Unlocking GRC Success: The Power of Entities in ServiceNow

Entities are a fundamental component of ServiceNow’s Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) module, serving as the foundation for effective risk management and compliance tracking.

In essence, entities represent the people, places, objects, or things that need to be monitored within an organization’s GRC framework.

Understanding Entities in ServiceNow GRC

Entities in ServiceNow GRC are dynamic categories that contain one or more items of a similar type, matching conditions against tables within the ServiceNow platform. These can include departments, business applications, locations, and more.

The entity framework forms the core data structure of the GRC solution, alongside policies, control objectives, risk statements, and risk frameworks.

Key Components of the Entity Framework

1. Entity Types: These are dynamic categories containing one or more entities of a similar type.
2. Entity Classes: Tags for entities that allow GRC managers to distinguish between entities, add business context, and organize for reporting.
3. Entity Class Rules: Rules that map what class should be assigned to an entity when created from a specific table within ServiceNow.
4. Entity Tiers: Assign levels to the entity class hierarchy, allowing for more granular organization.

Importance of Entities in GRC

Entities play a crucial role in ServiceNow GRC for several reasons:

1. Risk and Control Mapping: Entities serve as the subjects for risk assessments and control implementations. This allows organizations to effectively manage risks and controls across different aspects of their business.
2. Scalability: By using entities, organizations can manage hundreds or thousands of items from a centralized location (risks and control for example), making the process more scalable than using spreadsheets or low-tech solutions.
3. Automation: Entities enable automatic inheritance of control and risk systems for new processes, systems, or vendors, ensuring consistency and reducing manual effort.
4. Hierarchical Management: Entities support risk and compliance roll-up functionality, allowing for aggregation of risks and controls at different levels of the organization.
5. Compliance Tracking: Entities can be used to track compliance with regulations, policies, and standards across various business units or assets.

Benefits of Using Entities in ServiceNow GRC

1. Improved Visibility: Entities provide a clear view of the risk and compliance landscape across the organization, enabling better decision-making.
2. Efficiency: By automating risk assessments and control implementations, entities significantly reduce the time and effort required for GRC activities.
3. Consistency: Entities ensure a standardized approach to risk and compliance management across the organization.
4. Real-time Monitoring: With entities, organizations can perform real-time monitoring of risks and compliance status.
5. Better Resource Allocation: By clearly identifying high-risk areas through entity management, organizations can allocate resources more effectively.
6. Enhanced Reporting: Entities enable more comprehensive and accurate reporting on risk and compliance matters.

Best Practices for Using Entities in ServiceNow GRC

1. Plan Your Entity Structure: Before implementing entities, carefully plan your entity structure to align with your organization’s risk and compliance needs.
2. Use Entity Types Effectively: Create entity types that reflect your organization’s structure and risk landscape. For example, you might have entity types for critical IT assets, business applications, or departments.
3. Leverage Entity Classes: Use entity classes to add business context and improve reporting capabilities. This allows for more nuanced risk and compliance management.
4. Implement Entity Tiers: Use entity tiers to create a hierarchical structure that reflects the different levels of your organization. This can help in rolling up risks and controls effectively..
5. Automate Entity Creation: Where possible, use entity filters to automatically create entities based on data in your ServiceNow CMDB or other tables. This ensures your entity framework stays up-to-date with your IT landscape.
6. Align with Business Processes: Ensure your entity framework aligns with key business processes. For example, if you’re subject to SOX regulations, you might create an entity type for SOX Business Applications.
7. Regular Review and Update: Periodically review and update your entity framework to ensure it remains relevant and effective as your organization evolves.
8. Training and Communication: Ensure that all relevant stakeholders understand the entity framework and how to use it effectively. This includes risk managers, compliance officers, business unit leaders and more.
9. Integration with Other GRC Components: Integrate your entity framework with other GRC components such as risk assessments, control testing, and audit planning for a comprehensive GRC approach.

By following these practices and leveraging the full capabilities of entities in ServiceNow GRC, organizations can create a robust, efficient, and effective GRC program. This not only helps in managing risks and ensuring compliance but also provides valuable insights that can drive better business decisions and improve overall resilience.