GRC Metrics Executives Actually Care About

Control coverage by critical system

Executives want to know if high-impact systems are covered and monitored. Report coverage as a percentage of critical systems mapped to controls with owners assigned.

Evidence freshness

Stale evidence creates audit risk and signals process drift. Track how much evidence is current versus overdue by cadence. This metric is easy to explain and quick to action.

Issue aging and remediation time

Measure how long issues stay open and how quickly remediation tasks close. This shows whether risk is shrinking or compounding. Pair it with severity to focus attention where it matters.

Audit cycle time

Track the time from audit kickoff to report delivery. Reducing cycle time indicates mature workflows and better collaboration across teams.

Risk acceptances and exceptions

Executives care about the risks the business is choosing to accept. Report the number of active exceptions and their review dates to keep accountability high.

When metrics are focused, leaders can make clear tradeoffs. Choose a small set of indicators and update them consistently.