Control Ownership Matrix Guide

Assign named owners and teams to each in-scope control.

SOC 2 control ownership matrix preview (SOC-024)
.xlsx SOC-024

Control Ownership Matrix

Assign named owners and teams to each in-scope control.

How to Fill Out This Control Ownership Matrix

SOC 2 control ownership matrix — Must match SOC-003 Control Register owners — auditors ask control owners during interviews.

Recommended Owner: Security Lead | Each control owner validates their rows

What this file is for

Document purpose

Named owners per CC criterion area for interviews and PBC (CC1.3).

In your program: Primary Owner emails must match people briefed on SOC-031 Q&A sections.

Before you start

Getting Started

  • Enable Editing; read the Instructions sheet first for tab order and version metadata.
  • Use dropdowns in validated columns; delete gray sample rows before auditor samples.
  • Check Dashboard after updates — formulas flag gaps and acceptance rates.

Document tour

Fill out the file section by section

Work through the sections below in order. Each block matches a heading or tab in the downloaded SOC-024 file.

Instructions
  • Sync after SOC-003 scoping; notify each Primary Owner in writing.
  • After editing Instructions, search for `[` placeholders and gray sample names — auditors flag incomplete templates.
Control Owners
  • CC Criterion = trust services category (CC6, CC7) — aligns with SOC-031 sections.
  • Frequency = how often control operates (continuous, quarterly) — must match evidence cadence.
  • Evidence Sources = comma-separated COR/SOC IDs (e.g., SOC-010, COR-002).

CC Criterion

  • Fill CC Criterion for every in-scope row on Control Owners — use dropdowns where provided.
  • Do not leave cells blank for active records; use N/A with a short reason if truly not applicable.

Description

  • Fill Description for every in-scope row on Control Owners — use dropdowns where provided.
  • Do not leave cells blank for active records; use N/A with a short reason if truly not applicable.

Primary Owner

  • Name a person (not a team inbox) in Primary Owner — auditors interview control owners.
  • Must match COR-005 org chart or SOC-024 control owner assignments where applicable.

Backup Owner

  • Name a person (not a team inbox) in Backup Owner — auditors interview control owners.
  • Must match COR-005 org chart or SOC-024 control owner assignments where applicable.

Frequency

  • Fill Frequency for every in-scope row on Control Owners — use dropdowns where provided.
  • Do not leave cells blank for active records; use N/A with a short reason if truly not applicable.

Evidence Sources (Toolkit Doc IDs)

  • Fill Evidence Sources (Toolkit Doc IDs) with a URL, ticket, or export path auditors can open — not a local-only path.
  • Re-verify links before fieldwork; broken evidence links are a common audit finding.

Escalation Contact

  • Fill Escalation Contact for every in-scope row on Control Owners — use dropdowns where provided.
  • Do not leave cells blank for active records; use N/A with a short reason if truly not applicable.

Notes

  • Fill Notes for every in-scope row on Control Owners — use dropdowns where provided.
  • Do not leave cells blank for active records; use N/A with a short reason if truly not applicable.

Quality check

Before You Finalize

  • Backup Owner and Escalation Contact filled for every in-scope CC row.
  • Evidence Sources column lists real toolkit doc IDs you will produce.

Evidence

Where to Store It

  • Store the completed file in your compliance evidence folder (signed PDF for policies).
  • Register the document in COR-013 with version, owner, and next review date.
  • Link the file from your evidence index or SOC-005 project plan when you use Phase 3 trackers.

Next Steps

After customizing Control Ownership Matrix:

  1. 1Complete the file: Finish every section or tab in SOC-024.
  2. 2Register: Add version and owner to COR-013.
  3. 3Operationalize: Train owners listed in the document.
  4. 4Evidence: Keep exports auditors can sample during fieldwork.