Size and access set the length
Two things decide most of the calendar: how much is in scope and how quickly we can see it. Each extra website, server, cloud account or office location adds checks and findings to confirm. Access is the other half. A week spent waiting for a hosting login or for someone who can open the DNS settings is a week the report sits still, and that wait is the delay we see most often.
Whether you also want the fixes done changes the end date as well. The report arrives first; repairs and the re-check that proves them come after, on dates agreed with you.
A small business security audit: about two to three weeks
Our security audit for a small business covers the internet-facing perimeter, the website and its plugins, servers and hosting panels, certificates and security headers, the email domain, accounts and two-step sign-in, and backups. With one website, one email domain and a handful of servers, the written report usually reaches you two to three weeks after you sign the scope letter.
That stretch includes the checks themselves inside the agreed window, a person confirming every finding by hand, and the writing of a report in two layers: a plain-language summary for the owner and a technical appendix for whoever maintains your systems. Larger estates take longer, and the scope letter says by how much before anything begins.
An O. Reg. 51/26 maturity assessment: a different clock
A cyber security maturity assessment for an Ontario school board, college, university, children’s aid society or covered hospital measures how well the organization runs cyber security across the board, so it depends on people more than on scans. Cyber Security Ontario says its standard assessment holds more than 100 statements rated across six functions and that completion time varies by organizational preparedness.
Two fixed dates sit around it. Registering for the provincial assessment tool brings a secure link or a request for more information, typically within five business days, according to Cyber Security Ontario. After the assessment, O. Reg. 51/26 gives 30 business days to send the summary to the Ministry’s Chief Information Security Officer, and the first assessment is due by 1 July 2027. Working backward from that date is the safe way to plan.
What keeps the work on schedule
Most of the time saved comes from the first day. Having the addresses of the website, servers and email domain on hand, one person on your side who answers during the agreed window, read access to the hosting, DNS and email consoles, and a signed scope letter lets the checks start on the date set. For a maturity assessment, the same applies to interview slots with IT, operations, privacy and leadership, booked early.
