SOC 2 PI1.3: System Processing Controls

What this means

PI1.3 mandates that your organization establish and maintain documented policies and procedures governing how systems process information. These controls must ensure that all data flowing through your systems is accurate, authorized, and complete before reaching its intended destination. The control addresses the full lifecycle: input validation, processing logic, output controls, and error handling. Your systems should prevent, detect, and correct processing errors in real time, and you must have mechanisms to track and resolve exceptions.

How to comply

1. 1.Document system processing policies covering data input, validation, processing, and output requirements
2. 2.Define authorization rules and access controls to ensure only legitimate transactions are processed
3. 3.Implement automated controls to validate data completeness, accuracy, and format at system entry points
4. 4.Establish error handling procedures and logging to detect processing failures immediately
5. 5.Create reconciliation processes to compare expected vs. actual outputs and investigate discrepancies
6. 6.Monitor system performance metrics and processing logs for anomalies or unexpected behavior
7. 7.Define escalation procedures for processing errors and assign clear responsibility for resolution
8. 8.Test system controls periodically to confirm they function as designed and catch edge cases
9. 9.Document and retain evidence of control testing, exception handling, and remediation activities

Evidence auditors look for

• System processing policies and procedures documentation
• Input validation rules and data format specifications
• Authorization matrices defining who can initiate which transactions
• Error logs and processing exception reports with timestamps
• Reconciliation reports comparing expected vs. actual transaction counts and amounts
• System configuration documents showing validation and error-handling controls
• Processing control test results and sign-off documentation
• Incident reports for processing failures with root cause analysis and corrective actions
• System monitoring dashboards or alerts for processing anomalies

Frequently asked questions

GRCWatch automates system processing control monitoring by integrating with your data pipelines to validate transactions, flag errors, and generate reconciliation reports—eliminating manual log reviews and reducing the evidence collection burden for PI1.3 audits.

See how GRCWatch handles this control automatically

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