Governance, risk and compliance (GRC) is a coordinated approach to directing an organisation, managing uncertainty and meeting its obligations. Governance sets decision-making responsibilities. Risk management examines what could affect objectives. Compliance identifies the requirements the organisation must follow and the evidence needed to show that it does.
The value comes from connecting these activities. A policy, risk register and audit report are more useful when they point to the same owners, controls and decisions. OCEG’s explanation of GRC similarly treats it as an integrated organisational capability that supports objectives, uncertainty management and integrity.
What do the three parts of GRC mean?
| Part | Practical question | Examples of evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Governance | Who sets direction, approves decisions and is accountable? | Delegated authority, policies, meeting decisions and escalation rules |
| Risk management | What could affect our objectives, and how will we respond? | Risk assessments, treatment decisions, control owners and monitoring results |
| Compliance | Which requirements apply, and are we meeting them? | An obligations register, completed checks, supporting records and corrective actions |
Compliance can involve more than legislation: contracts, relevant standards and internal commitments may also create requirements. The applicable obligations depend on the organisation and its activities.
A practical GRC example: approving a supplier
Consider an illustrative business choosing a supplier for an essential component. Its objective is to maintain reliable production while meeting agreed quality requirements.
Governance: The business defines who may approve the supplier, who can accept exceptions and which decisions need escalation. A purchasing employee should not have to guess who can authorise an unresolved concern.
Risk management: The team considers disruption, quality problems, dependence on one source and weaknesses in the supplier’s own operations. It records the evidence, agrees actions and identifies who will monitor delivery performance.
Compliance: The team identifies the checks and documents required by the applicable contract, policies and other relevant obligations. It retains the approval record and schedules any necessary reviews.
The activities connect at the decision: a missing quality document should be visible to the approver, linked to the relevant requirement and assigned to someone who can resolve it. If an exception is accepted, the decision and its conditions should be recorded. Buying software alone will not establish those responsibilities.
How to start a practical GRC programme
Begin with one process where unclear ownership or repeated findings are causing problems. Supplier approval, purchasing or access management can provide a manageable starting scope.
- Define the objective and process. State what successful performance looks like and which activities are included.
- Identify obligations and risks. Record the relevant requirements and uncertainties with the people who understand the work.
- Connect controls to their purpose. Explain which risk or requirement each control addresses. Remove ambiguity about what evidence demonstrates completion.
- Assign accountable owners. Specify who operates each control, who reviews it and who handles exceptions.
- Test a small sample. Follow a real transaction through the process. Look for missing approvals, unclear evidence or steps that people cannot perform consistently.
- Track actions and review results. Give each improvement an owner and due date, and revisit whether the change works.
Useful review measures could include overdue corrective actions, repeat exceptions and controls that lack evidence. Choose measures that inform decisions. Counting policies alone says little about whether people follow them.
What does GRC software do?
Depending on the product, software may help organise risks, controls, obligations, evidence and review tasks. Evaluate a system against the process you need to run: can it show ownership, connect records, track changes and produce reports people can use?
A tool cannot decide the organisation’s objectives or make an unsupported judgement reliable. Establish responsibilities and an evidence standard first, then assess which technology helps the team maintain them.
Common questions
Is GRC only relevant to large companies?
No. A smaller organisation can begin with a defined approval process, a concise record of its main risks and obligations, and scheduled reviews. The approach should fit the complexity of the work.
Does GRC eliminate risk or guarantee compliance?
No. It helps make responsibilities, evidence and decisions more consistent. Controls can fail, circumstances can change and findings still need investigation and action.
What training should a GRC team choose?
Match the course to the team’s work: risk assessment, internal controls, governance responsibilities, compliance monitoring or assurance. Compare the outlines in EPW’s auditing, governance and risk compliance courses, then identify the practical task you want participants to perform after training.
For more specific needs, review the published outlines for enterprise risk management, compliance management in regulated environments or GRC for senior leaders.
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