NIS2 Audit Readiness Toolkit for SMEs

Evaluate your NIS2 readiness in 20 minutes — without consultants, paperwork, or guesswork with our 3 free Self-Assessment Tools.

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Why This Toolkit Matters

The NIS2 Directive now applies to companies with 50+ employees.
If you fall under essential or important services — you must be audit-ready at all times.

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This toolkit helps you understand:

What regulators will actually check

Whether your current monitoring & IR processes meet expectations

Which gaps can expose you during an audit

How SOC-as-a-Service reduces audit effort and cost

Initial NIS2 Readiness Audit

A 40-question diagnostic that highlights your most urgent gaps in 20 minutes.

Best for: Executives, IT managers.

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Full NIS2 Compliance Self-Assessment

A deep evaluation of all NIS2 requirements.

Best for: legal/compliance leaders preparing for an audit.

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SOC & Incident Readiness Test

Checks if your detection, response, and reporting meet regulator expectations.

Best for: IT/security teams.

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What do regulators verify?

Regulators check whether your organisation can prove:

Continuous security monitoring and oversight of key systems

Documented incident response (IR) procedures with roles and responsibilities

An incident log and corresponding reports showing actions taken

Proof that incidents were reported on time (24h, 72h, 30 days)

Remediation plans, corrective actions, and verification of their effectiveness

How a SOC (SOCaaS) Helps You Pass Audits

Auditors get everything they need — clearly organized and aligned with NIS2.

Operational Compliance — Monitoring & Response

A SOC provides:

24/7 monitoring
Verified alerts
Documented incident handling
Full historical evidence

This directly supports audit requirements for:
continuous oversight, fast response, and evidence-grade reporting.

Organisational Compliance — Processes & Documentation

SOC teams help structure and maintain:

24h / 72h / 30-day reporting templates
Incident registers
Monthly/quarterly summaries
IR documented workflows.

What a Compliance Audit Looks Like in Practice

Notification

Regulator defines scope and focus areas

Documentation Review

Policies, procedures, SOC reports, registers

Evidence Analysis

Logs, incident records, response actions

Interviews

Staff asked about roles, decisions, and operational practice

Audit Report

Conclusions and corrective recommendations.

Common SME Mistakes

All of these can be identified in the Initial Audit Self-Assessment

Disorganized incident documentation

Limited collaboration between IT and compliance

Unclear roles and responsibilities

Missing historical evidence

SOC reports not aligned with internal processes

Five Steps to Audit Readiness

A simple framework that helps you organise responsibilities, evidence, and processes so your organisation is fully prepared for an NIS2 audit.

Step 1. Assign Responsibilities

Identify people responsible for:

communication with authorities,
incident reporting,
approving corrective actions and reports.

Clear ownership reduces friction and prevents audit-time mistakes.

Step 2. Prepare Your Incident Reporting Process

Ensure all three reporting stages are implemented:

24 hours – initial notification (scope, preliminary findings),
72 hours – detailed report (cause, impact, actions taken/planned),
30 days – final report (root cause, long-term improvements).

This reporting flow is one of the key evaluation points during audits.

Step 3. Catalogue Documents and Evidence

Prepare a well-organized evidence package, including:

SOC reports (daily/monthly summaries),
alerts and system logs,
incident handling reports,
all active policies and IR procedures.

Good documentation hygiene significantly speeds up the audit.

Step 4. Run a Self-Assessment

Use the included audit readiness worksheet to evaluate:

your NIS2 compliance level,
your operational audit readiness,
areas requiring improvements or additional documentation.

Step 5. Prepare for the Auditor Interview

Step 5. Prepare for the Auditor Interview
Typical questions include:

How does the organisation ensure continuous monitoring (e.g., 24/7)?
How are post-incident actions documented?
How are reports approved and validated?
How are corrective actions assigned and prioritized?

Being prepared reduces uncertainty and reinforces credibility.

NIS2 Audit Readiness Toolkit for SMEs

Why This Toolkit Matters

What’s Inside the Toolkit

Initial NIS2 Readiness Audit

Full NIS2 Compliance Self-Assessment

SOC & Incident Readiness Test

What do regulators verify?

How a SOC (SOCaaS) Helps You Pass Audits

Operational Compliance — Monitoring & Response

Organisational Compliance — Processes & Documentation

What a Compliance Audit Looks Like in Practice

Notification

Documentation Review

Evidence Analysis

Interviews

Audit Report

Run a self-assessment before an auditor runs one on you

Common SME Mistakes

Five Steps to Audit Readiness

Step 1. Assign Responsibilities

Step 2. Prepare Your Incident Reporting Process

Step 3. Catalogue Documents and Evidence

Step 4. Run a Self-Assessment

Step 5. Prepare for the Auditor Interview

Become Audit-Ready Before the Regulator Knocks