Risk in motion: How to build a GRC program that moves as fast as your risks

Risk never stands still. From the rise of artificial intelligence to the ongoing volatility of global supply chains, the pace of change is relentless. Yet many organizations still manage risk as if the world hasn't changed, relying on periodic reviews, siloed data, and static reports.

These traditional practices may look structured, but they create a false sense of security. They give the appearance of control while masking the truth: risk exposure today is dynamic, interconnected, and fast-moving. If your governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) program isn't built to move at that same pace, you're always one step behind.

As Michael Rasmussen of GRC 20/20 and a GRC Fellow with OCEG™ has stated, "Organizations must be agile and resilient in today's dynamic, distributed, and disrupted business environment."

Agility in GRC means shortening the time between signal and response—weekly visibility cycles, defined owners, and clear handoffs—so decisions happen in hours or days, not months. It's a working cadence, not a slogan.

Static risk management can't keep up

Legacy GRC frameworks assumed that quarterly and annual reports were enough. But today, risk can transform overnight.

In every transformation I've led, the same pattern appears: risks move faster than our review cycles. The trap isn't lack of structure; it's static structure. If your risk management program operates on periodic snapshots, you're managing yesterday's risk.

A single cyber incident can escalate in hours. A regulatory amendment can shift obligations before your next board meeting. A supplier disruption on one continent can halt operations on another within days.

Spreadsheets, heatmaps, and manual control logs simply can't keep up. They freeze risk in time. They tell you what your risk looked like last quarter, not what's happening right now.

Recent work by Accenture reported in "Reinventing Risk Management" (September 2025) underscores the point: risk exposure is moving faster than legacy response cycles, and leaders are reinventing operating models to keep pace. In a survey of senior finance, risk, and compliance leaders at large North American financial institutions, fewer than half rated their capabilities as "leading," and 40% did not consider themselves fully prepared for shocks on the scale of recent crises. Accenture also highlights the mounting cost of slow response, with over $15B in fines since 2020 despite $60B+ spent annually on financial-crime compliance, and the agility upside from data/AI and risk-by-design approaches.

The takeaway: close the signal-to-decision gap (such as KRI breach, incident, or regulatory notice), don't just add more controls.

Studies by McKinsey & Company and the Institute of Risk Management have additionally shown that organizations using integrated, real-time risk data recover faster from disruptions and make better strategic decisions.

The message is clear: agility in risk management is no longer optional, it's essential.

Seeing risk as a living, agile system

Modern GRC needs to operate as a living system, one that senses, adapts, and improves continuously. At Protecht, we call this approach risk in motion.

It means shifting from static reviews to continuous cycles of visibility and feedback. Practically, this involves integrating six foundational components so they work in sync rather than in isolation.

• Risk and Control Self-Assessments (RCSAs) – conducted frequently to reflect live conditions, not just annually
• Metrics and Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) – used as early warning signals, not retrospective measures
• Incident and near-miss management – linked directly to control improvements and learning
• Controls Assurance – tested regularly for real-world effectiveness
• Issues and Actions – tracked transparently with accountability across teams
• Compliance and attestations – embedded into everyday workflows rather than treated as standalone exercises

When these components turn together, they create a self-reinforcing cycle of learning and adaptation, a connected ecosystem of assurance that mirrors how risk actually behaves.

Agility shows up operationally in three ways: faster cadence (RCSAs and controls tested on a rolling schedule), lower latency (KRIs and incidents feeding owners in real-time workflows), and tighter connection (issues and actions linked so fixes change exposure, not just status). The six components work most efficiently and effectively when they reinforce those three agility levers.

Measured weekly, connected daily: that's what 'agile GRC' looks like in practice.

Acting on weak signals before they become losses

The most resilient organizations don't wait for incidents, they act on early indicators. Continuous KRIs, integrated incident data, and linked assurance activities make it possible to detect weak signals early.

A financial institution I worked with noticed unusual trends in trade approvals through automated KRI monitoring. The insight led to an immediate investigation and the discovery of a control configuration issue that could have resulted in unauthorized trades.

Another example comes from healthcare. A provider analyzing linked incident data spotted a cluster of minor safety near-misses. By retraining staff and improving equipment maintenance, they prevented what might have become a major event months later.

In both cases, the lesson is the same: visibility combined with engagement builds resilience.

From reactive to resilient

When risk management becomes dynamic and connected, it transforms from a compliance function into a driver of performance.

Organizations that adopt a risk in motion model report:

• Fewer control failures and audit findings
• Stronger strategic alignment between risk appetite and business objectives
• Greater transparency for boards and executives
• Faster, more confident decisions at every level

A simple way to track progress: measure median time from signal (KRI breach or incident) to a documented decision—and aim to cut it in half each quarter. The aim is not to eliminate risk but to understand it, so you can take smarter risks in pursuit of growth.

Start small, move fast

Transforming your GRC framework doesn't mean rebuilding everything at once. The best place to start is where visibility is weakest, perhaps in incident tracking, control testing, or metrics, and expand from there.

Each connection adds value. Each integration moves your program closer to being a living system. The goal isn't perfection; it's progress.

Risk is always in motion. The only question is whether you can see it coming.

Learn more

Protecht's Risk in Motion guide explores how to modernize your risk ecosystem step by step, with practical examples and checklists drawn from real-world GRC transformations.

Download the Risk in Motion guide, watch our on-demand webinar, Risk in Motion: Seeing risk before the incident and explore our knowledge hub for checklists and dashboards.

How Protecht supports agility in GRC: Our ERM platform unifies those six components—KRIs, incidents, controls assurance, and actions—so signals flow into decisions. Teams get weekly cycles by design: owners, alerts, audit trail, and board-ready views.

About the author

Terence Lee is Vice President for North America at Protecht. With more than two decades of experience helping organizations strengthen governance and risk capability, Terence specializes in translating complex GRC frameworks into practical, connected systems that drive performance and resilience.