The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is US federal legislation that imposes financial-reporting and internal-control obligations on publicly traded companies. Section 404 requires management to assess and external auditors to attest to the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR), including IT General Controls (ITGCs).

Who needs to comply with SOX?

US public companies (and many foreign private issuers listed on US exchanges) are subject to SOX. Private companies preparing for IPO often start SOX readiness 12-18 months before going public. SOX also flows down to material service providers via SOC 1 reports.

IT General Controls are the controls in your IT environment that support the operation of application-level controls relevant to financial reporting. They typically include access provisioning, change management, computer operations, and program development controls.

How does SOX differ from SOC 1?

SOX is the regulation; SOC 1 is an attestation report a service provider issues to assure its customers that the provider's controls relevant to the customers' financial reporting are operating effectively. Many SaaS companies issue SOC 1 to support their customers' SOX programs.

SOX, the quiet quarter

Manage SOX ITGC without losing the quarter

ITGC catalog with quarterly test cadences, segregation-of-duties tracking, walkthrough scheduling, and an external-auditor portal — so SOX season stops eating your engineering team.

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What is SOX?

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 — commonly "SOX" — is US federal legislation enacted in the wake of the Enron and WorldCom accounting scandals. Among other provisions, it imposes responsibilities on senior management of publicly traded companies for the accuracy of financial reporting and the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR).

The most operationally significant provisions for IT and security teams are Section 302 (CEO/CFO certifications) and Section 404 (management assessment plus external auditor attestation of ICFR). For most IT organizations, SOX work concentrates in IT General Controls (ITGCs) — access management, change management, computer operations, and program development controls — that support the application controls relied on for financial reporting.

Who needs SOX

US public companies (and many foreign private issuers listed on US exchanges) must comply with SOX. Private companies typically start SOX readiness 12-18 months before an IPO. SaaS companies serving public-company customers often issue SOC 1 Type II reports to support their customers' SOX programs.

How episki helps

SOX is a quarterly-cadence discipline. episki keeps the ITGC library, SoD matrices, test plans, and external auditor handoffs in the same workspace so SOX work runs as a continuous program instead of a quarterly fire drill.

SOX outcomes with episki

Quantify the impact security and compliance brings to your business.

ITGC

IT General Controls library covering access, change, operations, and program development.

Quarterly

Pre-built test cadences for management-testing cycles and external auditor handoffs.

SoD

Segregation-of-duties matrix and conflict detection tied to identity providers.

Why teams choose episki for SOX

Framework-specific automation, collaboration, and reporting in one workspace.

ITGC catalog

A library of IT General Controls organized by domain (access, change, operations, program development) and ready to scope per system.

{ "Access controls": "provisioning, periodic review, termination" }
{ "Change management": "SDLC, code review, deployment" }
{ "Computer operations": "backup, scheduling, incident handling" }
{ "Program development": "testing, approval, segregation" }

Segregation of duties

SoD matrices tied to your identity provider data so conflicts surface in near-real time.

Predefined conflict library
Custom conflict rules per environment
Quarterly review workflow

External auditor collaboration

Your external auditors get a scoped workspace with the evidence and walkthroughs they need.

Walkthrough scheduling
PBC list management
Evidence rooms with watermarking

SOX readiness inside episki

Built for SOX programs that need to actually run, not just exist.

Plug episki into your stack and work directly from this checklist during the free trial.

✓ ITGC library scoped to in-scope systems
✓ Segregation-of-duties matrix per system
✓ Management test plan with quarterly cadences
✓ Deficiency tracking with remediation workflows
✓ External auditor portal with PBC management
✓ Walkthrough scheduling and documentation

SOX accelerators

SOX program accelerators

Cut SOX cycle time without compromising audit readiness.

ITGC scoping wizard

Identify in-scope systems based on financial materiality.

SoD conflict matrix

Pre-built conflict library, customizable per ERP/HRIS.

Deficiency severity calibrator

Calibrate control deficiencies against PCAOB and SAS 145 guidance.

SOX frequently asked questions

Other compliance frameworks

CCPA / CPRA CMMC FedRAMP GDPR HIPAA HITRUST CSF ISO 27001 ISO 27701 ISO 42001 NIST 800-171 NIST 800-53 NIST CSF PCI DSS SOC 1 Type I/II SOC 2 Type I/II

Quiet your SOX quarter

Move ITGC, SoD, and external auditor management into one workspace.

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