External Assessment Framework (AUD-003-R001) - AUD-003

Requirement Details & Guidance

AUD-003-R001 · AUD-003

Why This Requirement Exists

This requirement exists to ensure governance and procedures for selecting, preparing for, conducting, and responding to external assessments is consistently governed, documented, and capable of producing reliable assurance. Without it, audit activities may be inconsistent, difficult to evidence, or insufficient to support management, regulatory, and stakeholder decisions.

Implementation Guidance

Document the required governance and procedures for selecting, preparing for, conducting, and responding to external assessments; assign accountable roles and approval points; define minimum records and evidence; apply the approved audit methodology and risk criteria; and retain evidence of execution and review. Periodically review the process for changes in organizational risk, regulatory expectations, and audit scope.

Practical Application & Audit Readiness

AUD-003-R001 · Field Guidance

Business Examples

Common Audit Findings

Common Mistakes

Best Practices & Ownership

AUD-003 · Recommended Approach

Recommended Practices

Typical Owner

Cross-Mapped Regulatory Frameworks

Harmonized Control Mappings

FRAMEWORK CODE	FRAMEWORK NAME & DETAILS	FAMILY / CATEGORY	VERSION	ACTION
COBIT2019	COBIT COBIT is an enterprise governance and management f... Clause: 4.5 – Monitor, Evaluate and Assess (MEA) > MEA04 – Managed Assurance > MEA04.01 – Ensure that assurance providers are independent and	COBIT Governance Framework	v2019	View →
DORA	Digital Operational Resilience Act The EU Digital Operational Resilience Act establis... Clause: Article 6(6) – Regular internal audit of ICT risk management framework	EU Regulation	vCurrent	View →
GDPR	General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) The General Data Protection Regulation is a bindin... Clause: Article 24(1) – Responsibility of the controller; Article 32(1)(d) – Testing, assessing and evaluating security measures	EU Regulation	vCurrent	View →
HIPAA	Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act HIPAA is a U.S. federal law supported by implement... Clause: § 164.308(a)(14) Standard: Compliance audit; § 164.316(a)(2) Actions, activities and assessments documentation	US Law	vCurrent	View →
IRDAI	IRDAI Information & Cyber Security Guidelines IRDAI information and cyber-security requirements... Clause: §2.16-3.6.3 – External IS assessment	India Guideline	vLatest	View →
ISO22301	ISO/IEC 22301 ISO 22301 specifies requirements for a Business Co... Clause: 9.2.1 – General; 9.2.2 – Audit programme(s)	ISO Standard	v2019	View →
ISO27002	ISO/IEC 27002 ISO/IEC 27002 is a guidance standard containing a... Clause: 5.35 – Independent review of information security	ISO Standard	v2022	View →
NIS2	NIS2 Directive The NIS2 Directive establishes EU-wide cybersecuri... Clause: Article 21(2)(f) – Policies and procedures to assess the effectiveness of cybersecurity risk-management measures	EU Directive	vCurrent	View →
NIST-CSF	NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) The NIST Cybersecurity Framework provides high-lev... Clause: GV.OV – Oversight \| GV.OV-03 – Organizational cybersecurity risk management performance is evaluated and reviewed for adjustments needed ID.IM – Improvement \| ID.IM-01 – Improvements are identified from evaluations PR.PS – Platform Security \| PR.PS-04 – Log records are generated and made available for continuous monitoring	NIST Framework	v2	View →
NIST80053	NIST SP 800-53 NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 presents control families, i... Clause: 3.4 – ASSESSMENT, AUTHORIZATION, AND MONITORING; CA-2 – CONTROL ASSESSMENTS, CA-4 – SECURITY CERTIFICATION	NIST Control Catalog	vRev. 5	View →
NPCI-ISR	NPCI Information Security Requirements NPCI information-security requirements define cont... Clause: Operational Review; Testing – Validation and Benchmarking	India Standard	vLatest	View →
RBI-CSF	RBI Cyber Security Framework / Master Directions RBI cyber-security requirements and directions set... Clause: Circular §13 – Cyber security preparedness indicators	India Regulation	vLatest	View →
SEBI-CSCRF	SEBI Cyber Security & Cyber Resilience Framework SEBI’s Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience Framewor... Clause: 4.4 Cyber Audit	India Regulation	vLatest	View →
SOC2	SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria SOC 2 is an independent examination and reporting... Clause: CC4.1 – Monitoring of Controls – COSO Principle 16: The entity selects, develops, and performs ongoing and/or separate evaluations to ascertain whether the components of internal control are present and functioning.	AICPA Audit Framework	vLatest	View →

Parent Domain Context

Governance Domain Baseline

Domain Name:

Audit & Assurance (AUD)

Purpose:

To provide confidence that security controls are effective and operating as intended.

Scope:

Enterprise

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Parent Control Context

Control Baseline

Control Name:

Independent Assessment & External Assurance (AUD-003)

Summary:

Establishes external assurance including assessor independence, assessment planning, execution, certification management, regulatory assessment, reporting, management response, review, and continuous improvement.

Business Description:

Establish and maintain processes for independent security, privacy, regulatory, certification, and external assurance assessments performed by qualified third parties.

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