GRC Engineering

In this article, Ayoub Fandi examines how organizations can unlock untapped value in their existing GRC platforms by applying an engineering mindset rather than defaulting to new tools or costly overhauls. Drawing on practical experience, he explores why most GRC platforms remain significantly underused and how data optimization, strategic integrations, and workflow design can transform them from passive documentation systems into active drivers of risk and control execution.

In this latest article, Ayoub Fandi dissects a familiar but rarely challenged flaw in many GRC programs: controls designed to satisfy auditors first and protect the business second. Drawing on real-world examples from access management, vulnerability management, and application security, Fandi argues that compliance-driven control design too often results in security theater and controls that generate clean audit evidence while leaving real risks untouched. He makes the case for flipping that priority, showing how controls built around actual threats and business risk naturally produce compliance as an outcome, not an objective.

Ayoub Fandi’s latest contribution to the GRC Report examines how organizations can transform their GRC programs from compliance-focused operations into risk-driven decision engines. He breaks down why the traditional model falls short and presents a practical, engineering-led framework that shifts the focus toward measurable risk reduction and meaningful business impact.