GRC automation: What finally works for audit, risk, and compliance

Stakeholders in audit, risk, and compliance get told the same thing every year: automate more, cut manual work, streamline reporting. It’s because regulators move fast, and so do risks.

But let’s be clear. Most governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) tools still leave teams and auditees buried in spreadsheets, patchwork evidence hunts, and workflows that barely talk to each other. “Automation” often means another dashboard or a hasty integration that creates more work than it saves.

This cycle isn’t just familiar — it’s growing. The global GRC automation market was valued at $48.7 billion in 2023 and is expected to hit $179.5 billion by 2032, with annual growth topping 15%.

Here’s what you won’t hear at a vendor pitch: Genuine GRC automation isn’t about flooding your org with new widgets or banning manual tasks altogether. It’s about building trust in your data and your processes, so teams can anticipate issues, not just react, and leadership can finally see what matters most.

When automation connects audit, risk, and compliance — instead of leaving them to fight their own fires — something changes. Teams get proactive. Risks surface before they spiral. Instead of chasing evidence after hours, you have space to think strategically. The scramble for audit season starts to feel less like chaos and more like routine.

Most upgrades target symptoms without fixing the underlying friction. To see real progress, it’s worth asking where today’s automation meets (or misses) the realities of GRC work.

Why GRC automation efforts fall short

There’s a reason GRC stakeholders are still reliving the same pain points year after year, even as new tools and features hit the market. Most automation efforts promise transformation but end up layering shiny tech onto stubborn old problems. The spreadsheet becomes a dashboard, but the disconnects — and the late-night evidence chases — don’t budge.

Manual processes still dominate risk and compliance

The persistent presence of manual work is telling. Policies and controls are scattered, approvals drift between inboxes, and evidence collection hinges on personal memory more than process.

Many auditees and process owners recognize these habits aren’t sustainable, but the leap to something better requires more than plugging gaps with a new app. Effective GRC management demands a systematic approach to these repetitive tasks, not just digitizing paperwork. Jeff Wing, VP, Internal Audit, Thryv, says:

Automation is often fragmented or superficial

Plenty of platforms automate a single workflow or two, but they rarely accommodate the end-to-end experience. A point solution collects evidence in one corner, another automates reminders, yet the tangle remains. The result? Teams juggle more tools but still can’t stitch together a real-time understanding of risk or compliance.

Teams lack visibility into what’s working

In this maze, the true state of controls and risks is almost never clear. Data lives in silos, reports are built on partial information, and even well-intentioned automation can leave everyone guessing what’s actually working and what was just “marked complete.” Real visibility is critical. It takes more than checkboxes — it needs connected context with stakeholder awareness and ownership.

There’s a quiet shift underway, though. Leaders are starting to see that automation is only as strong as the connections it creates. The old way hasn’t vanished yet, but its days are clearly numbered.

How GRC automation supports strategic risk management

When done effectively, how exactly can automation support risk management? Here are just a few ideas.

Reducing manual work and audit fatigue

Manual tasks pile up fast. Collecting evidence, updating controls, chasing overdue approvals — it all adds up. Automation lifts that weight, and when systems collect evidence as work happens, audit prep goes from weeks to days.

For example, with automated evidence collection, you can eliminate duplicate requests and get what you need without manual searches. And with calendar, email, and messaging app integrations, you can schedule deadlines or set triggered notifications to particular stakeholders. Cut down on busywork and focus your energy on more meaningful, complex tasks — while also eliminating human error.

Enabling real-time risk monitoring and alerts

Speed matters. When a control fails or an incident appears, waiting for a monthly report costs time and reputation. Automated alerts point your team at the exact problems you need to solve now, not next quarter. Risk owners see what needs fixing and act fast, and leaders can get quick, accurate insights into the state of the audit and compliance programs.

Connecting audit, risk, and compliance workflows

Disjointed systems slow everyone down. Say audit evidence lives in one application while control testing is managed somewhere else: There’s bound to be redundant entries and tasks, as well as ample opportunity for human error.

Automation aligns platforms and apps, ensuring they all share the same information, updates, schedules, and so on, all without any manual upkeep. For instance, you can add a control test in one place and expect updated risk registers across your system. However, some processes — like risk scoring — may remain separate and require independent management.

Overall, this greater connection boosts collaboration between audit, risk, and compliance stakeholders: When compliance flags an issue, audit sees it instantly. This connected approach improves decision-making by giving stakeholders a complete picture of compliance requirements across the organization, even if some risk processes (such as scoring) are distinct.

Improving executive visibility and decision support

Executives need straight answers. How many open issues matter right now? Which controls failed last review? Automated dashboards deliver these answers without delay, saving you from digging through spreadsheets. Leaders can spot trends in historical data to pinpoint root causes, and they can make decisions backed by live data, rather than yesterday’s numbers.

Automate the right pain points, and teams shift from reacting to shaping outcomes. That’s how risk becomes manageable.

In fact, organizations using GRC automation solutions saw sharp gains in efficiency, with some running leaner teams and reporting fewer regulatory breaches.

Key areas of GRC that benefit from automation

Automation delivers the most value where GRC processes get repetitive or time-consuming. These are the places stakeholders see real impact.

Evidence collection and control testing

Modern GRC software excels at data collection that once took teams weeks to complete manually. Even jumping between emails and shared drives for documentation can waste hours.

By integrating with your existing tech stack, an effective GRC solution can connect with other source of truth systems to automatically pull evidence and remove manual processes entirely. So files and logs are pulled directly from systems as work happens, saving auditees and stakeholders considerable time.

Instead of relying on memory or calendar invites, control testing reminders arrive automatically, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks. And because auditors can access a comprehensive history in one place — not scattered across folders — teams save time and reduce mistakes. Elizabeth Folsom, Vice President and Chief Audit Executive, PSI, says:

Risk assessment and issue tracking

Risk isn’t static: When a new threat appears or a process changes, you need to know and act. Automated risk assessment tools flag new issues and assign owners automatically, status updates don’t slip through the cracks, and every change gets documented — so follow-up happens on time.

The best platforms identify potential risks before they escalate, from cybersecurity vulnerabilities to third-party risk exposures.

Policy management and exception reviews

Policies get updated, exceptions crop up, and without automation, it’s easy to miss who still needs to sign off. Automated policy workflows track which steps are done, who’s responsible, and when exceptions need a closer look to keep things moving smoothly.

Bottlenecks are more visible so you can correct them right away, and you can identify and remove duplicate exceptions for clearer, streamlined policies.

Regulatory mapping and compliance reporting

Strong GRC automation tools adapt quickly to regulatory changes, keeping your compliance processes current without constant manual updates.

Instead of reworking your controls from scratch, you can use automation to efficiently map your controls and accommodate updated requirements — though in many GRC platforms, these mapping updates still need to be triggered manually.

When it’s time for a regular audit, reports populate current data so you’re readily prepared and not scrambling to align last year’s evidence with this year’s expectations.

With automation in these areas, teams focus on the work that actually needs their expertise and spend less time chasing paper trails. Then they can tackle proactive compliance instead of endless catch-up.

What blocks effective GRC automation

Even with better tools, some hurdles slow down progress. Know where things get stuck to avoid common setbacks.

Over-automating without strategy or use cases

Throwing automation at every task can backfire. Too many workflows, alerts, or bots create more noise than clarity. Without a clear reason behind each step, teams ignore the system or work around it.

The lesson: only automate where it solves a real problem or adds value. Start small, test often, and expand based on results. A sound GRC strategy prioritizes the right processes to automate, rather than trying to optimize everything at once.

Siloed tools that don’t talk to each other

Disconnected software is a major roadblock. When risk lives in one system while compliance lives in another, and nobody shares updates, mistakes multiply. Teams double up on work or miss issues until audit season. Real progress comes when tools pass data and context with zero friction. Integration isn’t optional; it’s critical.

Skipping change management and team enablement

You can have the best tech and still fail if people aren’t on board. Automation that blindsides your team or breaks habits overnight won’t stick, and success hinges on clear training and feedback loops.

When developing your GRC framework, make adoption a priority, not an afterthought. Build adoption from the start, explain the why, and constantly check what’s working for the people doing the work. Engaging all stakeholders early improves both adoption and awareness, as well as ownership.

Blocking these pitfalls isn’t just smart IT. It’s what protects your investment and keeps automation from becoming another abandoned initiative.

How AuditBoard powers intelligent, connected GRC automation

Automation can’t deliver if it shaves only minutes off one team’s workflow or adds another dashboard to avoid. AuditBoard approaches automation differently by connecting every step, so audit, risk, and compliance teams finally pull in the same direction.

Workflows that automate evidence, risk, and reporting

AuditBoard can gather evidence from various systems as work happens through native integrations. For systems native integrations can’t accommodate, user-friendly REST APIs can still create convenient connections with your existing source of truth systems.

Control owners get reminders at the right time, not when it’s already a fire drill. Risk registers and audit trails update themselves as people do their actual work, and reports show progress in real time. No more manual rollups or copy-paste errors.

This approach supports stronger compliance programs by identifying potential control gaps before they become confirmed audit findings.

Integrated processes across audit, risk, and compliance

Disconnected tools create blind spots and extra work, so AuditBoard brings audit, risk, and compliance data into one workspace. When there’s a change in a control or an issue in risk management, everything is instantly updated across the platform, eliminating redundant entries, missed handoffs, and confusion about which system is the single source of truth.

Real-time dashboards for faster decisions

Executives and frontline staff can finally see the same data simultaneously. AuditBoard’s dashboards pull live updates from every workflow, making trends and issues visible as they develop.

No more decks built the night before the board meeting — just direct answers, exactly when you need them. These visibility improvements drive operational efficiency far beyond what spreadsheets could deliver.

Built to drive adoption — not just efficiency

Even the best automation fails without buy-in. AuditBoard focuses on usability, from clean interfaces to intuitive workflows. Teams actually use it because it feels familiar, not forced. Training is simple, and feedback drives updates.

As you evaluate your GRC platform options, user adoption metrics tell a more honest story than feature lists. High adoption rates mean automation delivers from day one, plus AuditBoard's approach to questionnaires and assessments makes even complex compliance work straightforward.

AuditBoard gives GRC stakeholders practical automation, connection, and control: The busywork reduces, visibility grows, and teams can finally focus on moving risk management forward. And as AI continues to reshape GRC, these connected platforms become even more valuable, catching patterns humans might miss.

The platform's scalability means your GRC program can evolve without outgrowing your tools.

Upgrade your GRC routine and feel the difference

GRC automation doesn’t have to be another checked box. When the right platform connects evidence, risk, and decisions, your team finally gains breathing room — and leadership gets answers before the questions are even asked.

Busywork shrinks, and audit chaos calms down. You get to focus on the real problems, not just keeping up.

Ready to clear the clutter and make your GRC program easier for everyone? See what connected automation feels like with AuditBoard.

Request a demo.

About the authors

Jimmy Pfleger, CISA, Kanban Certified (Agile), is a Manager of Product Solutions at AuditBoard and has over 11 years of IT Audit, Compliance & Security experience. He started his career at KPMG in the IT Advisory practice where he led external audit & assurance activities for some of the largest companies in the St. Louis area. In addition to managing the IT Internal Audit function at both Caleres & RGA, he also spent time as the Manager of Security Compliance at Express Scripts where he built and managed the SOC 2 program.