SOX Compliance Software: 10 Tools to Know in 2025

What Is SOX Software? 

SOX software helps organizations comply with the U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002, which aims to enhance financial transparency and prevent corporate fraud. The primary goal of SOX software is to ensure that companies adhere to the requirements of the act through automated processes, monitoring, and reporting mechanisms.

Typically, SOX software offers tools for audit management, risk assessment, internal control documentation, and compliance monitoring. These solutions simplify the reporting processes, making it easier for organizations to maintain accurate records. This helps organizations reduce the risk of financial inaccuracies and regulatory penalties.

Core Features of SOX Software 

SOX compliance software offerings usually include the following capabilities.

Audit Management

This feature allows organizations to plan, execute, and monitor internal audits efficiently. By automating various audit tasks, companies can reduce the time and resources required to complete audits. Audit management tools provide real-time insights and analytics, helping identify and address issues promptly. Their functionalities include audit scheduling, evidence collection, and audit trail maintenance. 

Risk Assessment and Management

This feature allows organizations to conduct systematic risk assessments, identify vulnerabilities, and implement appropriate controls. By providing a structured approach to risk management, SOX software helps organizations prioritize and protect their assets and ensure regulatory compliance. Risk management functionalities often include risk assessment frameworks, risk scoring, and risk mitigation plans. 

Internal Controls Management

SOX compliance requires the creation, documentation, and monitoring of internal controls to ensure their effectiveness. These controls are essential in preventing fraud, ensuring the accuracy of financial records, and maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements. SOX software aids in designing and implementing internal controls. Key functionalities include control mapping, testing, and remediation. 

Compliance Monitoring and Reporting

Compliance monitoring and reporting tools provide real-time monitoring of compliance activities and generate reports to demonstrate compliance status. By automating compliance monitoring, SOX software reduces the risk of non-compliance and associated penalties. Reporting functionalities often include customizable dashboards, scheduled reports, and audit trails. Automated alerts and notifications help ensure that compliance deadlines are met.

Documentation and Record Keeping

The software provides centralized storage for all compliance-related documents, ensuring easy access and retrieval when needed. Effective documentation is essential for demonstrating compliance during audits and regulatory reviews. Key functionalities in this area include document version control, secure storage, and retention policies. 

Tips from the expert

Steve Moore is Vice President and Chief Security Strategist at Exabeam, helping drive solutions for threat detection and advising customers on security programs and breach response. He is the host of the “The New CISO Podcast,” a Forbes Tech Council member, and Co-founder of TEN18 at Exabeam.

In my experience, here are tips that can help you better leverage SOX compliance software tools:

Use automated control validation: Regularly validate controls with automated scripts that simulate real-world scenarios. This can help ensure that controls not only exist but are also effective under different conditions.

Integrate SOX software with threat intelligence feeds: Enhance the security aspect of SOX compliance by integrating threat intelligence feeds with your SOX software. This can help in identifying emerging threats and tailoring your control environment accordingly.

Automate evidence collection and aggregation: Use tools that can automate the collection and aggregation of evidence for audits. This reduces the burden on compliance teams and ensures that evidence is consistent, complete, and easily accessible during audits.

Customize dashboards for executive visibility: Create executive-level dashboards that offer simplified, high-level overviews of compliance status, risk exposure, and key issues. This aids in better decision-making and quicker response to emerging risks.

Utilize cross-functional data analytics: Combine SOX compliance data with other business analytics to uncover insights that might not be apparent in isolation, such as the correlation between operational inefficiencies and compliance gaps.

Notable SOX Compliance Solutions and Tools 

1. SolarWinds Security Event Manager

SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM) is a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution to improve security posture and ensure compliance with various regulations, including SOX. SEM centralizes log collection and normalization, enabling organizations to monitor and respond to security threats in real time.

Key features:

• Centralized log collection and normalization: Collects and normalizes logs from various sources into a common format for easier analysis and investigation.
• Automated threat detection and response: Uses built-in correlation rules and an integrated threat intelligence feed to identify and respond to potential threats in real-time.
• Integrated compliance reporting tools: Simplifies compliance reporting for SOX, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and other regulations with pre-built reports and audit-proven tools.
• Dashboard and user interface: Features a simple dashboard that allows for quick access to valuable log data and insights without requiring extensive expertise.
• Built-in file integrity monitoring: Monitors file changes, directory access, and data movement to ensure data integrity and detect unauthorized modifications.
• Accessible licensing: Offers licensing based on the number of log-emitting sources rather than log volume, making it more cost-effective.

2. LogicManager

LogicManager offers a SOX compliance solution to protect companies and investors with simpler compliance testing and improved governance. This solution helps organizations conduct materiality assessments, document and test controls, and track issues to resolution with insightful reporting. 

Key features:

• Materiality assessments and control documentation: Conducts materiality assessments to determine the significance of various financial elements and helps document internal controls to address identified risks.
• Control testing and issue tracking: Enables the testing of internal controls and tracks issues to resolution, ensuring that vulnerabilities are promptly addressed.
• Evidence collection for SOX attestations: Simplifies the collection of evidence needed for SOX attestations, making the compliance process more efficient and reliable.
• Automated task management: Engages relevant parties in remediation activities with automated tasks, notifications, and reminders to maintain compliance.
• Real-time reporting and dashboards: Provides accessible to-do lists, real-time alerts, and dashboards for monitoring the status of SOX compliance activities.

3. Netwrix Auditor

Netwrix Auditor is an IT audit software aiming to ease the burden of IT auditing by detecting security threats, proving compliance, and increasing IT team efficiency. This solution provides a consolidated audit trail across various IT systems, allowing organizations to improve security posture, simplify the compliance audit process, and optimize IT operations.

Key features:

• Risk assessment and mitigation: Identifies security gaps, such as excessive permissions and inactive users, and suggests corrective actions to reduce the attack surface area.
• Sensitive data protection: Pinpoints sensitive data across the IT ecosystem, reviews access permissions, and monitors activity around critical assets to ensure data security (requires Netwrix Data Classification).
• Change, access, and configuration reports: Delivers relevant information quickly through pre-built reports, eliminating the need for scripts, log files, and spreadsheets.
• User access reviews: Delegates access reviews to data owners, enabling them to approve or request changes to permissions, enforcing the least-privilege principle.
• Real-time threat alerts: Provides immediate alerts on suspicious activity patterns, allowing for fast response to potential security incidents.

4. AuditBoard

AuditBoard is a SOX and internal control management software to simplify compliance processes within a modern connected risk platform. This solution offers real-time insights, automation, and simplified documentation to help organizations manage their internal control environment.

Key features:

• Real-time insight: Uses visual dashboards and ready-to-use reports to provide immediate insights into the status of internal control programs, helping to identify issues and areas that need attention.
• Internal control management: Automates administrative tasks, simplifies testing and certification processes, and supports SOX and other internal control reporting.
• Simplified documentation: Syncs updates to controls across process documents, risk control matrices (RCMs), and issue logs instantly, eliminating version control issues and ensuring consistency.
• Automation and analytics: Offers a flexible, no-code audit analytics solution that integrates with preferred analytic applications, providing teams with control.
• Recurring task automation: Automatically creates and initiates recurring tasks, such as control certifications, freeing up resources and reducing administrative workload.

5. MetricStream Platform

MetricStream Platform is a SOX compliance management solution that is configurable and provides a mobile-ready, personalized interface for compliance professionals. It supports control testing, risk assessments, and issue remediation.

Key features:

• Centralized compliance framework: Establishes a centralized framework for SOX compliance that includes processes, risks, controls, and financial accounts, organized into appropriate hierarchies. 
• Risk assessments: Plans and schedules risk assessments, defines their scope, and assigns ownership. Assesses risks based on impact and likelihood, rates control effectiveness, and documents risk ratings using a Risk and Control Matrix.
• Control testing and documentation: Allows planning and designing of control tests, defining test parameters, and assigning them to control owners. Built-in standard templates support control testing, with documents stored centrally for secure, role-based access.
• SOX certifications management: Creates plans, questionnaires, and schedules for SOX Section 302 and 404 certifications. Provides sub-certification reports to ensure that all internal control duties are performed effectively.
• Automated issue remediation workflows: Accelerates remediation action plans with automated workflows, notifications, and reporting processes. AI/ML capabilities help identify and recommend issue classifications and action plans quickly.

6. Workiva

Workiva provides a SOX compliance platform to handle every aspect of the SOX process by integrating data, processes, and teams into a single platform. With role-based permissions and real-time collaboration, Workiva aims to improve accuracy, save time, and proactively manage risk. This allows organizations to manage audit, SOX, ESG, and financial reporting.

Key features:

• Centralized data and workflows: Integrates all aspects of the SOX process, including scoping, testing, issues management, and certifications, into one platform. 
• Automation of compliance tasks: Automates time-consuming SOX tasks such as documentation updates, PBC requests, and testing workflows.
• Single source of truth: Ensures accuracy and consistency by providing a unified platform where all team members work from the same data, eliminating duplicate efforts and ensuring up-to-date information.
• Built-in gen AI and automated PBC requests: Increases productivity with built-in AI capabilities and automation of PBC requests.
• Real-time collaboration: Enables collaboration and direct commenting during the planning period, increasing transparency and accelerating decision-making.

7. Resolver

Resolver offers a web-based SOX compliance application to simplify SOX activities, with the goal of reducing costs. It replaces cumbersome Excel spreadsheets, emails, and shared drives, providing a cohesive solution for managing SOX compliance.

Key features:

• Scoping and planning: Uses a top-down, risk-based approach to focus audit efforts on the most critical risks and controls. 
• Documentation updates: Allows process and control owners to review and update narratives, diagrams, and risk and control matrices, ensuring all documentation is current and accurate.
• Issues and action plans: Enables the drafting, reviewing, and approval of issues, with automated communication for timely remediation. 
• Testing: Simplifies the assignment of testing teams and the scheduling of key dates. Provides access to a control testing procedures library and enables conclusions on control design and operating effectiveness, identifying issues for remediation and flagging controls for roll-forward testing.
• Reporting and monitoring: Offers real-time access to information on the status, results, evidence, and assignments, integrating this data into quarterly reporting.

8. Diligent HighBond

Diligent HighBond offers a SOX compliance solution to simplify, centralize, and accelerate an organization’s SOX program. This platform helps create a control environment, enhances relationships with external auditors, and mitigates the risk of penalties and fines.

Key features:

• Centralized SOX management: Consolidates all data, documentation, and processes into a single platform, enabling accountability and accessibility. This includes risk and control definitions, assessments, and testing.
• Simplified processes: Uses pre-configured SOX templates and frameworks to ensure consistency and accuracy across the program. Continuous controls testing and automated workflows help identify risks earlier, reduce errors, and free teams from administrative tasks.
• Real-time visibility: Centralizes control testing, transaction monitoring, and exception management into visualization storyboards. One-click reporting provides immediate insights into SOX compliance status for executives and control owners.
• Analytics and workflow automation: Enables quick scaling of team activities and delivers insights with advanced analytics and workflow automation capabilities.
• HighBond integrations: Combines data from various systems and software to provide a unified approach to SOX compliance management.

9. ZenGRC

ZenGRC offers a GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) solution to manage compliance and risk. Developed by GRC experts, ZenGRC is suitable for organizations with complex GRC requirements, providing customizable processes, greater visibility into organization-wide activities, and efficient audit management capabilities.

Key features:

• Customizable GRC processes: Supports tailoring GRC processes to meet the needs of the organization, ensuring that compliance and risk management are aligned with business objectives.
• Centralized system of record: Standardizes and documents strategies by aligning people, processes, and technology, enabling faster achievement of business goals while reducing complexity.
• Audit management: Manages evidence collection, control assessments, and other tasks, ensuring up-to-date information on progress, status, and overall compliance posture.
• Dynamic risk scoring: Provides customizable risk calculations and multi-variable scoring, allowing for a holistic view of risk across the organization and prioritization of efforts.
• Vendor and third-party risk management: Automates questionnaires and assessments to improve vendor relationships, reduce internal workload, and increase visibility into third-party risks.

10. DoubleCheck

DoubleCheck offers a compliance management solution to manage the SOX control framework. This web-based solution helps management teams perform control assessments and testing, manage issues and remediations, and use third-party frameworks like COSO and CobIT.

Key features:

• Centralized SOX management: Provides a secure platform for documenting processes and controls, executing assessments and tests, establishing ownership, and managing the resolution of identified issues.
• Automation of compliance processes: Configures user-specific screens and workflows for testing, reviews, and issue management, allowing for automatic roll-up and analysis of results across various dimensions such as process, organization, risk, regulation, and business unit.
• Real-time monitoring and reporting: Offers visual tools, automatic notifications, and configurable reports and dashboards to keep stakeholders informed of status, results, deficiencies, and remediation plans.
• Growth and scalability: Supports incremental compliance frameworks and other GRC functions such as risk or audit management, with simple software upgrades and data sharing across modules.

How to Choose SOX Software 

When selecting a SOX software solution, organizations should take the following steps.

Assess Your Business Needs and Compliance Requirements

Different organizations have unique operational structures, risk profiles, and regulatory obligations. Identify the key areas where compliance is most critical and the features that will address these needs. 

Consider factors such as the complexity of internal controls, the volume of financial transactions, and the extent of auditing processes. This assessment will help determine the essential functionalities the SOX software must have to support compliance.

Evaluate Integration Capabilities and Scalability

Ensure that the software can seamlessly integrate with existing IT infrastructure, including ERP systems, financial software, and other compliance tools. This integration will enable smooth data flow and enhance the efficiency of compliance processes. 

Additionally, consider the scalability of the software. As the organization grows, its compliance needs may change, requiring more advanced features or increased capacity. Choose a SOX software solution that can scale with the organization, with the ability to add users, modules, or functionalities as needed without significant disruption.

Consider UI/UX and Support Services

A user-friendly interface with intuitive navigation and clear instructions will make the software easier to use for the team, reducing the learning curve and increasing productivity. 

Additionally, evaluate the support services provided by the software vendor. Comprehensive support, including training resources, customer service, and technical assistance, helps ensure the team can effectively use the software and address issues that arise.

SOX Compliance with the Exabeam SOC Platform

Understanding the requirements of the regulation is only half the battle when it comes to SOX compliance. To achieve compliance effectively, you will need the right technology stack in place. Tools that help gather the right data and set up the security controls and measures required by SOX regulations will help you achieve compliance faster and reduce risks to your organization.

As the leading Next-gen SIEM and XDR, Exabeam Fusion provides a cloud-delivered solution for threat detection and response. Exabeam Fusion combines behavioral analytics and automation with threat-centric, use case packages focused on delivering outcomes. It can help improve your organization’s overall security profile, leaving you better equipped to maintain compliance with regulations such as SOX.