2025-06-11 • 4 min read
Most organizations maintain a risk register. Fewer actually use it.
If your risk register is rarely reviewed or updated, or if it feels disconnected from decisions, you are not alone. Here is how to change that.
Do not try to list every possible risk. Focus on 10 to 20 active risks that are actually meaningful to your business.
Update quarterly or after major changes. Review it during planning or product decisions. Keep it visible, not buried.
Every risk should have an owner and a next step. If no one owns it, it is not going to move.
This does not mean you need perfect mitigation plans. Even tracking investigation, acceptance, or scheduled review makes the register more useful.
If a risk exists in your register but has no impact on what you are monitoring or budgeting for, then it is just noise.
Use the register to justify security projects, inform control decisions, and support leadership reports.
Your risk register should not be a compliance document. It should be a strategic tool. Make it part of your conversations, not just your evidence binder.
If you want help making risk management more actionable, contact us.