Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC)
Build a security governance framework that gives leadership clear visibility into risk, aligns security investments with business priorities, and satisfies board reporting requirements. We help you move from reactive security spending to a structured program with defined ownership, measurable outcomes, and defensible decision-making.
Business-Aligned Security
Security governance structured around business objectives, risk appetite, and regulatory obligations rather than ad hoc technical decisions
Enterprise Risk Visibility
Consolidated risk register spanning IT, operational, third-party, and regulatory risk with consistent scoring methodology
Measurable Program Maturity
KPIs and maturity metrics that track progress over time and demonstrate ROI on security investments to leadership
Board-Ready Reporting
Executive dashboards and quarterly reports that translate technical risk into business language leadership can act on
From Ad Hoc Security to Structured Governance
Many organizations accumulate security tools and practices without a governing structure to ensure they work together, cover the right risks, and deliver measurable value. Our GRC service addresses this by establishing clear governance structures, a risk management methodology, and a policy framework that gives your security program strategic direction. We work with your CISO, CTO, and executive team to define risk appetite, assign ownership, and build the reporting mechanisms that keep leadership informed and accountable.
- Governance framework defining security roles, responsibilities, decision rights, and committee structures
- Enterprise risk assessment using quantitative and qualitative methods aligned with ISO 31000 and NIST RMF
- Policy framework covering information security, acceptable use, data classification, vendor management, and incident response
- Security metrics program with KPIs mapped to business objectives and automated data collection where possible
Governance Design
Risk Assessment
Policy Development
Security Metrics
How We Work
Structured approach to building governance that lasts
Assess Maturity
Evaluate your current governance structures, risk practices, and policy coverage against industry benchmarks
Design Framework
Define governance structures, risk methodology, policy framework, and metrics aligned to your business and regulatory context
Implement & Train
Deploy governance processes, populate the risk register, publish policies, and train stakeholders on their roles
Operate & Improve
Facilitate governance meetings, quarterly risk reviews, policy updates, and continuous maturity improvement
What You Get
Foundational documents and processes for a mature security program
Governance Framework Document
Security committee charters, RACI matrices, decision escalation paths, and meeting cadences defining who owns what
Enterprise Risk Register
Scored risk inventory with risk owners, treatment plans, residual risk ratings, and review schedules maintained in Imara or your GRC tool
Information Security Policy Library
Suite of policies covering access control, data classification, acceptable use, vendor management, incident response, and more
Security Metrics & KPI Program
Defined metrics with data sources, collection frequency, targets, and automated dashboards tied to business objectives
Executive Reporting Package
Board-ready templates covering risk posture, compliance status, program maturity, and security investment recommendations
Governance Training Materials
Training for security committee members, risk owners, and policy approvers on their governance responsibilities
GRC Assessment
Point-in-time evaluation of your governance maturity, risk posture, and policy coverage with a prioritized improvement roadmap.
Multi-month engagement to design and implement a complete GRC program including governance structures, risk methodology, and policies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Compliance advisory focuses on achieving specific certifications (SOC 2, ISO 27001, etc.). GRC is broader, encompassing the governance structures, risk management methodology, and policy framework that underpin your entire security program. A strong GRC foundation makes individual compliance efforts faster and more sustainable.
No. We can build your initial governance framework, risk register, and policies using spreadsheets and documents. When you are ready, we help you evaluate and implement a GRC platform (including Imara) to automate workflows, risk scoring, and reporting.
We facilitate workshops with leadership to define acceptable levels of risk across categories (financial, operational, reputational, regulatory). The output is a documented risk appetite statement with thresholds that guide risk treatment decisions across the organization.
A vCISO typically provides 2-4 days per month of security leadership. Activities include attending security committee meetings, reviewing risk register updates, preparing board reports, advising on security investments, and guiding compliance efforts. Think of it as a fractional CISO for organizations that need strategic leadership without a full-time hire.
We use established maturity models such as NIST CSF tiers, CMMI, or ISO 27001 maturity levels. We assess each domain (governance, risk, compliance, operations) and track improvement over time with specific metrics and milestone targets.
Yes. We design vendor risk management programs including vendor tiering criteria, due diligence questionnaires, risk scoring methodologies, and ongoing monitoring requirements. This is especially important for SOC 2 and ISO 27001 compliance.
We start by auditing your existing policy library against framework requirements and operational reality. We identify gaps, consolidate redundant documents, update outdated content, and fill missing areas. The result is a practical, maintainable policy library rather than shelf-ware.