Exam CAS-004 topic 1 question 554 discussion

A. Review risks and assign remediation activities to stakeholders. Once the risks have been identified and their potential impacts assessed, the next step is to actively manage those risks. This involves reviewing the risks, prioritizing them based on their potential impact and likelihood, and then assigning specific remediation activities or actions to relevant stakeholders. These actions might include implementing controls to mitigate, transfer, or accept the risks, and ensuring the organization is on track to address them effectively. Assigning responsibility ensures accountability and ensures the risks are addressed in a timely manner. NOT C. Perform a gap analysis against application regulatory requirements. A gap analysis against regulatory requirements might be important, but it's more focused on ensuring compliance with specific laws or standards (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, etc.), rather than directly addressing the identified risks. This step could come later in the risk management process if it becomes clear that compliance gaps are contributing to identified risks.

After identifying and assessing the risks, the logical next step is to review these risks, determine appropriate mitigation strategies, and assign the responsibility for addressing each risk to relevant stakeholders. This ensures that the identified risks are actively managed and that the organization can implement measures to reduce the impact or likelihood of those risks materializing. The other options—obtaining insurance, performing a gap analysis, and quantifying ROI—are useful but typically follow once specific risks have been addressed or as part of ongoing risk management strategies.

From the perspective of a compliance officer, whose primary responsibility is to ensure that the organization adheres to all relevant laws, regulations, and internal policies, the next logical step after identifying risks and assessing their impacts is to perform a gap analysis against applicable regulatory requirements.