STEP 9: Reassess and Remediate
Close the Loop & Strengthen Your Security
Passing an audit is just the beginning...
Close the loop. Strengthen your security. Build long-term audit readiness.
Passing an audit isn't the finish line. It's a milestone in a continuous cycle of improvement towards your long-term security and compliance posture.
After your audit, you’ll review audit findings, reassess any gaps, and take targeted action. This is where lessons learned become improvements made.
Whether you passed with flying colors or had a few non-conformities, this step turns that feedback into action—and momentum.
Close The Loop. Improve Continuously
Use this post-audit window to revisit assumptions, sharpen your controls, and strengthen your security and compliance posture. Address gaps, act on findings, and implement meaningful improvements.
Reassess What Matters
Review how your team performed, and identify gaps in documentation, execution, or communication.
Turn Insight Into Action
Remediate with Intention
Prioritize non-conformities or improvement areas that pose the highest risk or recur across frameworks.
Turn Insight Into Action
Elevate Your Program
Use findings to challenge assumptions, improve workflows, and boost organizational trust in the compliance function.
Turn Insight Into Action
Embed Continuous Improvement
Compliance isn’t a one-time event. Make it a routine—just like financial reviews or board reporting.
Turn Insight Into Action
Prepare for What’s Next
Now’s the time to plan your next step - surveillance audits, certification renewals, or expanding to a new framework.
Turn Insight Into Action
Corrective Action Plan
Build Your Plan
Your report may include non-conformities, observations, or recommendations, which should be addressed with a structured plan.
This document should outline the issue or finding, root cause, responsible parties, timeline for remediation, and ow success will be measured.
Initiate Corrective Actions
Ensure findings don’t become recurring issues. Corrective actions should be logged, assigned, and tracked.
Actions can include updating policies and documentation, deploying new controls, retraining, adjusting roles or responsibilities, and retesting to validate changes.
Seal the Audit. Set the Pace Forward
Once corrective actions have been implemented and verified, you’re ready to wrap up the audit process with confidence.
Before you celebrate, there are a few important final steps to ensure your audit closes strong—and your organization stays on track.
