What to look for in the best GRC tools in 2024

GRC (governance, risk, and compliance) tools seamlessly blend governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) into a unified framework. These tools are designed to minimize security risks, ensure compliance, and streamline processes, making them indispensable for organizations of different sizes across many industries. 

By unifying governance and risk management with technological innovation, GRC solutions align IT with business goals, helping organizations achieve their objectives reliably while reducing uncertainty and meeting compliance requirements.

Besides avoiding penalties and adhering to regulations, the implementation of a GRC platform also encourages responsible operations, improved decision-making, and the cultivation of a growth-oriented, ethical culture. Without a GRC platform, organizations expose themselves to risks that could potentially threaten client data and the integrity of the organization. The cost of not implementing a GRC platform can be significant, outweighing the investment in such a system.

Key takeaways

• GRC tools integrate governance, risk management, and compliance, helping organizations align IT with business objectives, reduce risks, and ensure regulatory adherence.
• Key features to look for in GRC software include risk assessment management, compliance and policy management, and incident and audit management to optimize risk mitigation and compliance strategies.
• Thoropass stands out as a comprehensive GRC tool with features such as automated risk assessment capabilities, real-time compliance monitoring, integrated policy management, and robust incident response capabilities, making it a valuable asset for organizations aiming to enhance their governance, risk management, and compliance strategies.

Briefly: What is GRC (governance, risk and compliance)?

As a business function, Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) is responsible for:

• Governance: Steering organizational governance structures
• Risk: Assessing and addressing risks effectively
• Compliance: Maintaining consistent compliance with legal regulations

GRC platforms facilitate tight-knit coordination between IT initiatives and business strategies while empowering organizations in their risk management endeavors and upholding compliance standards across various industries. 

Corporate governance within GRC is pivotal for ensuring organizations achieve their immediate objectives and long-range plans by monitoring fiscal goals, managing risks, and maintaining compliance.

What are GRC tools?

A GRC tool is a software solution that integrates governance, risk management, and compliance into a unified framework. These tools are designed to help organizations: 

• Align their IT activities with business objectives
• Manage risk effectively
• Ensure adherence to regulatory standards. 

By automating and streamlining processes related to risk assessment, policy management, and compliance, GRC tools enhance decision-making, improve data protection, and promote a culture of responsibility and ethical behavior. They are essential for organizations aiming to mitigate risks, avoid penalties, and maintain operational efficiency in a complex regulatory environment.

Five key features of a GRC tool

Understanding the critical functions necessary for effectively addressing your organization’s risk and compliance requirements is key when choosing the right GRC software for your organization. Vital features in any GRC tool include:

1. Risk assessment and management

Enterprise risk management features in a GRC tool help:

• Monitoring: Detect and prioritize risks and monitor programs aimed at mitigating risk. This includes evaluating vendor reliability, analyzing potential threats posed by third parties, and ensuring that all external entities comply with the organization’s risk protocols.
• Risk assessments: Conduct thorough risk assessments (including cyber risk management), identify vulnerabilities, and implement strategic measures to mitigate potential threats. These assessments also include ongoing monitoring and review to adapt to new and emerging risks.
• Prioritizing risks, weighing strategic and compliance inputs: Integrated risk management includes delivering a comprehensive perspective of all potential risks. By providing a holistic view of the risk landscape, organizations can prioritize their risk management efforts, allocate resources effectively, and ensure that no potential threat is overlooked.
• Empowering decision-making: Real-time risk data and analytics enable quick and informed decision-making, allowing organizations to respond swiftly to changing risk conditions and minimize the impact of any adverse events.
• Enhancing communication: Effective risk management requires coordination among various departments, ensuring that everyone is aware of the risks and their roles in mitigating them. This fosters a culture of risk awareness and proactive management.
• Supporting regulatory compliance: Risk management tools help organizations stay compliant with industry standards and regulations by ensuring that all risk-related processes and controls are documented, monitored, and regularly reviewed.
• Promoting continuous improvement: By regularly reviewing and updating risk management strategies, organizations can adapt to new challenges and improve their risk mitigation efforts over time, ensuring long-term resilience and stability.

2. Compliance processes and policy management

Policy management and compliance capabilities ensure that practices are in accordance with regulatory mandates and industry norms. Controls are designated, evidence is collected, and compliance tasks are monitored continuously through automated processes, thereby simplifying adherence to compliance obligations.

Effective policy management involves the creation, dissemination, and maintenance of policies and procedures that guide organizational behavior. This includes ensuring that all employees are aware of and understand these policies, which can be facilitated through automated policy distribution and acknowledgment tracking.

Compliance management, on the other hand, focuses on ongoing adherence to legal and regulatory requirements. This involves regular audits, assessments, and updates to compliance programs to reflect changes in laws and regulations. Automated compliance management tools can help organizations stay ahead of compliance deadlines, reduce the risk of non-compliance, and provide a clear audit trail for regulatory bodies.

Policy and compliance management tools often include features such as:

• Policy library: A centralized repository for all organizational policies, making it easy to access and update documents.
• Version control: Tracking changes to policies over time to ensure that the most current versions are in use.
• Automated workflow management: Streamlining the policy approval process and ensuring that all necessary reviews and approvals are completed in a timely manner.
• Training and certification: Ensuring that employees receive necessary training on relevant policies and can certify their understanding and compliance.
• Reporting and analytics: Providing insights into compliance status and policy adherence across the organization.

By integrating these capabilities, organizations can ensure that their policies are up-to-date and compliant and that they are effectively communicated and enforced throughout the organization.

3. Audit management

The audit management capabilities to look for in a GRC tool include:

• Streamlining the process of evidence collection: This involves automating the gathering of necessary documents and data, ensuring that all relevant information is collected efficiently and accurately, thereby reducing the time and effort required from audit teams.
• Linking gathered evidence to specific controls for easier management: By associating evidence with specific regulatory or internal controls, organizations can quickly demonstrate compliance and address any gaps identified during the audit process, making it easier to track and verify compliance efforts.
• Automating audit workflows for efficiency: Automation reduces manual effort, minimizes errors, and accelerates the audit process, allowing audit teams to focus on more strategic tasks. This includes scheduling audits, sending notifications, and generating audit reports automatically.
• Providing real-time insights into audit progress: Real-time dashboards and reporting tools offer visibility into the status of audits, helping organizations track progress, identify bottlenecks, and ensure timely completion. This transparency aids in proactive decision-making and swift resolution of issues.
• Enhancing collaboration among audit teams: By providing centralized platforms for communication and document sharing, audit management tools facilitate better coordination and collaboration among team members. This ensures that all stakeholders are aligned and informed throughout the audit process.
• Ensuring comprehensive audit documentation: Detailed records of audit activities, findings, and resolutions are maintained, supporting transparency and accountability. This documentation is crucial for future reference, regulatory reviews, and continuous improvement of audit practices.

Utilizing these features enhances an organization’s internal audit management, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and maintaining a robust internal control environment. By leveraging advanced audit management capabilities, organizations can not only streamline their audit processes but also strengthen their overall governance and risk management framework.

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4. Incident management

Incident management capabilities are essential for promptly addressing and mitigating any disruptions or threats to an organization’s operations. Key features to look for include:

• Real-time monitoring and alerts: Continuously monitor systems and processes to detect incidents as they occur, providing immediate alerts to relevant stakeholders.
• Incident reporting and documentation: Streamline the process of reporting incidents, ensuring comprehensive documentation for analysis and future reference.
• Response coordination: Facilitate coordinated responses across different departments, ensuring swift and effective resolution of incidents.
• Root cause analysis: Conduct thorough investigations to identify the root causes of incidents, enabling the development of strategies to prevent recurrence.
• Post-incident review: Evaluate the handling of incidents to identify lessons learned and areas for improvement, enhancing the overall incident management process.

By integrating these capabilities, GRC tools enhance an organization’s ability to manage incidents efficiently, minimize impact, and maintain operational stability.

5. Vendor risk management

Vendor risk management and third-party risk management capabilities are essential for organizations that rely on third-party vendors for various services. Key features to look for in GRC tools include:

• Vendor assessment and onboarding: Before onboarding, conduct thorough assessments of potential vendors to ensure they meet your organization’s standards and regulatory requirements.
• Continuous monitoring: Implement ongoing monitoring of vendor performance and compliance to quickly identify and address any emerging risks.
• Risk scoring and reporting: Utilize risk scoring systems to evaluate the risk levels associated with different vendors, providing clear and actionable insights for decision-making.
• Contract management: Streamline the management of vendor contracts, ensuring that all agreements are up-to-date and compliant with relevant regulations.
• Incident response coordination: Facilitate coordinated responses to incidents involving vendors, ensuring swift and effective resolution to minimize impact on operations.

By integrating these capabilities, GRC tools enhance an organization’s ability to manage vendor-related risks efficiently, ensuring a secure and compliant supply chain.

How to choose the right GRC tool

Choosing the right GRC tool requires a thorough assessment of an organization’s needs, careful scrutiny of the software capabilities, and consideration of both costs and potential return on investment.

Assess your organizational needs

Evaluating your organization’s needs entails pinpointing precise objectives and necessities to guarantee that the selected GRC tool meets your requirements. This procedure involves engaging with operations executives and management personnel to grasp the existing GRC efficacy, understand present and future goals and needs, and develop scoring criteria for tools you’ll consider.

Evaluate software features

When assessing software capabilities, it’s crucial to: 

• Weigh the features on offer
• Scrutinize how well the proposed solution will integrate with your current enterprise management systems 
• Consider the amount of time required for onboarding. 

The tool in question should be able to accommodate a diverse array of GRC (Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance) scenarios while boasting robust integration potential with established business software.

Considering cost and ROI

When assessing the cost and return on investment, consider these decision criteria:

• Returns on investment over an extended period
• Costs associated with staff operating the platform
• Duration of implementation process
• Both immediate and ongoing expenses, which encompass maintenance and the ability to scale
• Costs associated with a potential data breach due to mismanagement of Company risk.

Taking into account these considerations will help confirm that your selected GRC tool provides sustained value.

Pro-tip: Put Thoropass on your shortlist!

Thoropass is a standout GRC tool that offers a comprehensive suite of features designed to enhance governance, risk management, and compliance efforts. Here are some of the key features that set Thoropass apart in this category:

• Subject matter experts to partner with your in-house team: Thoropass is developed and supported by a team of seasoned professionals with extensive experience in governance, risk management, and compliance. This ensures that the tool incorporates industry best practices and cutting-edge solutions.
• Automated risk assessment: Thoropass provides automated risk assessment capabilities that help organizations identify, evaluate, and prioritize risks efficiently. This feature ensures that risk management efforts are proactive and data-driven.
• Real-time compliance monitoring: Our software ensures that your organization stays up-to-date with regulatory changes and maintains continuous compliance. This feature reduces the risk of non-compliance and potential penalties.
• Integrated policy management: Thoropass offers integrated policy management tools that streamline the creation, distribution, and maintenance of organizational policies. This ensures that all employees are aware of and adhere to the latest policies and procedures.
• Incident response and management: Thoropass includes robust incident response and management capabilities, allowing organizations to quickly address and mitigate any disruptions or threats. This feature is essential for maintaining operational stability and minimizing impact.
• Vendor risk management: Thoropass enables comprehensive vendor risk management processes with features including vendor assessment, continuous monitoring, and risk scoring. This helps organizations manage third-party risks effectively and ensure a secure supply chain.
• Customizable dashboards and reporting: Thoropass offers customizable dashboards and reporting tools that provide real-time insights into risk and compliance status. This feature enables organizations to make informed decisions and track progress effectively.
• AI-driven insights: Thoropass leverages artificial intelligence to provide predictive analytics and insights, helping organizations anticipate risks and make data-driven decisions more effectively.
• Robust integrations with the tools you already use: Thoropass offers seamless integrations with various business systems and third-party applications, ensuring a cohesive and streamlined workflow that enhances overall efficiency and data consistency.
• User-friendly interface: Thoropass is known for its user-friendly interface, making it easy for organizations to navigate and utilize the tool effectively. This reduces the learning curve and enhances user adoption.

By incorporating these features, Thoropass positions itself as a leading GRC tool that not only meets but exceeds the needs of organizations looking to enhance their governance, risk management, and compliance strategies. Want to learn more? Watch a demo here.

Implementing GRC tools

Successful implementation and ongoing improvement of GRC tools require meticulous planning, thorough preparation, and continuous support to ensure their effective and enduring adoption.

Planning and preparation

The planning and preparation phase involves examining current mechanisms related to Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance (GRC), setting clear objectives, and involving relevant stakeholders in the process. Developing a roadmap for GRC implementation guarantees that it is in sync with the business’s aims while also securing commitment from organizational leaders.

Training and support

Prioritizing training and support is essential for the successful implementation of a GRC strategy. Educate employees through internal training sessions on the nuances of the GRC approach and seek out tools that provide robust customer service and extra features.

Continuous improvement

Periodic risk assessments, consistent evaluations, and timely updates are crucial for the continuous improvement of the GRC strategy to account for new risks and shifts in regulatory landscapes. Ensuring that employee feedback is collected guarantees that the GRC framework stays efficient and reactive.

Conclusion: The right GRC tool is a strategic investment

Investing in the right GRC tool is not just a compliance measure but a strategic decision that can help your organization scale effectively. As organizations grow and evolve, GRC tools provide the necessary infrastructure to manage increased complexity, ensuring that operations remain efficient and compliant.

Moreover, the future of GRC tools is promising, especially in an evolving risk landscape influenced by advancements in AI and technology. These tools are expected to become even more sophisticated, leveraging AI to provide predictive analytics, real-time risk assessments, and automated compliance monitoring. By adopting a forward-thinking approach and investing in GRC tools today, organizations can position themselves at the forefront of governance excellence, ready to navigate future challenges with confidence and agility.

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