A social compliance audit, also known as a social audit, is an effective way to determine if an organization is complying with socially responsible principles. Social compliance refers to how a company protects the health and safety as well as the rights of its employees, the community, and the environment where it operates in addition to the lives and communities of workers in its distribution chain and its supply chain.

Getting your certification for ISO 27001 is a complex and time-consuming endeavor. But for many organizations, it’s worth the effort. That’s because ISO 27001 is the international standard for Information Security Management System (ISMS). Being able to say you’re “ISO 27001 certified” tells stakeholders that your organization is serious about protecting the security and privacy of their information.

A PCI audit examines the security of your organization’s credit-card processing system from beginning to end. During this process, a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) or your own Internal Security Assessor will determine the effectiveness of your organization’s information security controls.

Compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and its 281 directives can be a time-consuming hassle. Fortunately, there are ways to minimize your PCI DSS scope, saving time and resources for your organization and auditor, and ratcheting down your stress levels. Larger organizations—those processing more than 1 million credit-card transactions annually—may need two years to reach initial PCI DSS compliance.