Finding Owner
Definition
The individual or team accountable for implementing the corrective action specified in a management action plan. The finding owner is typically the manager of the business unit or system that controls the relevant process or technology, not the auditor or the security team.
- Role
- Accountable for implementing the corrective action
- Typical holder
- Manager of the affected business unit or system
- Not the owner
- The auditor or security team
Common questions
Why is the finding owner usually not the auditor who raised the issue?+
The auditor's role is independent assessment and reporting, not operating the control, so accountability for fixing the gap sits with the manager who runs the affected process or system, which also preserves the auditor's independence for future reviews.
What happens if a finding owner is not clearly assigned?+
Remediation tends to stall or get contested between teams, since no single person is answerable for the management action plan's deadline and completion, which is why formal remediation tracking always names an owner.
Related terms
- Closure Evidence
- Documentation that demonstrates a finding has been remediated. Acceptable evidence types vary by control: updated policies with effective dates, configuration screenshots, vulnerability...
- Follow-Up Verification
- An independent check, usually by internal audit or the compliance function, that reviews closure evidence and confirms the control gap has been...
- Management Action Plan (MAP)
- A formal document issued in response to an audit finding, recording the agreed corrective action, the accountable owner, the target closure date,...
- Recurring Finding
- An audit finding that has appeared in two or more consecutive audit cycles despite previous remediation commitments. Recurring findings indicate that the...
- Risk Acceptance
- A formal decision by an authorised senior manager to tolerate a finding without full remediation, typically because the cost of remediation exceeds...