Do clients care if you have formal compliance attestations, or is good security enough? 

On the surface, the answer seems obvious. As long as you protect data and keep operations secure, why should paperwork matter? In practice, trust is not built only on doing the right things. It is built on proving you are doing them in a structured, repeatable way. 

According to Edward Griffin, Chief Information Security Officer at Intelligent Technical Solutions (ITS), compliance attestations show: “We aren’t winging it. We are doing things in a rigorous method according to best practice, respectful of the utmost security for your data.” 

In short, formal compliance attestations provide that proof. They show clients, insurers, and partners that you are not operating by chance. You are following recognized standards that demonstrate discipline and maturity. In this article, we’ll dive into why they are worth your effort and how they can benefit your organization. 

What Is a Compliance Attestation? 

A compliance attestation is a formal confirmation from an external auditor that your business follows specific standards. Common examples include: 

• SOC 2 Type II attestation from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). '
  
• HIPAA validation for organizations that handle protected health information. 
  
• ISO 27001 certification for information security management systems. 

Unlike internal policies, attestations are verified by recognized standards bodies. They provide third-party assurance that your business meets accepted best practices for security, confidentiality, availability, or privacy. 

4 Reasons Why Attestations Build Business Trust 

Compliance attestations can help build trust with your customers/clients. Here’s how: 

1. They Reduce Perceived Risk

Clients want partners they can rely on. An attestation shows that you are not improvising. You have formal processes in place to secure data and deliver services consistently. 

“The attestations just help us demonstrate that we are not operating arbitrarily. We are trying to operate in a manner that converges toward optimal performance,” Griffin explained. 

This reassurance reduces the fear of outages, breaches, or compliance failures that could impact their business. 

2. They Help Win Larger Clients

Enterprise clients and regulated industries often require vendors to provide compliance attestations. Without them, you may not even get in the door. 

According to Griffin, “as you gain larger clients, your maturity level and your formal attestations through external auditors help differentiate your services from competitors.”  

Attestations do not guarantee a deal, but they give you a seat at the table. They show you are serious about operating at a higher standard. 

3. They Strengthen Insurance Coverage

Cyber insurers want evidence of risk management. Attestations prove you are following recognized best practices. That can help reduce premiums, secure renewals, or expand coverage. 

“For a cyber insurance company, obtaining an insured party's risk management attestations would be a key mechanism to quantify the insured's risk exposure and determine suitable coverages and premiums,” Griffin shared. “Operationally mature insured parties may be eligible for higher coverages or lower premiums when compared to peer companies carrying greater cybersecurity risks,” he added.  

Insurance providers see attestations as a sign of reliability. Clients view them the same way. 

4. They Show Commitment to Continuous Improvement

Attestations are not one-time achievements. They require annual audits, ongoing documentation, and continuous monitoring. This demonstrates to clients that your business is committed to long-term maturity, not just short-term fixes. 

Clients trust partners who treat security and compliance as ongoing priorities rather than one-time projects. 

Compliance Attestations from the Client Perspective 

From a client’s point of view, attestations answer three critical questions: 

• Can I trust this partner with sensitive data? 
• Will this partner help me meet my own regulatory obligations? 
• Will this partner scale with my needs as I grow? 

Attestations make those answers easier. They provide tangible evidence of trustworthiness, reducing hesitation and building confidence. 

They show that “we are doing the work to try to earn their trust and keep their trust,” Griffin stated.  

The Business Benefits that Reinforce Trust 

Building trust is the most important outcome, but attestations deliver other business advantages. Perhaps the most important one is that they also improve the way your business operates day to day. 

Preparing for an attestation forces your teams to: 

• Document policies and processes with clarity.
• Collect and retain evidence of security practices. 
  
• Improve change management and incident response workflows. 
• Adopt consistent processes across departments.

Even if a client is not directly regulated, your compliance maturity benefits them. That’s because the work you put in to earn one creates better internal discipline. As Griffin put it: “Even if it doesn’t apply to them directly, having these standards forces us to have better hygiene for clients.” 

In other words, attestations build external trust with clients while also building internal trust among your teams. 

Need Help Getting Compliance Attestations? 

Good security is not enough. Clients need proof. Compliance attestations provide that by showing your business follows recognized best practices, meets regulatory expectations, and operates with discipline. 

The result is stronger client trust, easier insurance negotiations, and access to larger opportunities.  

Our team of compliance experts can help you achieve compliance maturity, earn client trust, and position your organization for long-term growth. Schedule your compliance readiness consultation with ITS to find out how we can do that for you.  

How compliance ready are you? Find out by trying our free compliance readiness assessment.