Compliance

Seasonal Compliance Check: Preparing Your Enterprise for Regulatory Changes

2026-01-296 min read

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Compliance isn't a one-time event—it's a continuous cycle. This guide provides a quarterly compliance calendar to help enterprises stay ahead of regulatory changes and maintain audit readiness year-round.

Why Seasonal Compliance Reviews Matter

The risk of annual-only reviews:

Regulations change mid-year
Controls drift over time
Evidence gaps discovered too late
Audit failures due to outdated practices

Benefits of quarterly reviews:

Catch issues early (4x per year vs 1x)
Spread workload evenly
Stay current with regulations
Reduce audit stress

Q1 Compliance Calendar (January-March)

January: Annual Planning & Policy Review

Week 1-2: Compliance Planning

[ ] Review previous year's audit findings
[ ] Set compliance goals for new year
[ ] Budget for audits and tools
[ ] Schedule auditor engagements

Week 3-4: Policy Annual Review

[ ] Review all policies (required annually)
[ ] Update for regulatory changes
[ ] Get executive approval
[ ] Publish updated versions

Key policies to review:

Information Security Policy
Access Control Policy
Incident Response Policy
Data Retention Policy
Vendor Management Policy

February: Access Control Review

Quarterly access review (required):

[ ] Review all user accounts
[ ] Disable terminated employees
[ ] Remove excessive permissions
[ ] Document review results

Checklist:

Users Reviewed: 147
Accounts Disabled: 5 (former employees)
Permissions Reduced: 12 (least privilege)
New Accounts: 8 (new hires)
Status: Complete ✓

March: Security Testing

Annual penetration test:

[ ] Engage third-party tester
[ ] Scope test (external + internal)
[ ] Review findings
[ ] Remediate critical/high issues

Annual vulnerability assessment:

[ ] Run comprehensive scan
[ ] Prioritize findings
[ ] Create remediation plan
[ ] Track to completion

Q2 Compliance Calendar (April-June)

April: Vendor Risk Assessment

Annual vendor reviews:

[ ] List all critical vendors
[ ] Request SOC 2 reports
[ ] Review security questionnaires
[ ] Update vendor risk register

Vendor assessment criteria:

Vendor: AWS
Last Review: 2025-04-15
SOC 2 Report: ✓ Current (expires 2026-12-31)
Risk Level: Low
Next Review: 2027-04-15

May: Disaster Recovery Testing

Annual DR test (required):

[ ] Test backup restoration
[ ] Verify RTO/RPO targets
[ ] Document test results
[ ] Update DR procedures

Test scenarios:

Database corruption
Complete data center failure
Ransomware attack
Key personnel unavailable

June: Mid-Year Compliance Review

Half-year checkpoint:

[ ] Review compliance metrics
[ ] Assess control effectiveness
[ ] Update risk register
[ ] Adjust compliance plan

Metrics to review:

Uptime percentage
Incident count and severity
Training completion rate
Vulnerability remediation time

Q3 Compliance Calendar (July-September)

July: Security Awareness Training

Annual training (required):

[ ] Deploy training modules
[ ] Track completion rates
[ ] Collect quiz results
[ ] Issue certificates

Training topics:

Phishing awareness
Password security
Data handling
Incident reporting
Social engineering

August: Access Control Review (Q3)

Quarterly access review:

[ ] Review all user accounts
[ ] Disable inactive accounts
[ ] Audit privileged access
[ ] Document results

September: Regulatory Update Review

Monitor regulatory changes:

[ ] Review new regulations
[ ] Assess impact on controls
[ ] Update compliance roadmap
[ ] Communicate changes to team

2026 regulatory changes to watch:

EU AI Act implementation
California CPRA enforcement
NYC LL144 updates
HIPAA omnibus rule changes

Q4 Compliance Calendar (October-December)

October: Pre-Audit Preparation

Audit readiness check:

[ ] Review evidence completeness
[ ] Organize audit package
[ ] Schedule auditor kickoff
[ ] Brief team on audit process

Evidence checklist:

Access Reviews: 4/4 quarters ✓
Security Training: 98% complete ✓
Penetration Test: Complete ✓
Vulnerability Scans: 52/52 weeks ✓
Incident Reports: 12 documented ✓
Change Approvals: 100% ✓

November: Access Control Review (Q4)

Final quarterly review:

[ ] Review all user accounts
[ ] Clean up before audit
[ ] Document year-end state
[ ] Prepare for auditor testing

December: Year-End Compliance Wrap-Up

Annual compliance summary:

[ ] Compile compliance metrics
[ ] Document achievements
[ ] Identify improvement areas
[ ] Plan next year's initiatives

Year-end report:

2026 Compliance Summary:
- Audits Passed: SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA
- Incidents: 8 (all resolved within SLA)
- Uptime: 99.97%
- Training: 98% completion
- Findings: 3 minor (all remediated)

Regulatory Change Monitoring

How to Stay Current

1. Subscribe to regulatory updates:

AICPA (SOC 2 changes)
ISO (ISO 27001 updates)
HHS (HIPAA guidance)
FTC (AI regulation)
State regulators (local laws)

2. Join industry groups:

Cloud Security Alliance
IAPP (privacy professionals)
ISACA (audit professionals)
Industry-specific associations

3. Use compliance platforms:

HAIEC regulatory monitoring
Automated change notifications
Impact assessments
Implementation guides

2026 Regulatory Changes

Q1 2026:

EU AI Act: High-risk AI systems registration
California CPRA: Enhanced privacy rights
NYC LL144: Updated bias audit requirements

Q2 2026:

Colorado Privacy Act: Enforcement begins
Virginia CDPA: New data protection rules
Federal AI Executive Order: Agency guidance

Q3 2026:

ISO 27001:2023: Transition deadline
NIST AI RMF: Version 2.0 release
State AI laws: Multiple states enacting

Q4 2026:

GDPR: Updated standard contractual clauses
HIPAA: Cybersecurity rule proposals
SOC 2: Updated Trust Service Criteria

Automation for Seasonal Compliance

HAIEC compliance calendar features:

Automated quarterly reminders
Evidence collection scheduling
Regulatory change monitoring
Audit readiness scoring

Automated tasks:

January 15: Policy review reminder
February 1: Q1 access review starts
March 1: Penetration test scheduling
April 1: Vendor review reminder
May 1: DR test scheduling
June 15: Mid-year review
July 1: Training deployment
August 1: Q3 access review
September 1: Regulatory update check
October 1: Audit prep reminder
November 1: Q4 access review
December 1: Year-end wrap-up

Compliance Calendar Template

Download our annual compliance calendar:

Monthly task breakdown
Quarterly review checklists
Regulatory monitoring schedule
Evidence collection timeline

Download Template →

Conclusion

Seasonal compliance reviews transform compliance from a stressful annual event into a manageable quarterly routine. By spreading work throughout the year and monitoring regulatory changes proactively, enterprises maintain continuous audit readiness.

Key takeaways:

Quarterly reviews catch issues early
Annual tasks spread across 12 months
Regulatory monitoring prevents surprises
Automation reduces manual effort

Ready to automate your compliance calendar? Try HAIEC free for 14 days →

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