CC3.4: Changes that affect risk
When something significant changes, such as a new cloud region, a major feature, a new vendor, key staff leaving or a new regulation, the company re-examines its risks rather than waiting for the next annual cycle.
Category: Security (common criteria, required in every SOC 2 report) · Series: CC3 (Risk assessment) · TSC 2017 (2022 points of focus)
That summary is Policyseed’s own paraphrase, written to be read next to the policy sections below. The authoritative wording is the AICPA’s Trust Services Criteria, which the CPA firm tests your controls against during the examination.
Policies that address CC3.4
The Policyseed crosswalk points CC3.4 at 2 policies. Each link opens the full sample text at the section an auditor would read. Section 4 holds the statements management commits to; section 5 holds the procedures that produce evidence.
- P09 Change Management Policy, section 4 (Policy Statements). Owner: Engineering Lead.
- P17 Risk Assessment and Management Policy, section 5 (Procedures). Owner: Security Owner.
Evidence examples for CC3.4
Artifacts a company of 5 to 200 people can realistically produce. The Audit Kit’s evidence checklist lists them per policy with an owner column so each one has a name against it before the examination.
- Risk register revision history showing an update tied to a major change in the period
- Change ticket for a significant architecture change with a risk review field completed
- Policy Review Calendar entry showing an out-of-cycle review triggered by a change
Related criteria in CC3 (Risk assessment)
Previous: CC3.3 Fraud risk. Next: CC4.1 Ongoing and separate evaluations. All 38 criteria are listed on the template index.
Policyseed provides governance policy templates and AI tailoring. It is not legal advice and not a compliance guarantee. Management adopts the policies; the CPA firm performs the SOC 2 examination.