Financial Services
Demonstrating compliance for the most regulated industry on earth.
Banks, fintech companies, payment processors, investment firms, and insurance companies operate under the heaviest compliance burdens in any industry. Johanson Group can provide an integrated audit program across multiple frameworks — not a series of separate projects.
Market leaders choose Johanson Group:
Experienced Practitioners
Our audit team brings decades of combined experience across security and compliance frameworks — seasoned practitioners, not junior staff learning on your engagement.
Platform Experts
Former GRC platform experts on staff. We audit inside your existing tools — no manual exports, no spreadsheets.
Integrated Audits
Your CSM and audit project lead guide the engagement from kickoff to final report — one seamless experience.
Expert Network
Tap into our trusted ecosystem of MSP and vCISO partners to strengthen your full security posture — not just your audit.
Financial Services
Financial services organizations typically operate across multiple concurrent frameworks. Understanding what each one is and why it applies is the foundation of an efficient compliance program.
PCI DSS
Required for any organization that stores, processes, or transmits payment card data. Level 1 merchants and service providers require annual QSA-led ROC assessments. All 64 new v4.0 requirements became mandatory in March 2025.
- Level 1: Annual QSA ROC, quarterly ASV scans, annual penetration test
- Expanded MFA now mandatory for all cardholder data environment access
- Payment page script security (Req. 6.4.3 & 11.6.1) required for e-commerce
- Fines, breach liability, and loss of processing rights for non-compliance
SOC 1
Required for any service organization whose systems affect clients' financial reporting — payroll processors, fund administrators, payment processors, financial data providers. Enterprise financial clients require a current SOC 1 Type II before vendor approval.
- Type II covers 6–12 months of operating effectiveness testing
- Required by banks, institutional investors, and auditors for vendor qualification
- Documents internal controls relevant to financial reporting (ICFR)
- Annual renewal required to remain in good standing with financial clients
SOC 2 Type II
Financial services clients — banks, insurers, investment firms — require SOC 2 from technology vendors handling their customer data. Often required alongside SOC 1, covering security, availability, confidentiality, processing integrity, and privacy.
- Required alongside SOC 1 for most financial data processors
- Privacy criteria increasingly required given the sensitivity of financial data
- Annual Type II renewal for continued enterprise eligibility
- Concurrent SOC 1 + SOC 2 reduces total audit burden significantly
ISO 27001
Global banks, insurance groups, and institutional investors increasingly require ISO 27001 from fintech vendors as a condition of partnership. Recognized in 150+ countries and demonstrates security maturity at an internationally accepted level.
- Required by many European and APAC financial institutions for vendor qualification
- Strong control overlap with SOC 2 and PCI-DSS — efficient to pursue concurrently
- 3-year certification with annual surveillance audits
Why it Matters
Financial services is the most regulated industry in the world — and compliance failures carry consequences that go far beyond fines. Regulatory action, loss of banking licenses, reputational damage, and personal executive liability are all real outcomes. The cost of a serious compliance gap regularly exceeds the entire compliance budget many times over.
Fintechs and financial technology vendors face a particularly complex position: they must maintain their own compliance program and satisfy the compliance requirements of every financial institution client they serve. A payment processor's PCI-DSS obligations, a credit underwriting platform's SOC 1 requirements, and a banking SaaS vendor's GDPR obligations all exist simultaneously — with different audit cycles and overlapping but distinct controls.
Card Data is High Stakes
Non-compliance fines, breach liability, and loss of card processing rights make PCI-DSS one of the most consequential compliance frameworks in financial services.
Controls Over Financial Reporting
Service providers whose systems affect clients' financial reporting must produce SOC 1 reports. Enterprise financial clients will not sign without one.
GDPR — EU Financial Data is Heavily Scrutinized
Financial data is among the most sensitive categories under GDPR. EU supervisory authorities have imposed some of their largest fines on financial institutions.
Regulatory Exposure is Personal
Banking regulators and financial supervisory authorities can impose personal liability on executives for compliance failures — not just corporate fines.
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"Johanson Group has performed all of our SOC audits professionally, communicated well during the engagement, and delivered the reports within the expected time frames."
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"The auditors we worked with were focused, friendly, and professional. We've spoken to many companies in this area before deciding for Johanson Group."
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"They set clear expectations around the audit process and were very flexible working around our schedules. Johanson Group was a true partner. Very flexible and communicative throughout our audit process.""
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"The coordination from their account management to the actual auditors and then the final follow-up on the operational and finance side was very well coordinated and seamless. It's very easy to work with them, and they create a lot of predictability in achieving our desired business outcomes."
"The communication has been great, and we have a very good portal to manage our data on, which altogether works out best for us. We appreciate everything they offer as part of our audit process."
"I truly appreciate Johanson Group's affordable pricing, which was a significant factor in my decision to transition from another provider. Overall, my experience with Johanson Group has been positive, as evidenced by my willingness to rate them a perfect 10 for recommendations."
"Johanson Group has performed all of our SOC audits professionally, communicated well during the engagement, and delivered the reports within the expected time frames."
"The auditors we worked with were focused, friendly, and professional. We've spoken to many companies in this area before deciding for Johanson Group."
"They set clear expectations around the audit process and were very flexible working around our schedules. Johanson Group was a true partner. Very flexible and communicative throughout our audit process.""
"The coordination from their account management to the actual auditors and then the final follow-up on the operational and finance side was very well coordinated and seamless. It's very easy to work with them, and they create a lot of predictability in achieving our desired business outcomes."
"The communication has been great, and we have a very good portal to manage our data on, which altogether works out best for us. We appreciate everything they offer as part of our audit process."
"I truly appreciate Johanson Group's affordable pricing, which was a significant factor in my decision to transition from another provider. Overall, my experience with Johanson Group has been positive, as evidenced by my willingness to rate them a perfect 10 for recommendations."
"Johanson Group has performed all of our SOC audits professionally, communicated well during the engagement, and delivered the reports within the expected time frames."
"The auditors we worked with were focused, friendly, and professional. We've spoken to many companies in this area before deciding for Johanson Group."
"They set clear expectations around the audit process and were very flexible working around our schedules. Johanson Group was a true partner. Very flexible and communicative throughout our audit process.""
"The coordination from their account management to the actual auditors and then the final follow-up on the operational and finance side was very well coordinated and seamless. It's very easy to work with them, and they create a lot of predictability in achieving our desired business outcomes."
"The communication has been great, and we have a very good portal to manage our data on, which altogether works out best for us. We appreciate everything they offer as part of our audit process."
"I truly appreciate Johanson Group's affordable pricing, which was a significant factor in my decision to transition from another provider. Overall, my experience with Johanson Group has been positive, as evidenced by my willingness to rate them a perfect 10 for recommendations."
"Johanson Group has performed all of our SOC audits professionally, communicated well during the engagement, and delivered the reports within the expected time frames."
"The auditors we worked with were focused, friendly, and professional. We've spoken to many companies in this area before deciding for Johanson Group."
"They set clear expectations around the audit process and were very flexible working around our schedules. Johanson Group was a true partner. Very flexible and communicative throughout our audit process.""
"The coordination from their account management to the actual auditors and then the final follow-up on the operational and finance side was very well coordinated and seamless. It's very easy to work with them, and they create a lot of predictability in achieving our desired business outcomes."
"The communication has been great, and we have a very good portal to manage our data on, which altogether works out best for us. We appreciate everything they offer as part of our audit process."
"I truly appreciate Johanson Group's affordable pricing, which was a significant factor in my decision to transition from another provider. Overall, my experience with Johanson Group has been positive, as evidenced by my willingness to rate them a perfect 10 for recommendations."
"Johanson Group has performed all of our SOC audits professionally, communicated well during the engagement, and delivered the reports within the expected time frames."
"The auditors we worked with were focused, friendly, and professional. We've spoken to many companies in this area before deciding for Johanson Group."
"They set clear expectations around the audit process and were very flexible working around our schedules. Johanson Group was a true partner. Very flexible and communicative throughout our audit process.""
"The coordination from their account management to the actual auditors and then the final follow-up on the operational and finance side was very well coordinated and seamless. It's very easy to work with them, and they create a lot of predictability in achieving our desired business outcomes."
"The communication has been great, and we have a very good portal to manage our data on, which altogether works out best for us. We appreciate everything they offer as part of our audit process."
"I truly appreciate Johanson Group's affordable pricing, which was a significant factor in my decision to transition from another provider. Overall, my experience with Johanson Group has been positive, as evidenced by my willingness to rate them a perfect 10 for recommendations."
It depends on your service. If your platform affects clients' financial reporting — as a payment processor, fund administrator, or financial data service — you need SOC 1. If you handle customer data more broadly, you also need SOC 2. Many financial service providers need both, and we design concurrent programs that share controls and audit time between them.
Your level is determined by annual card transaction volume. Level 1 applies to merchants processing over 6 million transactions per year and service providers processing over 300,000 — both require an annual QSA-led Report on Compliance. If you're unsure of your level, our first step is a coverage determination that confirms your obligations before any assessment work begins.
Financial data is treated as particularly sensitive under GDPR even though it is not formally classified as special category data. EU supervisory authorities have imposed some of their largest GDPR fines on financial institutions. Key differences include stricter data minimization expectations, complex retention obligations balancing GDPR storage limitation against legal financial record retention requirements, and heightened scrutiny of automated decision-making such as credit scoring under Article 22.
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