SOC 2 Compliance for M&A AI

The Challenge: AI in M&A Creates New Compliance Complexity

Traditional SOC 2 audits didn't anticipate AI systems that autonomously process, store, and generate deal data. When your due diligence AI assistants handle deal discussions, retrieve data room documents, and generate analysis, you face questions your auditor may not have asked before:

How do you prove what deal data an AI assistant accessed during a due diligence review?
When a retention policy deletes deal conversations, how do you document that deletion?
If an AI processes confidential target company information, how do you ensure proper disposal?

DueDili eliminates that uncertainty by building SOC 2 controls directly into the platform.

Trust Services Criteria Coverage

C1.2: Confidential Information Disposal

"The entity disposes of confidential information to meet the entity's objectives related to confidentiality."

Due diligence AI assistants process confidential information across multiple touchpoints: analyst queries, data room document retrieval, financial analysis, and contract review.

Automated Retention Enforcement

DueDili allows you to configure retention policies per organization and deal for:

Deal conversations — AI-assisted discussions containing confidential deal information
Audit logs — Records of deal data access
Data room documents — Financials, contracts, and due diligence materials

Retention cleanup runs automatically. When data reaches its retention limit, it is eligible for deletion and the deletion is permanently documented for audit evidence.

Disposal Documentation

Every deletion generates a permanent record that your auditor can review to verify:

Disposal occurred according to your documented policy
No confidential data was retained beyond the defined period
The disposal process is consistent and automated

P5.1: Data Retention

"The entity retains personal information consistent with the entity's objectives related to privacy."

Deal conversations frequently contain sensitive information—target company financials, deal terms, and strategic rationale. DueDili ensures this data is retained only as long as necessary while meeting transaction agreement requirements.

Configurable Retention Periods

Set retention at the organization level for baseline policy, then override at the deal level for specific requirements. For example:

Active deals — Retain through deal close plus survival period
Closed transactions — 24-month retention post-close
Terminated deals — 90-day retention per NDA terms

Legal Hold Integration

When retention policy conflicts with preservation requirements, legal holds take precedence. Data subject to post-closing dispute, regulatory investigation, or litigation is excluded from automated retention until the hold is released.

Retention Tracking

Each retention cleanup execution is logged, including counts of what was deleted, what was archived, and what was skipped due to legal holds. This provides explicit evidence that legal preservation requirements override automated retention.

Implementation Checklist

Define retention policies aligned with standard NDA terms
Configure deal-level overrides where transaction agreements differ
Document retention periods in your information security policy
Establish process for creating legal holds when preservation is required
Schedule regular review of retention history
Export deletion records for audit evidence package

SOC2