--- title: Compliance Readiness Checklist | Ascend Technologies description: Free checklist mapping the 5 compliance gaps that fail HIPAA, SOC 2, PCI DSS, and CMMC audits, built for IT teams without dedicated compliance staff. --- [Skip to main content](https://content.teamascend.com/compliance-readiness-checklist#main) [![cropped-Ascend-Technologies\_Vertical\_FullColor\_White](https://content.teamascend.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Logos/cropped-Ascend-Technologies_Vertical_FullColor_White.png?width=150&height=118&name=cropped-Ascend-Technologies_Vertical_FullColor_White.png) ![cropped-Ascend-Technologies\_Vertical\_FullColor\_White](https://content.teamascend.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Logos/cropped-Ascend-Technologies_Vertical_FullColor_White.png?width=150&height=118&name=cropped-Ascend-Technologies_Vertical_FullColor_White.png)](https://teamascend.com/) - [Show submenu for Services Services](http://teamascend.com/services/) - [Show submenu for IT Consulting IT Consulting](https://teamascend.com/services/strategic-consulting/) - 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[Internships](https://teamascend.com/careers/internships/) - [Connect](https://teamascend.com/contact/) - [24/7 Client Services](https://portal-ascend.okta.com/) [24/7 Client Services](https://portal-ascend.okta.com/) Checklist # Find the same five gaps that fail HIPAA, SOC 2, PCI DSS, and CMMC audits every year, before your auditor does. Compliance audits fail for the same reasons every time: access reviews that never happened, logs nobody retained, documentation that describes a process the team stopped following, vendor risk nobody assessed, and an incident response plan that has never been tested. These are the everyday gaps at [healthcare](https://teamascend.com/industries/healthcare/), [financial services](https://teamascend.com/industries/financial-services/), and [manufacturing](https://teamascend.com/industries/manufacturing/) organizations where IT owns compliance without a dedicated compliance officer or GRC analyst on staff. This checklist maps the five control domains an auditor tests first, tied to the specific requirements in HIPAA, SOC 2, PCI DSS, and CMMC. Each item asks one question: can you prove this control operates, with dated evidence, right now? If the answer is no, that's the gap to close before the audit closes it for you. **What you'll get:** - The five control domains auditors check first, and the specific evidence each one demands under HIPAA, SOC 2, PCI DSS, and CMMC. - Where compliance breaks down for teams of two to eight people, and what a fix looks like without adding headcount. - The sequence to close gaps in, starting with the one domain that determines whether every other fix holds up on audit day. ### Get Your Checklist By submitting this form, you agree to the [Privacy Policy](https://teamascend.com/privacy-policy/) and [Cookie Policy](https://teamascend.com/privacy-policy/) and agree to sharing your information with Ascend Technologies and hosting partners. ## What You'll Walk Away With - ![ASND - WEBREFRESH - COMPLY LP - Icon - Checklist Gear](https://content.teamascend.com/hubfs/ASND%20-%20WEBREFRESH%20-%20COMPLY%20LP%20-%20Icon%20-%20Checklist%20Gear.svg) #### A gap list, not a to-do list Work through five domains: access governance, continuous monitoring, documentation, vendor risk, and incident response, and mark exactly where your evidence exists and where it doesn't. That's the same list an auditor works from. - ![ASND - WEBREFRESH - COMPLY LP - Icon - Cost](https://content.teamascend.com/hubfs/ASND%20-%20WEBREFRESH%20-%20COMPLY%20LP%20-%20Icon%20-%20Cost.svg) #### The cost of finding out late HIPAA penalties climb from $141 per violation to more than $2.1 million per category for willful neglect. PCI DSS fines run $5,000 to $100,000 a month. A CMMC gap closes DoD contracts outright. This checklist puts a number next to the risk before you're negotiating with an auditor instead of preparing for one. - ![ASND - WEBREFRESH - COMPLY LP - Icon - Sequence](https://content.teamascend.com/hubfs/ASND%20-%20WEBREFRESH%20-%20COMPLY%20LP%20-%20Icon%20-%20Sequence.svg) #### A sequence, not a scramble Fixing access controls without documenting them still leaves a finding open. This checklist orders the five domains so each fix holds up under the one that comes after it, starting with documentation and ending with the monitoring and incident response work a two-person team usually can't staff alone. 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