SOX Compliance
Manage SOX compliance end-to-end — with structured control testing, evidence management, and full visibility into financial reporting controls.
Product Overview
Manage SOX Compliance with Structure, Control, and Confidence
SOX compliance is the process of ensuring that internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR) are designed, implemented, and operating effectively in accordance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. SmartSuite’s SOX Compliance software manages the whole program across finance, IT, and operational teams, from control documentation through testing, deficiency tracking, and certification.
Controls, tests, evidence, deficiencies, and certifications are linked records. Teams document each control once, schedule its tests, attach evidence to the results, and track deficiencies to remediation in a way that is repeatable, auditable, and defensible.
The product covers both business process controls and IT general controls (ITGC), so financial reporting risk is managed across systems, processes, and applications. Control records carry the COSO component, assertion, and test attributes your methodology requires, so the program fits the expectations of your auditors.
Dashboards show testing progress, open deficiencies, and certification status, so the SOX program manager sees what is behind schedule and the CFO sees readiness at a glance.
SOX Compliance is part of SmartSuite’s GRC suite, so SOX data is linked to:
- Control frameworks and regulatory libraries
- Risk assessments and financial risk visibility
- Compliance testing and audit workflows
- Issues and remediation management
- Policy management and governance standards
SOX runs as a continuous control program across the organization rather than a year-end exercise.
The product supports SOX use cases including:
- Internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR)
- IT general controls (ITGC) management
- Control testing and deficiency tracking
- SOX certification and reporting
What is SOX Compliance?
SOX Compliance is the process of ensuring that internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR) are designed, documented, tested, and operating effectively as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. It enables public companies to demonstrate the accuracy and integrity of their financial statements to auditors, regulators, and investors.
Core Capabilities
SmartSuite’s SOX Compliance product provides the capabilities required to manage SOX programs end-to-end: control management, testing, and reporting in one platform. Each capability links to other SmartSuite products, so risk, audit, and operational workflows share the same records.
ICFR Control Management
Define and manage internal controls over financial reporting across processes and systems.
IT General Controls (ITGC)
Track and manage ITGC controls for access, change management, and operations.
Control Testing & Validation
Execute and document control tests with standard procedures and evaluation criteria.
Deficiency & Issue Tracking
Capture control deficiencies and track remediation to closure with an owner on each one.
Evidence Collection & Management
Attach evidence to each test result with Activity History recording who added or changed it.
SOX Certification Workflows
Manage quarterly and annual certification processes across stakeholders.
Dashboards & SOX Analytics
Visualize control effectiveness, deficiencies, and audit readiness on dashboards.
Workflow Automation
Automate testing cycles, approvals, certifications, and remediation reminders.
Role-Based Access Control
Limit access to SOX data across finance, audit, and IT teams with granular permissions.
The SOX Lifecycle
SmartSuite supports the full SOX lifecycle, from control definition through certification, with linked workflows and dashboards.
Define Controls
Establish ICFR and ITGC controls aligned with financial reporting processes.
Test Controls
Execute control testing and document results across business and IT environments.
Identify Deficiencies
Capture control failures and evaluate their impact on financial reporting.
Remediate Issues
Assign and track remediation actions to address deficiencies.
Certify & Report
Complete SOX certifications and provide reporting for auditors and regulators.
Connected Risk Ecosystem
SmartSuite products share one GRC platform, so SOX compliance is linked to risk, controls, audit, and operational workflows. The SOX Compliance product integrates with related products to provide a complete view of financial control effectiveness.
Keep controls in one library and map them across frameworks to reduce duplication and enable a test-once, comply-many approach.
Plan, execute, and report on audits with complete assurance oversight — linking findings to risks, controls, and remediation actions in a single workspace.
Centralize enterprise risk management with standardized assessments, dashboards, and linked workflows that align risk, controls, and mitigation across your organization.
Centralize creation, approval, and publication of policies with full lifecycle tracking and attestations, ensuring they remain current, accessible, and auditable.
Who This Product Is For
The SOX Compliance product supports stakeholders across finance, audit, IT, and risk, giving each role the controls, tests, and reports it needs.
Chief Financial Officer
Controller
SOX Program Manager
Internal Auditor
Chief Information Officer
Executive / Board Member
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the questions readers ask most about this topic.
SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act) compliance is the process of maintaining effective internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR). Public companies are required to document their controls, test that they operate, and give auditors evidence, because the accuracy of financial statements depends on them. Programs run from spreadsheets are hard to scale and harder to audit. In SmartSuite controls, tests, evidence, and deficiencies are linked records, so the program runs through the year and audit readiness is read from a dashboard.
Controls are records in a control library aligned with ICFR requirements, each linked to its financial process, the risks it addresses, and its tests. Changes to a control are recorded in Activity History, so the current version and its history are on the same record. Controls can also be mapped to other frameworks and audit requirements through Control Framework & Regulatory Libraries, so one control serves several programs.
Each control carries a test frequency, and automations create the test record and assign the tester when it is due. The tester records the procedure, sample, and result, attaches evidence, and submits the result for review. A reviewer approves it through an automation step, and certification workflows collect the quarterly and annual sign-offs from control owners on the same records.
Evidence files are attached to the control or test result they support, with Activity History recording who uploaded or replaced each file and when. Automations request evidence from owners on a schedule and remind them as due dates approach. Auditors review the evidence table with Viewer access instead of receiving exports by email.
Internal auditors work in the same tables, coordinating testing and remediation with the SOX team through assignments and comments. External auditors are given Viewer or Commenter access to the control registers and evidence tables they need and read the records directly. Questions are answered on the record, which shortens fieldwork and leaves a trail of what was reviewed.
SOX controls are linked to risks in Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and to remediation items in Issues Management. A failed test can create an issue through an automation, with an owner and due date, and the issue stays linked to the control and the deficiency. Risk, control, and issue records then show the same picture to the compliance, audit, and finance teams.
Yes. Business units, financial processes, and entities are records of their own, so controls and tests are organized by each and reported together. Permissions decide which teams see which controls, and automations handle test scheduling and certification requests at any volume. Adding an entity means adding its processes and owners to the existing control library.
Audit readiness is visible on a dashboard: tests complete, evidence attached, and deficiencies open, by process and entity. Testing and evidence collection are scheduled through the year, so nothing is rebuilt before fieldwork, and auditors read the records directly. Cost falls because each control is documented once and reused across cycles, and finance reports stronger governance with less effort.
Simplify SOX and Strengthen Financial Control Governance
SmartSuite delivers a complete GRC suite that connects SOX compliance with risk, controls, and audit workflows.