What is the purpose of “Aligned Assurance”? Aligned Assurance brings together functions such as Risk Management, Internal Controls, Compliance, and Governance.

In many organisations, these functions often operate in isolation. Each may have mature systems in place, but without horizontal integration, complexity and costs remain high while transparency across the organisation remains low.

Example:
During the development of an advanced park assist system, Risk Management, IT Security, and Compliance teams may each conduct separate risk assessments — on safety, cybersecurity, and compliance with EU digital regulations, such as the EU AI Act and Data Act. Because the work is uncoordinated, the same control logic is reviewed three times using different methods, causing duplicated testing, conflicting documentation, and project delays.

What exactly is being aligned?
Alignment focuses on clarifying who owns what and ensuring that all assurance functions work from the same foundations:

• Governance defines responsibilities and processes
• The Risk Management System identifies and tracks enterprise risks.
• The Compliance Management System ensures adherence to internal policies and external laws.
• The Internal Control System connects these processes through defined control checkpoints.

Example:
For the same park assist system, Governance ensures clear accountability for design, testing, and compliance approval. The Risk Management System logs technical, ethical, and data-related risks. Compliance oversees adherence to EU legal obligations. The Internal Control System ties it all together with uniform control checkpoints before system release.

Why is alignment important?
When assurance functions work in silos, boards see fragmented information, have no chance to understand the issue fully, and react too late. Integrated assurance gives leadership a full, timely picture of all implications of the issue and the proposed mitigation.

Example:
A consolidated dashboard displays a single overview of the park assist project:safety incidents, AI model fault findings, and compliance obligations under AI regulation. Leadership can immediately see that a change in how sensor data is stored (IT) affects transparency reporting under the Data Act and approve a coordinated mitigation plan.

Where does technology fit in?
A unified taxonomy and an integrated Governance, Risk and Compliance (iGRC) platform ensure that key terms and processes are used consistently across the organisation.

Example:
The product and compliance teams once used different definitions of “incident,”“deviation,” and “AI malfunction.” Through the unified iGRC taxonomy, these terms are standardised. Any issue in the park assist algorithm — whether identified in a safety test or a compliance audit — triggers the same corrective-action workflow in the GRC tool.

What role does the Governance Regulation Board play?
The Board ensures that all GRC functions participate actively in regulation management and that leadership oversight is properly documented.

Example:
Before approving market release of the park assist feature, the Governance Regulation Board convenes a joint review. Risk Management confirms testing coverage, IT verifies cybersecurity controls, and Compliance confirms documentation meets EU obligations. Accountability for each legal obligation is clearly delegated and traceable.

How does Internal Audit contribute?
Internal Audit is the independent third line of defence. It reviews how well the risk, control, and compliance systems operate together and reports directly to the company's Board.

Example:
Internal Audit conducts a thematic audit on “AI Lifecycle Governance” for the park assist system. It checks how Product Safety and IT perform risk assessments, whether compliance procedures meet EU obligations. The results feed back into risk registers, control improvements, and compliance updates, closing the feedback loop.

What changes once everything is connected?
With iGRC, risks, controls, and actions are interconnected through shared IT tools and a unified taxonomy. Leadership gains a single, decision-ready risk view.

And what is the ultimate value?
When the four assurance links are connected, they can act as strategic advisors to the company's Board and management, providing a coherent risk analysis and mitigation strategy from start to finish.