Build governance and policy into the way your organization works.

Most organizations already have policies, committees, and risk registers. They also run audits and approvals.

The problem is often how these parts connect. A policy may sit in one repository and the risk register in another. Teams may document controls separately. Evidence may live in email or spreadsheets. Findings may move through yet another workflow.

The result is plenty of governance activity with no clear picture from start to finish. Para takes a different approach.

We treat governance as one connected system. Work moves clearly from a requirement to a decision, then to action and evidence. Reporting and follow-up close the loop.

Governance must be executable

People need to know who decides and who owns each control. Approval and escalation routes must be clear enough to use.

A governance model should answer:

• Who decides?
• Who owns the policy?
• Who performs the control?
• Who reviews the evidence?
• Who approves exceptions?
• Who is accountable when something goes wrong?
• How do issues get escalated?

Evidence and visibility matter

Good governance needs more than the right policy.

Organizations need to know:

• What do we need to do?
• What have we finished?
• What is still open?
• Who owns the action?
• What evidence supports the status?
• What has someone reviewed?
• What has someone approved?
• What is overdue?
• What needs management attention?

Structured information and reports give you this view. They turn governance from a periodic task into ongoing management.

Governance should connect to the flow of work

Policies and controls work best inside the processes where decisions and tasks really happen.

Where it fits, Para helps link governance requirements to:

• Workflows
• Approvals
• Tasks
• Forms
• Notifications
• Business processes
• Evidence capture
• Reporting
• Escalation

This cuts manual follow-up and makes governance easier to run.

Advisory should lead to operating change

A governance assessment is only the start.

The target model and roadmap should lead to a practical plan you can implement.

That is why Para links advisory work to delivery and ongoing support.

What we help solve

GRC & Policy Advisory suits organizations whose governance teams need to work better together. It also suits those that want a modern way to manage policy and risk.

• Fragmented policies and procedures Policies sit in many places, and each department handles them its own way. Result: People struggle to know which document is current or what they must do.
• Manual approvals and acknowledgements Policy approvals and sign-offs rely on email and manual chasing. Result: Governance becomes hard to track and harder to prove.
• Disconnected risk and control management Teams keep risks and controls in separate places. Result: Nobody can easily link a risk to the controls and evidence behind it. Teams also struggle to see what to do when something changes.
• Findings that are difficult to close Audit findings move through separate processes. Result: Teams lose track of who owns each finding and when it is due.
• Limited management visibility Executives and governance committees lack a consistent view of: risk exposure, control status, policy lifecycle, open findings, overdue actions, exceptions, evidence, governance performance. Result: Single issues tend to grab management's attention. Leaders lack a clear picture of the overall governance position.
• Governance functions using different languages Privacy, security, and risk teams may each use their own terms and reporting models. Result: Governance splits apart along organizational lines.
• Technology before operating model Organizations choose a GRC tool before they agree on the governance model it should support. Result: The technology copies unclear processes instead of improving them.
• Governance that is difficult to maintain Teams design processes for the first rollout but not for the years that follow. Result: Governance falls out of date as the organization and its regulations change.

What the work looks like

Design the governance model behind controlled execution

Para shapes the advisory scope around the governance results you need.

The work can target a single governance problem. It can also grow into a wider operating model that spans several disciplines.

Governance Operating Model

Make clear how governance decisions get made and who answers for them.

Para can help define:

• Decision rights
• Governance forums
• Roles and responsibilities
• Accountability
• Escalation paths
• Approval authorities
• Committee structures
• Reporting responsibilities
• How governance works across functions
• Alignment with enterprise goals

Outcome: A clearer governance structure that people can run.

Policy & Procedure Lifecycle

Manage policies as living business assets, not static documents.

Para can help set up:

• Policy ownership
• Drafting
• Review
• Approval
• Version control
• Publication
• Acknowledgement
• Exception management
• Periodic review
• Retirement and archiving
• Change and notification processes

Outcome: A controlled policy lifecycle with clear owners from creation to retirement.

Risk, Controls & Compliance

Link risks and obligations to the controls and tasks that manage them.

This can include:

• Risk registers
• Risk categories
• Control libraries
• Control ownership
• Compliance obligations
• Assessments
• Control testing
• Evidence
• Key Risk Indicators
• Actions
• Exceptions
• Management reporting

Outcome: A clear trail from each risk to the action management takes.

Audit, Findings & Actions

Build a clear path from finding to closure.

Para can help define processes for:

• Findings
• Observations
• Action plans
• Ownership
• Due dates
• Evidence
• Reviews
• Validation
• Extensions
• Escalation
• Closure
• Management reporting

Outcome: Findings turn into managed actions with clear owners and measurable progress.

Data Governance & Privacy

Governance now depends on knowing who owns information and how people should use it. It also depends on managing its quality and lifecycle.

Where relevant, Para can support:

• Data ownership
• Stewardship
• Data policies
• Metadata
• Data quality duties
• Privacy duties
• Access and lifecycle rules
• Data governance roles
• Monitoring requirements

Outcome: Clearer accountability for information and the governance around it.

GRC Workflow & Reporting Enablement

Turn the agreed operating model into practical technology requirements.

This can include:

• Repository requirements
• Workflow design
• Metadata structures
• Forms
• Approval processes
• Notifications
• Escalation
• Dashboards
• Management reporting
• Integration requirements
• Access controls
• Audit trails

Outcome: A clear bridge between the governance model and the technology that runs it.

People, Process, Data, and Technology

Para uses the People + Process + Data + Technology value chain to keep governance tied to execution.

A GRC platform cannot make up for unclear accountability. A policy repository cannot fix a broken approval process. A dashboard cannot create governance where nobody owns anything.

All four parts need to work together.

People

The people who make governance happen day to day.

This can include:

• Executive sponsors
• Governance committees
• Policy owners
• Risk owners
• Control owners
• Data owners
• Data stewards
• Reviewers
• Approvers
• Audit teams
• Compliance teams
• Business owners
• Transformation teams

Process

The processes that put governance into practice.

This can include:

• Policy lifecycle
• Risk assessment
• Control testing
• Issue management
• Approvals
• Exceptions
• Evidence collection
• Findings management
• Action tracking
• Escalation
• Review
• Closure
• Continuous improvement

Data

The information you need to understand and manage governance.

This includes:

• Policies
• Procedures
• Risks
• Controls
• Obligations
• Findings
• Actions
• Evidence
• Exceptions
• Ownership
• Metadata
• Status
• KPIs
• KRIs
• Reporting structures

Technology

The platforms and services that run governance processes.

Depending on the target setup, this may include:

• Microsoft 365
• SharePoint
• Power Platform
• Power BI
• Workflow and automation
• Custom applications
• APIs
• Integration services
• Cloud platforms
• Access controls
• Governance and reporting platforms

How Para works

From current evidence to governance you can carry out.

Para's advisory approach starts by understanding where you are today. We then define a practical operating model and a path to put it in place.

• Envision Understand the results governance needs to support. Para starts by learning your:
  • Enterprise goals
  • Strategic priorities
  • Governance pressures
  • Business risks
  • Existing governance structures
  • Key stakeholder expectations
  • Desired outcomes
  We want to know why governance needs to change. We look beyond which technology needs replacing.
• Align Set the scope and limits of governance. Agree which areas are in scope across:
  • Policy
  • Risk
  • Controls
  • Compliance
  • Data
  • Privacy
  • Audit
  • Technology
  • Business operations
  At this stage, Para also clarifies who owns each area and who makes the decisions.
• Evaluate Learn what works, what does not, and why. Assess the current state across:
  • Governance structures
  • Policies
  • Processes
  • Roles
  • Systems
  • Repositories
  • Workflows
  • Reporting
  • Evidence
  • Manual effort
  • Data quality
  • Integration
  • Technology limitations
  Find the gaps and the practical chances to improve.
• Direct Set the target model and the path forward. Turn the assessment into:
  • Target governance operating model
  • Roles and responsibilities
  • Decision rights
  • Policy lifecycle
  • Risk and control processes
  • Findings and action management
  • Workflow requirements
  • Reporting model
  • Technology direction
  • Prioritized roadmap
  • Implementation work packages
  The roadmap should separate quick wins from longer-term change.
• Monitor Support governance as it becomes part of daily work. Where the engagement includes it, Para can support:
  • Implementation
  • Governance reporting
  • Action follow-up
  • Workflow adoption
  • Performance monitoring
  • Issue resolution
  • Refining the operating model
  • Continuous improvement
  We make sure the governance model stays useful as the organization changes.

A GRC platform cannot make up for unclear accountability. A policy repository cannot fix a broken approval process. A dashboard cannot create governance where nobody owns anything.

What you get

Practical outputs that help you decide and deliver.

Executives and governance committees lack a consistent view of:

• Risk exposure
• Control status
• Policy lifecycle
• Open findings
• Overdue actions
• Exceptions
• Evidence
• Governance performance

Result: Single issues tend to grab management's attention. Leaders lack a clear picture of the overall governance position.

Where it fits

Turn the governance model into the way work gets done.

Advisory should build a clear bridge into implementation.

Once you agree on the governance model, Para can put it into practice. We build the tools and workflows that make governance part of daily work.

Implementation should not redefine the governance model. It should support the model you agreed during advisory.

Solutions

Para can support implementation in areas such as:

• Governance, Risk & Compliance Bring your governance structures and evidence into one connected platform.
• Policy & Procedure Management Manage every policy in one controlled place, from first draft to retirement.
• Risk, Controls & Compliance Keep risks and controls together and test them regularly.
• Audit, Findings & Action Tracking Track each finding through to closure.
• Data Governance & Privacy Give your data clear owners and protect personal information where it is in scope.

Enterprise Services

Implementation can draw on Para's wider technology skills, including:

• Microsoft 365 & SharePoint
• Power Platform & Automation
• Power BI & Data, BI and Analytics
• Custom Applications & APIs
• Cloud & Integration
• Managed Application Support

Products & Platforms

Where relevant, Para can use reusable solutions and accelerators such as:

• Policy & GRC
• Related Para governance accelerators
• Reusable workflow components
• Reporting and dashboard patterns

Managed Services

Governance does not end when a workflow goes live.

Where agreed, Para can support:

• Governance program operations
• Application support
• Workflow support
• Reporting follow-up
• Issue resolution
• Release management
• Operational analytics
• Continuous improvement

This creates one lifecycle:

Advisory → Design → Implementation → Operation → Improvement

See how Para works for where this sits in an engagement.