# BSI C5:2020 COM-02 — Policy for planning and conducting audits

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/com-02-policy-for-planning-and-conducting-audits
- Section: [Compliance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance) › [BSI C5:2020 (Cloud Computing Compliance Criteria)](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020) › Compliance Management (COM)
- Last updated: 2026-06-05
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

**BSI C5:2020**·Criterion `COM-02`·high·Component: **Compliance Management**

## What this control requires

> Documents audit policies per SP-01, restricting access to read-only, scheduling activities to avoid disruptions, and logging actions. Ensures controlled audits to verify security controls, protecting cloud customer data and service integrity.
> 
> — BSI C5:2020, Criterion COM-02

### In plain English

Documents audit policies per SP-01, restricting access to read-only, scheduling activities to avoid disruptions, and logging actions. In practice, this means you can prove you risk cloud customer data-level controls on a defined cadence.

## Why it matters

BSI C5 is the default cloud-security baseline German public-sector buyers and many DAX-listed enterprises expect; gaps here directly block procurement in the DACH region and frequently appear as must-have items in EU public-tender documents.

This control is rated **high**. Auditors expect a named owner, a remediation SLA, and a tooling artefact that evidences continuous operation.

## What an auditor looks for

A C5 attesting auditor (under ISAE 3000 / IDW PS 860) tests both the design and — for a Type 2 — the operating effectiveness over the attestation period. For each criterion they look for both the Basic and any in-scope Additional objectives.

Within **Compliance Management**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Criterion COM-02) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles.

## How to implement

#### Logging Monitoring

**AWS.** Org-trail CloudTrail to a central log archive account, GuardDuty in every region, and Security Hub for cross-source correlation.

**Azure.** Pipe every diagnostic setting into a central Log Analytics workspace; onboard Microsoft Sentinel for SIEM/SOAR.

**GCP.** Aggregate audit logs in a dedicated logging project with sink to BigQuery; enable Security Command Center Premium and route findings to Chronicle SIEM.

#### Cloud Posture

**CSPM.** Run Wiz / Prisma / Defender for Cloud / Security Command Center over every account; auto-ticket findings above your accepted-risk threshold.

#### Policy Management

**Docs.** Keep each policy in version-controlled Markdown alongside the code that implements it; ship a signed PDF snapshot at each annual review and link the SHA into the SoA.

### Operational checklist

-   **Risk.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Security.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Data.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Policy.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Access.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Scope:** cloud customer data, management.

## Evidence to collect

-   **Policy Document.** A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document.

Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Policy for planning and conducting audits.

## Common pitfalls

-   Per-account logging that nobody stitches together at the org level — incidents that cross accounts go undetected for days.
-   Treating CSPM findings as a backlog instead of a hot queue: findings older than the policy SLA accumulate until the auditor asks why.
-   Policies that no engineer has read; the version in Confluence drifts from the version that's actually being enforced.

## How it maps to other frameworks

Computed from shared tags, control component and key-operation subjects — handy when you are reconciling controls across an audit.

-   [**ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.8.15** — Logging](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-8-15-logging)
-   [**NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 3 3.3.4** — Response to Audit Logging Process Failures](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-171-rev-3/3-3-4-response-to-audit-logging-process-failures)
-   [**CIS Controls v8 8.2** — Collect Audit Logs](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/8-2-collect-audit-logs)
-   [**NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 AU-5(5)** — Alternate Audit Logging Capability](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/nist-sp-800-53-rev-5/au-5-5-alternate-audit-logging-capability)
-   [**SOC 2 (2017 TSC) CC2.3** — External Communication on Internal Control Matters](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/cc2-3-external-communication-on-internal-control-matters)

## Related controls in BSI C5:2020

-   [**Criterion COM-01** — Identification of applicable legal, regulatory, self-imposed or contractual requirements](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/com-01-identification-of-applicable-legal-regulatory-self-imposed-or-contractual)
-   [**Criterion OPS-10** — Logging and Monitoring - Concept](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/ops-10-logging-and-monitoring-concept)
-   [**Criterion HR-02** — Employment terms and conditions](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/hr-02-employment-terms-and-conditions)
-   [**Criterion PI-01** — Documentation and safety of input and output interfaces](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/pi-01-documentation-and-safety-of-input-and-output-interfaces)
-   [**Criterion PSS-12** — Locations of Data Processing and Storage](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/pss-12-locations-of-data-processing-and-storage)
-   [**Criterion AM-06** — Asset Classification and Labelling](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/am-06-asset-classification-and-labelling)

## References

-   [Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI) — BSI C5:2020](https://www.bsi.bund.de/EN/Topics/CloudComputing/Compliance_Criteria_Catalogue/Compliance_Criteria_Catalogue_node.html)
-   Catalogue identifier: `Criterion COM-02`

Topics: governance risklogging monitoringcloud posturepolicy management

## Related compliance guidance

- [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Configuration checks like this one are the technical half of a SOC 2 / ISO 27001 programme — the guide shows where they fit, what else an auditor expects, and how to evidence them.
- [ISO/IEC 27001:2022 compliance: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022): ISO 27001 Annex A.8 (technological controls) is where cloud hardening evidence lands; the guide shows how to run the ISMS around it.
