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Conducting a control effectiveness review

Reviews capture formal sign-off on controls, policies, and documents. Each review is requested, assigned to a reviewer, and either approved or sent back for changes.

Written by Harrison Kennedy

Reviews capture formal sign-off on controls, policies, and documents. Each review is requested, assigned to a reviewer, and either approved or sent back for changes. Open the Reviews page from admin sidebar → Governance → Reviews.

  • Reviews live at sidebar → Governance → Reviews

  • Tabs: My Reviews (assigned to me) and All Reviews (organisation-wide)

  • Each review applies to a Document, Control, or Policy

  • Reviewers can Approve or Request Changes

  • Effectiveness ratings (Effective, Partially Effective, Ineffective, Not Assessed) sit on each control's Effectiveness card


Opening Reviews

Admin sidebar → Governance → Reviews. The page shows two tabs:

  • My Reviews: reviews assigned to you

  • All Reviews: every review in your organisation


What each review row shows

Column

Meaning

Title

Title of the item being reviewed and a short note explaining why the review was requested

Type

Document, Control, or Policy

Requested

When the review was raised

Due Date

When a decision is required by

Click any row to open the review.


Approving or requesting changes

The review detail page opens in Review Mode with a banner at the top showing the requestor's notes. Two actions are available:

  • Request Changes: send the item back with feedback

  • Approve: confirm the item meets the requirements

Below the action banner, the full document or control is shown with its Status, Renewal, Review, and Frameworks cards, plus tabs for Evidence, Controls, Tasks, Comments, and Version History.


How effectiveness ratings work

Effectiveness sits on each control's Effectiveness card (open the control from the Controls page). Ratings:

  • Effective: the control is working as intended

  • Partially Effective: the control is in place but not fully working

  • Ineffective: the control is in place but not working

  • Not Assessed: the control has not been formally rated

To update a rating, click Update Rating on the control's Effectiveness card.


When reviews are triggered

Reviews are scheduled or triggered:

  • Scheduled: based on the control or document's renewal cadence

  • Audit-triggered: raised by an internal or external audit finding

  • Incident-triggered: raised after an investigation substantiates findings

The trigger is recorded in the review's Notes field at the top of the review page.


Related articles

  • The control library (4.2)

  • Assigning control owners and managing renewals (4.3)

  • Audit management (6.9)

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