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Templates · 5 min read

The code of conduct acknowledgment log, one row per person

Who accepted the code of conduct, when, and the proof, at hire and every year.

A code of conduct acknowledgment log is one row per person: who they are, which version of the code they accepted, the date, and where the signature lives. It covers new hires and the yearly renewal in one sheet.

The workbook is below, column by column, with its guidance sheet. Fill it from your e-signature tool or your human resources system rather than by memory.

The template in full

Below is the whole workbook as it downloads. Every bracketed field, such as [Company name], is a detail to fill in before you adopt it. There is no form and no email address to hand over, and the file is yours to edit.

Code of Conduct Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

Each row is one acknowledgment of the [Company name] Code of Conduct by one person. Enter the version they read (1.0 unless the Code has been revised) and link the proof.

EmployeeRoleStart dateVersion acknowledgedAcknowledged onMethodProof linkNext acknowledgment due

The sheet starts empty: one row per entry, under these columns.

How to use

  1. [People owner role] owns this log.
  2. Every new employee and contractor acknowledges the Code of Conduct before or on their first day. Add their row during onboarding.
  3. Everyone acknowledges it again every twelve months. Set Next acknowledgment due to one year after Acknowledged on.
  4. When the Code of Conduct changes, increase the version number and ask everyone to acknowledge the new version within 30 days.
  5. Free ways to collect acknowledgments: a Google Forms or Microsoft Forms response that records name, email, version and a checkbox confirming they read it; a signed PDF; or the acknowledgment feature in your HR or e-signature system.
  6. For evidence, keep the form response export, the signed PDF or the HR system record. Store it in one shared folder and paste the link in Proof link.
  7. Check this log monthly for anyone past their due date and follow up with them and their manager.

What an auditor checks

An auditor picks people from the period, new hires and long-standing staff alike, and looks each one up here. Every row needs a date before or on the first day of work, and a renewal within the last twelve months.

Gaps are findings. A contractor missing from the log, a version number that does not match the approved code, or a date after access was granted all count. Keep the log next to the code of conduct itself it records.

Which criteria it maps to

It supports CC1.1.1 A template is evidence of intent. The examination tests whether the control operated over the period, so keep the dated records the workbook produces. Every criterion, explained one by one, is on the Trust Services Criteria page.

Questions

What is a code of conduct acknowledgment?
A record that a person read and accepted the code of conduct, with the version and the date. An e-signature record or a signed page both work.
How often do employees need to re-acknowledge the code?
Once a year is the usual cadence, and again whenever the code changes. Whatever your policy says is the cadence the auditor tests.
Do contractors need to sign the code of conduct?
Yes, if they have access to company systems or data. Put them in the same log so the population is complete.

Sources

  1. TSP Section 100, Trust Services Criteria for Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy AICPA. The criteria themselves, including the common criteria every SOC 2 report covers.

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Polara Labs is not a CPA firm. SOC 2 examinations are performed by independent licensed U.S. CPA firms.