A-LIGN Unveils New AI-Powered Capabilities in A-SCEND, Appoints Strategic Advisor

With audit demands at an all-time high, A-LIGN is enabling global organizations to modernize compliance, reduce risk, improve quality, and scale efficiently

TAMPA, Fla., March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A-LIGN, a leading provider of cybersecurity compliance, today announced major advancements to its A-SCEND audit management platform, alongside the appointment of Steve Cochran as Strategic Advisor, underscoring the company's efforts to harness AI to transform the audit experience and build a more intelligent, scalable future for audit management.

As compliance programs grow more complex, teams are under increasing pressure to manage multiple frameworks, while avoiding last-minute surprises. According to A-LIGN research, 97% of organizations now conduct at least two audits annually, with 74% of large enterprises managing four or more, turning compliance into a continuous, resource-intensive process. A-LIGN is evolving A-SCEND to meet that need by combining AI-driven insights with expanded platform capabilities and dedicated strategic guidance.

At the core of these updates is EvidenceIQ, an intelligent evidence evaluator that gives teams early, objective insight into audit readiness. Once documentation is submitted, EvidenceIQ assesses how well the evidence aligns with audit requests and controls, highlighting gaps and strengths before fieldwork begins. Instead of relying on manual reviews or high-level confidence scores, EvidenceIQ provides request-level scoring and clear diagnostics, helping teams focus on what matters most, reduce rework, and approach audits with greater confidence.

Complementing this is A-SCEND's new Cross-Service functionality, which allows organizations to leverage existing evidence to evaluate readiness for additional audits before they begin, a valuable tool for organizations looking to grow their compliance program. With features like Cross-Service Information Request List (IRL) Export and Cross-Service EvidenceIQ, teams can leverage existing documentation, identify overlap, and understand gaps, all turning one audit into a foundation for the next.

Together, these innovations help organizations scale compliance programs as a progression – not a reset – reducing duplication, accelerating time to audit, and supporting expansion into new frameworks with less effort and risk.

"Compliance teams spend enormous energy repeating the same work across audits," said Scott Price, CEO of A-LIGN. "With A-SCEND, organizations can streamline the audit process and stop reinventing the wheel every audit cycle. EvidenceIQ gives teams early, objective visibility into audit readiness, and our cross-service capabilities allow organizations to build on the work they've already done and find efficiencies across their compliance data."

To further accelerate A-SCEND's innovation, A-LIGN has appointed Steve Cochran as Strategic Advisor. With over 20 years of experience as a CTO and CPO at organizations like ConnectWise, Cochran specializes in scaling high-growth, PE-backed software companies. In his current role as strategic advisor across the Hg portfolio, he will collaborate with A-LIGN's leadership to help shape A-SCEND's product roadmap, identify market opportunities, and ensure continued alignment with the needs of modern compliance teams.

"Bringing Steve on as a strategic advisor is another important step in our evolution," Price added. "We're continuing to invest in A-SCEND to allow our customers to scale trust with their clients as they grow, because the companies that reduce uncertainty fastest are the ones that win."

For more information about A-SCEND and A-LIGN's compliance solutions, visit www.a-lign.com.

ABOUT A-LIGN
A-LIGN is the leading provider of high-quality, efficient cybersecurity compliance programs. Combining experienced auditors and audit management technology, A-LIGN provides the widest breadth and depth of services including SOC 2, ISO 27001, HITRUST, FedRAMP, CMMC and penetration testing. A-LIGN is the number one issuer of SOC 2 and a leading HITRUST and FedRAMP assessor. To learn more, visit a-lign.com.

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SOURCE A-LIGN