Managed compliance · Sustain™ and Drive™, year-round after certification
Managed compliance services that keep your certificates and reports current all year.
A certificate records one audit; customers expect the system behind it to keep working. Under Sustain™, Sterling's expert and experienced consultants run the compliance year with you: internal audits, management reviews, risk reviews, training, evidence and every external audit. Where you outsource the work entirely, Drive™ has us operate it under your approval.
- ISO certificates, SOC 1 and SOC 2 reports, PCI DSS, HIPAA and GDPR programmes, alone or on one integrated calendar
- Fixed scope, one proposal: consulting, Effivity software and Sterling Academy access in one proposal, with the level of support you choose
- The Sterling Promise: 100% on-time completion, 100% success, 8,100+ client engagements. Sterling does not certify; an accredited body audits and decides
- No audit-season scrambleSurveillance, recertification, QSA assessments and SOC periods arrive on a calendar agreed a year ahead, with the evidence already in place.
- Findings closed, not carriedNonconformities and exceptions are closed with evidence that the fix worked, so they do not reappear at the next audit.
- A system that keeps up with changeNew sites, systems, suppliers, people and revised editions are brought into the system as they happen, not the month before the auditor arrives.
- Your team's time backSterling carries the compliance administration, so your quality, security or privacy lead spends time on decisions and improvement.
What we keep running
Any certified system or attested control set, kept current between audits.
Managed compliance covers the ISO management systems your certificates rest on and the frameworks where an assessor or auditor comes back every year: SOC 2 and SOC 1 reports, PCI DSS validation, HIPAA and GDPR programmes. Several can run on one calendar, with shared internal audits and one management review.
- ISO 9001Quality
- ISO 14001Environment
- ISO 45001Health & safety
- ISO/IEC 27001Information security
- ISO 13485Medical devices
- FSSC 22000Food safety
- ISO/IEC 27701Privacy
- SOC 2Trust services
- SOC 1Financial controls
- PCI DSSCard payments
- HIPAAHealth information
- GDPRPersonal data
- All standards & frameworksThe full catalogue, with sector schemes
The engagement, step by step
What Sterling does across the year, every year.
Managed compliance runs on Sterling OS™ as a repeating cycle: a takeover review once, then a year planned around your external audit dates and worked through with your consultant.
- 01
Takeover and baseline review
Month 1What happens
We review the system as it stands: the certificate or report and its scope, the last external audit report and its open findings, internal audits, management reviews, registers and the records produced since. Where the documents no longer match how work is done, we say so and agree the correction.
You receive
- Baseline review report on the state of every requirement
- Open findings and overdue actions, with owners and dates
- Effivity workspace opened or brought up to date
Your side
A named compliance owner, access to process owners, and the last audit reports and correspondence with your certification body or auditor.
- 02
The compliance calendar
Months 1 to 2What happens
Every date that matters for the next twelve months goes into one plan: surveillance or recertification audits, the SOC report period and fieldwork, the PCI DSS assessment and quarterly scans where they apply, internal audits, management reviews, risk and supplier reviews, training and policy reviews.
You receive
- Annual compliance calendar in Effivity, with owners
- Internal audit programme for the year
- Training plan for refreshers and new starters
Your side
Management agreement to the calendar, and the dates when your key people will not be available.
- 03
Run the system month by month
Every monthWhat happens
Your consultant works through the calendar with you in a regular working session: documents updated as processes change, registers and risk assessments reviewed, corrective actions followed to closure, new starters trained, and evidence checked as it accumulates, so gaps are found months before an auditor would find them.
You receive
- Monthly compliance report: evidence, actions, risks and what falls due
- Controlled documents and registers kept current
- Training records with Certificates of Completion from Sterling Academy
Your side
Operating the controls day to day, and telling us early about new sites, systems, suppliers or changes to the organisation.
- 04
Internal audit and management review
Before each external auditWhat happens
The system is tested by us before anyone else tests it: internal audits to the programme, conducted or facilitated as agreed, and a management review with real inputs and recorded decisions. For SOC and PCI DSS work, the same step is a readiness test of the controls against the period or the assessment.
You receive
- Internal audit reports and checklists
- Management review record with decisions and actions
- Corrective actions closed, with evidence that the fix worked
Your side
Management in the review, and your internal auditors on the audit where they take part.
- 05
External audit support
Each audit windowWhat happens
We prepare your team for the surveillance or recertification audit, the SOC fieldwork or the QSA assessment, attend as agreed, and support the response to every finding until the certification body, the service auditor or the assessor has what it needs. Then the next cycle is planned.
You receive
- Preparation briefing for the people who will be interviewed
- Responses to findings and the evidence that closes them
- Next year's calendar, updated with what this audit showed
Your side
Your people available to the auditor on the agreed days, and management at the closing meeting.
Who does what
Choose how much of the work Sterling carries.
Managed compliance comes at two levels of support. With guided support, your team runs the system and Sterling plans, coaches, audits and checks the evidence. With Drive™, Sterling operates the system for you under your approval, fully managed.
| Task | Design™ guided | Drive™ fully managed |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance calendar and external audit booking | Sterling agreed with your management | Sterling agreed with your management |
| Document control and changes to the system | Together your team updates, Sterling reviews | Sterling with your process owners, under your approval |
| Registers and risk reviews: risks, requirements, suppliers, competence | Your team coached in the working session | Sterling updated with your data |
| Effivity administration and reporting | Sterling | Sterling |
| Refresher and new-starter training | Sterling Academy access through your consultant | Sterling Academy access through your consultant |
| Operating the controls day to day | Your team | Your team Sterling checks the evidence monthly |
| Internal audit and readiness testing | Together your trained auditors, Sterling facilitates | Sterling conducted for you |
| Management review and external audit findings | Your management Sterling prepares the inputs and the responses | Your management Sterling prepares, facilitates and closes the actions |
| Certification decision, audit opinion or assessment result | The certification body, service auditor or assessor never Sterling | |
Not sure which level fits? If someone in your team owns compliance and has time for it, guided support usually works. If nobody owns it day to day, the person who did has left Drive™ is the safer choice. The discovery call settles it.
What you receive
Everything a certified system needs between audits. Nothing charged separately.
- Baseline review reportThe system as it stands against every requirement, with open findings and overdue actions given owners and dates.
- Annual compliance calendarEvery external audit, internal audit, management review, risk review, training and policy review for the year, in Effivity.
- Monthly compliance reportWhat was done, what evidence exists, which actions are open and what falls due next, readable by management at a glance.
- A current documented systemPolicies, procedures, registers and risk assessments updated as your operation changes, under document control.
- Trained people, new starters includedRefresher and new-starter awareness through Sterling Academy with Certificates of Completion, and internal auditor training for your audit team, as applicable to your standard.
- Internal audits and management reviewAudit programme, checklists and reports, corrective actions closed on evidence, and a review record with decisions.
- External audit supportPreparation for surveillance, recertification, SOC fieldwork or the QSA assessment, and every finding answered and closed.
- Next-cycle planThe following year planned, including any transition to a revised edition, new sites or an added standard under Revise™.
Effivity · included with the engagement
Your system runs in software from the first workshop.
Effivity is the ISO and GRC automation platform built by the Sterling group and used in 50+ countries. Your consultant configures it within the agreed scope, so evidence accumulates as people do their work and the certification auditor reviews a live system rather than a binder. Sterling consulting clients get their subscription included with the engagement, at no additional cost.
ISO & GRC softwareSterling Academy · included with the engagement
Your people learn the standard, not just the forms.
E-learning with practice checkpoints, a final exam and a numbered Certificate of Completion for each learner, verifiable online, with progress by department for the certification audit. Sterling consulting clients get preferential course access and special pricing, including complimentary awareness training for their people as part of the engagement.
Contact us about Academy accessHow we price
One all-inclusive proposal. Every component visible. No surprises, ever.
Managed compliance is priced for your programme: the number of standards and frameworks, the sites, the headcount, the level of support you choose and the external audit calendar all shape the work, so there is no universal price. What does not change is how a Sterling proposal is built.
- One all-inclusive proposal for Sterling's work, software and learning. Consulting, Effivity and Sterling Academy access in one figure; the fee does not move when the work takes longer than we planned.
- Certification-body fees identified separately. The body's audit days, travel and surveillance arrangements are shown as their own line, so the full programme cost is comparable across proposals.
- Payment milestones tied to deliverables, not to the calendar: the gap analysis report, the documented system, the internal audit, the certificate.
- Deliverables, responsibilities, assumptions and exclusions in writing, and nothing to sign to receive the proposal.
To prepare your proposal we need
- The standards and frameworks in scope, and the current certificate or report for each
- The sites and activities covered
- Approximate headcount
- Your external audit, report period or assessment dates for the next twelve months
- Whether you want guided support or Drive™, and any findings still open
That is enough for a scoped, all-inclusive proposal from a Sterling consultant in your region. There is no need to prepare a manual first.
Request a scoped proposalA Sterling consultant replies within one working day.
Standards
Standards this service covers
- ISO/IEC 27001ISO/IEC 27001 certification consulting: an ISMS built with your people, evidence prepared, and support through Stage 1, Stage 2 and surveillance audits.
- SOC 2SOC 2 Readiness and compliance consulting: controls mapped to the Trust Services Criteria and evidence prepared for the CPA firm's SOC 2 attestation report.
- PCI DSSPCI DSS compliance consulting for merchants and service providers: scope, the twelve requirements and evidence prepared for your annual validation by a QSA.
- HIPAAHIPAA compliance consulting for US covered entities and business associates: a documented programme protecting PHI.
- GDPRGDPR compliance consulting: lawful processing, data subject rights and breach response, with evidence for regulators and your customers' auditors.
- ISO/IEC 27701ISO/IEC 27701 certification consulting: privacy management for controllers and processors of PII, built on your ISMS and prepared for an accredited audit.
- ISO 22301ISO 22301 certification consulting to keep delivering through disruption: impact analysis, continuity plans and exercises, prepared for an accredited audit.
- ISO 37301ISO 37301 certification consulting: one compliance management system for your obligations and commitments, with evidence ready for an accredited audit.
- ISO/IEC 42001ISO/IEC 42001 certification consulting for AI governance: risks and impacts assessed, treated and evidenced, then supported through the certification audit.
- Data Privacy Act (Philippines)Philippine Data Privacy Act compliance consulting: DPO, privacy impact assessments, security and 72-hour breach handling, from our office in Manila.
Don’t be fooled by certification scams
Sterling against the alternatives.
Once the certificate or report is issued, there are four ways to keep it. Three of them leave you rebuilding the evidence before every audit, or relying on one person who may not be there next year. This is what each route actually gives you.
| What you get | Your team alone | Audit-week consultant | Body-shopping consultant | Sterling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The system kept current between audits | Only if someone has the time and the expertise | No: rebuilt in the weeks before each audit | Depends on the individual assigned | Yes: every month, in Effivity, with your process owners |
| Your people trained, new starters included | If someone arranges it | Not included | Sometimes, at extra cost | Sterling Academy access, with awareness training as part of the engagement |
| Software to run the system | Charged separately | None | Charged separately | Effivity, included at no additional cost |
| Internal audit and management review before each external audit | If you know how | A formality, if at all | Usually | Always, on the calendar, with findings closed on evidence |
| Evidence when the auditor arrives | Gathered in the last few weeks | Gathered in the last few weeks | Depends on the individual assigned | Produced as work happens and kept in Effivity |
| Who is accountable if the audit goes badly | You | Nobody beyond the audit week | The individual, if still available | Sterling, under the Sterling Promise |
| Fee transparency | Internal cost, rarely counted | Day rates, every year | Day rates, open-ended | One all-inclusive proposal; certification-body fees shown separately |
| Revised editions and scope changes | On your own | Another project | Another contract | Planned into the same calendar under Revise™ |
Sterling's position. Sterling does not certify. We consult, train and prepare you; an independent, accredited body audits and decides. We do not sell certificates without implementation, and we tell you when an offer you have received is one. All ten warning signs of shortcut certification · How to check any ISO certificate
Client experience
On the record: what clients say about working with Sterling.
The head of information security reports that the consultants helped organise evidence across several delivery centres and close control gaps without disrupting client operations, and that the weekly guidance kept the project moving.
The IT risk manager writes that the engagement clarified the company's responsibilities across payment processes, technology environments and internal controls, and that the structured approach, evidence review and readiness activities helped it organise its compliance effort and strengthen security practice.
The director of IT infrastructure writes that Sterling's professionalism, patience and expertise helped the team work through the process with confidence, and that beyond compliance the consultants helped it understand the intent behind the standard, find improvement opportunities and strengthen the ISMS in a practical, sustainable way.
The managing director reports that the weekly meetings were consistently productive, giving a structured forum to review progress, address challenges and receive expert guidance, and that the documentation templates were practical and saved the team significant time.
Each account is drawn from a signed letter or e-mail on file and reported in our words, with the signatory's role and organisation attached; the original letters are available on request. Ask for references in your sector before you decide.
- 60+countries where Sterling has delivered certification
- 21countries with a Sterling office, eight regions, one coordinated team
- 2003the year the group began implementing ISO management systems; the same method, refined, since
- 8,100+client engagements across the group, from single-site SMEs to multinationals
FAQs
Questions clients ask before they engage us.
Your own calendar, scope and fee come out of the discovery call; these answers cover what most organisations ask first.
What are managed compliance services?
Managed compliance services keep a certified or attested system running between external audits. At Sterling this is Sustain™: expert and experienced consultants plan the compliance year, keep documents, registers and training current, run internal audits and management reviews, and prepare you for each surveillance audit, recertification, SOC period or PCI DSS assessment. Where you want the work fully outsourced, Drive™ has Sterling operate the system under your approval.
How is Sustain™ different from Design™ and Drive™?
Design™ and Drive™ describe how much of the implementation Sterling carries; Sustain™ is the support that follows once the certificate or report is in place. Design™ and Drive™ are alternatives, never steps in sequence: under Design™ your team implements under Sterling's advice and supervision, under Drive™ Sterling designs and builds under your approval. After certification, Sustain™ keeps the system current, and Drive™ continues where you want its running outsourced.
Does managed compliance cover SOC 2, PCI DSS, HIPAA and GDPR?
Yes. Sustain™ extends beyond ISO certificates to SOC 2 and SOC 1 reports, PCI DSS, HIPAA and GDPR. A Type 2 SOC report tests controls over a period, PCI DSS is validated every year, and HIPAA and GDPR programmes need risk analyses and records kept current. The calendar is built around each cycle.
How often do surveillance and recertification audits happen?
An ISO certificate is normally valid for three years, with surveillance audits every year in between and a recertification audit before it expires. The exact dates come from your certification body's audit programme. Managed compliance plans the internal audits, the management review and the evidence checks backwards from those dates, so each audit meets a system that has been running all year.
Can Sterling guarantee that we keep our certificate?
The decision always belongs to the certification body, the service auditor or the assessor, never to Sterling. What Sterling commits to is the Sterling Promise: 100% on-time completion, 100% success, 8,100+ client engagements. In practice, findings are raised by us first and closed on evidence before the external audit.
What happens when a standard is revised, such as ISO 9001:2026?
The transition is planned into the same calendar under Revise™. ISO 9001:2026 was published on 16 September 2026, and a three-year transition period to 30 September 2029 is expected, subject to confirmation by the accreditation bodies. We map the changes against your system, update what has to change, train the people affected and agree the transition audit with your certification body.
How much of our team's time does managed compliance take?
Less than running the system alone, and how much less depends on the level of support you choose. With guided support, your compliance lead works with the consultant in a regular session and your team keeps the records; under Drive™, Sterling carries the administration while your people operate the controls and take the decisions.
Can one managed programme cover several standards or sites?
Yes. Several standards run on one calendar with shared document control, internal audits and a single management review, and multi-site organisations work with one engagement team and one Effivity workspace. Where you want separate systems combined into one integrated management system, that is planned as a Revise™ piece of work within the same programme.
Does Sterling issue certificates or SOC reports?
No. Sterling runs and prepares the system. An independent, accredited certification body audits ISO management systems and decides on the certificate, a licensed CPA firm or equivalent service auditor examines and reports on SOC controls, and a Qualified Security Assessor, or your acquirer's process, validates PCI DSS.
Keep exploring
More Sterling services
Watch a video on keeping a management system improving after certification here.
Talk to a consultant
Hand over the compliance year with confidence.
Tell us your goals, locations and target date. We’ll help you define the scope, timeline and next steps.
hello@sterling-grc.com+1 201 263 4443 (global headquarters) · your nearest office and its number are at the top of this page
What would you like to achieve?
Choose a starting point. The enquiry form takes about a minute.
Book my free discovery callContinue to the enquiry form to share your details. Please do not include passwords, sensitive personal information or confidential files. A Sterling consultant replies within one working day. Privacy notice