What is GRC?
Governance, Risk, and Compliance — A practical way to organize how a company is directed, how uncertainty is managed, and how obligations are met
The Three Pillars of GRC
Governance
How an organization makes decisions and ensures it is run responsibly.
• Roles and responsibilities
• Policies and standards
• Business process ownership
• Oversight and KPIs
Risk
Approach to identifying what could go wrong and deciding how to respond.
• Identify risks
• Assess impact × likelihood
• Respond (avoid, mitigate, transfer, accept)
• Monitor continuously
Compliance
Meeting requirements and being able to prove it through evidence and traceability.
• Define obligations
• Implement controls
• Maintain evidence
• Process traceability
How G, R and C Work Together
GRC works best when these three areas are connected.
Governance sets direction and accountability
Risk tells you what to prioritize and where controls are needed most
Compliance ensures obligations are met and evidence exists
Integrated Approach
When Governance, Risk, and Compliance work together, organizations achieve clear ownership, reduced uncertainty, and reliable evidence for decision-making and audits, with stronger controls, clearer accountability, and consistent execution.
Internal Control
The operational reality of governance and compliance: approvals, checks, segregation of duties, and monitoring activities that make sure processes run correctly.
GRC and Internal Control
Internal control is a core part of GRC. It represents the practical implementation of governance policies and compliance requirements.
In mature organizations, internal controls are embedded directly into business processes and supported by practical work instructions (SOPs) that guide employees on how to execute each task consistently and correctly.
Practical Examples in an ERP
In practice, GRC becomes real inside the systems where work happens — like an ERP
Automated Controls
• Approval workflows for purchases, payments, and discounts
• Controls on master data changes (vendors, bank accounts, payment terms)
• Segregation of duties (e.g., the same person can't create and pay a vendor)
Evidence & Guidance
• Exception handling with documented justification and traceability
• Step-by-step employee guidance embedded in the workflow
• Audit-ready evidence produced automatically through logs and approvals
Why It Matters
Fewer surprises: risks are identified earlier
Better decisions: governance clarifies ownership and priorities
Smoother audits: evidence exists and is easy to retrieve
More trust: customers, partners and regulators see reliability