37% of IT Security Teams Hit Burnout From Audit Demands

Ask most IT and security leaders how their organization handles compliance, and you'll get a confident answer. Audits are planned for, documentation is maintained, and the team knows what to do when a third-party assessor comes knocking.

The data backs that up, at least on the surface. The majority (91%) of IT and security leaders say their organization treats compliance documentation as an ongoing process rather than a last-minute scramble. And 70% say they are very confident that they'd pass a third-party security audit tomorrow with no additional prep time.

So we were surprised when we asked that same group how much notice they actually need to feel fully prepared. One in three said 1 to 2 weeks, while only 22% said they would need no additional prep time.

Confidence and actual readiness aren't the same thing. We surveyed more than 500 IT and security professionals to find out what it's costing teams that assume they're prepared—right up until the moment they have to prove it.

78% of IT and security professionals who said their documentation and evidence were ready to go said they still need at least a few days of prep time to get there, and for nearly half (49%), that window is one week or more.

Compliance demands drove burnout or staff turnover in 37% of organizations over the past 12 months, and around one in five (21%) say they lost a contract or business opportunity as a direct result.

More than twice as many "very confident" IT teams are hiring extra staff to stay audit-ready compared to teams that are only moderately confident about their audit readiness (44% vs. 20%).

Shifting compliance requirements are the single most common reason organizations can't stay continuously audit-ready

Audit demands are burning out teams and hurting budgets