Audit ≠ Security: Building Auditable Controls in a High-Velocity World ft Varun Prasad, Cloud Security & Privacy Assurance @ BDO

Audits are often misunderstood, frequently disliked, and almost always viewed as a necessary evil — but what if that mindset is holding security teams back? In this episode of Security & GRC Decoded, Raj Krishnamurthy sits down with Varun Prasad to unpack what audits are actually designed to do: provide reasonable assurance, not absolute security. Drawing on more than two decades of experience across internal and external audits, Varun explains why “auditable controls” are the missing link between fast-moving engineering teams and slow, annual audit cycles — and how organizations can stop treating audits as an afterthought and start using them as a trust-building mechanism.Key Takeaways:Audits are designed to provide reasonable assurance, not eliminate all risk The biggest failure in modern GRC is building controls that are automated but not auditableContinuous controls monitoring only works if auditors can validate completeness and accuracyScreenshots persist because they remain the clearest way to demonstrate system state over timeSecurity controls should be built to improve posture first — and explained clearly secondWhat You’ll Learn:Why audit skepticism is a feature, not a flawHow internal and external audits serve fundamentally different purposesWhere continuous monitoring breaks down from an auditor’s perspectiveWhat “auditable controls” actually mean in CI/CD environmentsHow AI can assist auditors without replacing human judgmentThis podcast is brought to you by ComplianceCow — the smarter way to manage compliance. Automate evidence collection, eliminate screenshots, and scale your program with confidence. Learn more: https://www.compliancecow.comWatch more episodes: https://www.compliancecow.com/podcastConnect With Our Guest:Varun Prasad | Cloud Security & Privacy Assurance | BDOConnect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/varunprasad/Rate, review, and share if you enjoyed the show!Subscribe to Security & GRC Decoded wherever you get your podcasts:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5pigcMwOrYIA6d9OOOsxqr?si=416b82ab5c474683Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/security-grc-decoded/id1795144450