The Primary Benefit of Aligning Audit, Risk, and Security Functions for Executive Management

C.

When audit, risk, and security functions are aligned, it means that these functions are working together to achieve common objectives. This alignment is crucial for organizations to achieve effective governance and risk management.

The primary benefit to executive management when these functions are aligned is more effective decision-making (Option C). This is because the alignment ensures that executives have access to timely, relevant, and accurate information about risks and security threats facing the organization. This information enables executives to make informed decisions about how to allocate resources, prioritize initiatives, and manage risks to achieve their objectives.

For example, if the audit function identifies a significant risk related to a particular system or process, the risk management function can work with the security function to assess the risk and develop appropriate controls to mitigate the risk. The alignment of these functions ensures that the organization is better prepared to prevent or respond to incidents, reducing the likelihood of disruption to business operations and reputation damage.

In addition to more effective decision-making, there are other benefits to aligning audit, risk, and security functions. These benefits include:

• More efficient incident handling (Option A): When these functions are aligned, incident response processes are more streamlined and coordinated, allowing for more efficient and effective incident handling.
• More timely risk reporting (Option D): When these functions work together, risk reporting is more timely and accurate, enabling executives to make informed decisions about risk management.
• Reduced number of assurance reports (Option B): When these functions are aligned, there is greater coordination in the assessment of controls, reducing the need for multiple assurance reports.

In summary, the alignment of audit, risk, and security functions is critical to achieving effective governance and risk management. While there are several benefits to alignment, the primary benefit to executive management is more effective decision-making, which is achieved through access to timely, relevant, and accurate information about risks and security threats.