Question: Are compliance and audit metrics defined, measured, and reported to management?
Why This Matters
Without measurable indicators, compliance remains a checkbox exercise. Metrics quantify progress, resource needs, and control effectiveness.
Maturity
0 — Unaware
No compliance KPIs or dashboards.
No compliance KPIs or dashboards.
1 — Ad Hoc
Manual counts of audits or findings.
Manual counts of audits or findings.
2 — Defined
KPIs and targets established for reviews and closures.
KPIs and targets established for reviews and closures.
3 — Managed
Dashboards generated monthly and reviewed by management.
Dashboards generated monthly and reviewed by management.
4 — Integrated
KPIs linked to risk tolerance and objectives.
KPIs linked to risk tolerance and objectives.
5 — Optimized
Predictive analytics forecast control failures and trends.
Predictive analytics forecast control failures and trends.
How to Level Up
| From → To | Actions |
|---|---|
| 0 → 1 | Record Number of audits and open findings. |
| 1 → 2 | Define KPIs for closure rate, timeliness, and risk coverage. |
| 2 → 3 | Publish dashboard monthly and discuss in governance meetings. |
| 3 → 4 | Align metrics with enterprise KRIs. |
| 4 → 5 | Add predictive analytics for compliance forecasting. |
Enablers
- People: Compliance Officer, Risk Manager, CISO
- Process: Define → Collect → Report → Improve
- Technology: BI tool (Grafana / Metabase), GRC database
Evidence
- KPI list and target values
- Monthly dashboard or reports
- Management review minutes
KPIs
- Number of audits completed vs planned
- Percentage of findings closed within SLA
- Average compliance score per domain
Low-Cost / Open-Source Options (MSME)
| Purpose | Tool | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dashboards | Metabase / Grafana | Visualize KPIs |
| Data ETL | n8n | Automate updates |
| Tracking | Airtable | Simple metric registry |
Common Pitfalls
- KPIs defined but never tracked
- Reports not shared with management
- Metrics not tied to risk objectives
Compliance Mapping
| Standard | Clauses / Notes |
|---|---|
| ISO/IEC 27001 | 9.1 (Monitoring and measurement) / 9.3 (Review) |
| DPDP Act 2023 | Sec 10 (Accountability metrics) |
| NIST CSF 2.0 | GV.MA / IM.ME |
| NIRMATA Mapping | CA-Q09 quantifies compliance performance. |