Q2 2026 in Review: A Quarter of Smarter Audits
AI Inside. Smarter Workflows. Zero Friction.
If Q1 2026 was about giving auditors a better foundation, Q2 2026 was about making the work itself smarter. This quarter Audora shipped the features that move audit prep from manual to automated, expand the frameworks Audora can support, tighten security to enterprise standards, and quietly remove the dozens of small frictions that pile up during a busy engagement.
A few Q2 updates are headline-worthy on their own. Audora AI now populates engagement fields directly from your interview transcripts. The Task Queue lets auditors self-claim work during busy season. And Audora now supports CMMC certification assessments alongside a generic audit framework that opens the door to SOX and beyond. Other updates are the kind of refinements you only notice because everything feels faster. Both matter. Here's what landed in Q2 2026.
Twenty plus updates. Here are the highlights, scroll down for the full story on each one.
Q2 at a Glance
Audora AI — engagement field population from uploaded transcripts
Task Queue — auditors self-claim open work during peak times
Walkthrough Tab — view all in-scope controls and bulk edit Test details
CMMC Certification Assessments — now supported in Audora
Generic Audit / Assessment Framework — run any type of audit in Audora
Self-Service Billing Page — 12 months of engagement history on demand
Overdue Tasks Tracker — never lose sight of what's slipping
Dashboard Totals — counts next to evidence, controls, exceptions, PIOs, and admin file
In-App Document Viewing — open native diagrams without leaving Audora
Vanta Integration Overhaul — clean CSVs, bidirectional comments, smarter syncs, on-demand export
Audit Program Merge into Vanta — push your Audora audit program directly into a Vanta audit at creation
SSO Login — single sign-on now available at login
Dark Mode — light, dark, or auto based on your system settings
Email Notification Controls — toggle alerts on or off by type, your inbox your rules
Scratchpad — jot down notes mid-engagement for later reference
Inactive Account Disabler — configurable company-wide security control
CMMC-Aligned Backend — foundational work to support CMMC requirements
Mark Engagement Closed — close out without sending the report from Audora
Filtered View Indicator — visual cue when a table is narrowed
Human-Readable @-Tagging — names and pictures instead of just the email addresses
Enhanced Profile Settings — names, pictures, and customer badges
Refreshed Login Experience — seasonal design and cleaner notices
AI & Automation
The First Real AI Inside Audora (1 update)
🤖 Audora AI — Engagement Field Population
Upload your interview transcripts and Audora AI populates the engagement interview fields for you. Edit with AI assistance to refine, expand, or tighten the language before finalizing. What used to be hours of typing is now minutes of review. Enabled upon request by your customer service manager.
Frameworks & Coverage
More Audits, One Platform (2 updates)
Audora has always been built for SOC. This quarter Audora widened the lens to cover the engagements you've been asking us to support.
🛰️ CMMC Certification & Mock Assessments
Audora now supports both CMMC mock assessments and CMMC certification assessments. While the capabilities are limited for the later due to requirements by the Cyber AB, DoD PMO, and DIBCAC, you'll still save hours per assessment with Audora.
📋 Generic Audit / Assessment Framework
If your audit has evidence and mappable controls, you can run it in Audora. SOX, internal audits, custom assessments, generic framework opens Audora up to engagements far beyond SOC 1/2, ISO, and CMMC.
Visibility & Tracking
Catch What's Slipping Before It Costs You (3 updates)
The items that derail an engagement are rarely the obvious ones. These updates surface what would otherwise stay buried until it's too late.
⏰ Overdue Tasks Tracker
A single view of every overdue item across your engagements. Less chasing, more closing.
📊 Dashboard Totals at a Glance
Evidence requests, controls, exceptions, PIOs, and admin file now display totals right next to the name on the dashboard. Know exactly how much is in scope without opening a single tab.
🔍 Filtered View Indicator
Tables now visually flag when a narrowed view is active, so you always know whether you're looking at the full picture or a slice of it.
Speed & Efficiency
Fewer Tabs, Fewer Tickets, Faster Work (5 updates)
The point of a platform is to keep the work in one place. This quarter we pulled more inside Audora and gave teams sharper tools to move through it.
🎯 Task Queue — Self-Claim Open Work
Does your team work on a first come first served basis or do you outsource some of your team? Enable the Task Queue on engagements and auditors can claim open tasks themselves from evidence review, initial control testing, and more. No more assignment bottlenecks during peak times. Built for busy season.
🚶 Walkthrough Tab
A new tab that surfaces every in-scope control alongside its Test program and Test details. Edit Test details across multiple controls at once instead of opening them one by one.
📄 In-App Document Viewing
Open documents and native diagrams directly inside Audora. No downloads, no separate apps, no Visio license required to review a network diagram.
💳 Self-Service Billing Page
View your monthly engagement counts and 12 months of historical billing data from inside the platform. No support tickets needed to check usage.
📝 Scratchpad
Capture quick notes during an engagement without breaking your flow. Jot down a thought, flag something to come back to, review it whenever you need it. For more formal tasks that need tracking and accountability, the Admin File is still the place and Scratchpad is for the thinking in between.
Documentation & Reporting
Cleaner Evidence, Smoother Close-Out (3 updates)
Evidence isn't useful if you can't read it. Engagements aren't done until they're closed the way you want them closed. These updates handle both ends.
📊 Vanta Evidence in CSV Format
JSON and XML test results from Vanta now land in Audora as clean, organized CSVs. Usable the moment they arrive, no developer required.
🔄 Export Vanta Data Anytime
Export Vanta-pulled data from inside Audora at any point during the engagement or after completion. The evidence is yours so take it with you whenever you need it.
✅ Mark Engagement Closed
Some auditors want to deliver the final report themselves. You can now close an engagement without sending the report through Audora, close it out, deliver on your terms.
Collaboration
Make Working Together Feel Human Again (5 updates)
Comments, mentions, and integrations should feel like real conversation. These updates tighten how teams and tools talk to each other.
🏷️ Human-Readable @-Tagging
Tagging a colleague now displays their name instead of their email address. A small change that makes every comment feel more human.
👤 Enhanced Profile Settings
Profile improvements make it easier to see who's who with clearer names, profile pictures, and the ability to add badges for customers. Identity in Audora finally looks like the team behind it.
💬 Vanta Bidirectional Comments
Comments now flow both directions between Vanta and Audora. The integration is genuinely two-way, not just a sync.
🔔 Email Notification Controls
Email notifications got a major upgrade. Want a ping for every single thing that happens? Turn it on. Prefer a quieter inbox? Toggle off what you don't need. Notification preferences are now yours to set, engagement by engagement, alert by alert.🔗 Audit Program Merge into Vanta
Push your Audora audit program directly into a Vanta audit at creation time. No more rebuilding the same scope in two places, no more drift between systems. Set it up in Audora once, send it to Vanta in one move.
Security & Platform Experience
Enterprise-Grade Controls, Everyday Polish (5 updates)
Security and polish often live in the same release. This quarter delivered both — stronger controls underneath, a more refined surface on top.
🔑 Single Sign-On (SSO)
SSO is now available at login. One less password, one more enterprise-ready control for firms standardizing on identity providers. Enabled upon request by your customer service manager.
🔒 Customizable Inactive Account Disabler
Set your own policy for how long an account can sit dormant before it's automatically disabled. A company-wide control that handles compliance cleanup for you.
🛡️ Defense Grade Security
Foundational backend updates that now mean Audora meets the DoD's CMMC Level 2 requirements. You won't notice these directly, but they matter for firms serving defense and federal supply chain clients along with protecting your client's information.
🌗 Dark Mode
Work in light mode, dark mode, or let Audora match your system settings automatically. The platform finally looks the way you want it to at 2 AM.
☀️ Refreshed Login Experience
A seasonal refresh, calming waves and a sailboat, plus a cleaner notification style so important notices actually catch your eye.
Coming Soon
A look at what's already in flight for the rest of the year:
ISO 27001, PCI, & HiTrust Framework Support — new alongside SOC 2 in the framework library.
In-App Document Editing — view today, edit soon. Make changes to documents without leaving Audora.
Quality Grader — automated quality scoring on engagements to surface gaps before reviewers do.
FAQs
Q: What is Audora AI and how does it work?
A: Audora AI is an AI-powered feature launched in Q2 2026 that populates engagement interview fields directly from uploaded transcripts. Upload a kickoff call transcript, and Audora AI reads it, identifies what matters, and fills in the engagement interview fields automatically. Auditors can then edit with AI assistance to refine, expand, or tighten the language before finalizing. What used to take hours of manual typing after a kickoff call now takes minutes of review. Audora AI is enabled upon request by your customer service manager.
Q: Does Audora support CMMC certification assessments?
A: Yes. As of Q2 2026, Audora supports both CMMC mock assessments and CMMC certification assessments. Certification assessment capabilities are constrained by requirements from the Cyber AB, DoD PMO, and DIBCAC, but auditors still save significant time per assessment using Audora. Firms running C3PAO certification work can conduct CMMC mock and certification assessments in the same platform they use for SOC 1, SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and PCI engagements.
Q: How is the Task Queue different from traditional task assignment?
A: Traditional audit task assignment relies on a manager assigning specific tasks to specific auditors. During busy season, this creates bottlenecks but some auditors are overloaded while others wait for work. Audora's Task Queue lets auditors self-claim open tasks such as evidence review or initial control testing from the queue. Work flows to whoever has the bandwidth, when they have it. Managers no longer have to manually re-balance workloads. Task Queue is designed for peak times when engagement volume is high.
Q: What changed in the Vanta integration in Q2 2026?
A: Audora's Q2 2026 release rebuilt the Vanta integration with four major improvements. First, bidirectional comments now flow between Audora and Vanta so conversations don't get stuck in one system. Second, JSON and XML test evidence from Vanta now arrives in Audora as clean, organized CSVs no developer required to read the data. Third, Vanta-pulled data can now be exported from Audora on demand at any point during or after the engagement. Fourth, non-test evidence syncs are more reliable, and Audora skips evidence that hasn't been updated since the last sync, reducing sync times and costs. A fifth feature, audit program merge and lets auditors push an Audora audit program directly into a Vanta audit at creation.
Q: Can Audora run audits beyond SOC and ISO?
A: Yes. Audora added a Generic Audit / Assessment Framework in Q2 2026. If an audit has evidence and mappable controls, it can be run in Audora, including SOX, internal audits, and custom assessments. Combined with Q2's CMMC support, Audora now covers SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3, ISO 27001, HiTrust, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, CMMC (mock and certification), and generic audit engagements.
Q: Is Audora ready for enterprise security requirements?
A: Yes. As of Q2 2026, Audora meets DoD CMMC Level 2 requirements. Security features shipped in Q2 include Single Sign-On (SSO) at login, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), and a customizable inactive account disabler that lets firms set their own dormancy policy for automatic account deactivation. These join Audora's existing security foundation: encrypted storage in transit and at rest, multiple availability zones for redundancy, regular encrypted backups, and full audit trail on every action.
