ISAE3402 or SSAE18 report including an independent auditor opinion is an effective method of communicating that internal controls over systems and processes are suitably designed and are operating effectively within a well controlled environment. Such formal communication has recently become an important success factor when differentiating between service organizations and demonstrating ability to achieve high quality performance.