Diagnostic GaaS: Governance Health Check

What a Diagnostic Does

Most organisations have a governance framework. Most have a risk committee that meets regularly. Most have policies that were reviewed at some point in the last two years. None of this means the governance is working.

The Diagnostic GaaS is not a box-ticking exercise. It is a structured, adversarial assessment of whether your governance and risk frameworks would stand up to the scrutiny that matters: a regulatory examination, an activist shareholder, a buyer’s due diligence, or a board decision that goes badly wrong.

We benchmark against peer cohort, identify the gaps that matter, and deliver a specific, prioritised action plan, not a general observations report.

Methodology

The Diagnostic uses the Marentis Governance Maturity Assessment across six dimensions:

1. Board Composition: independence, skills mix, tenure, diversity relative to governance obligations
2. Risk Governance: risk committee mandate, management reporting structure, escalation protocols
3. Risk Culture: tone from the top, risk appetite articulation, decision-making autonomy at the executive level
4. Framework and Control Design: ERM framework coherence, control architecture, policy currency
5. Monitoring and Reporting: KPI quality, board reporting cadence, management information structure
6. Regulatory Alignment: compliance posture relative to current and anticipated regulatory obligations

Each dimension is scored on a 0–100 maturity scale and benchmarked against a relevant peer cohort. The output is a quantified maturity profile, not a narrative of general impressions.

Deliverables

Governance Assessment Report (10–15 pages) Maturity score across all six dimensions, benchmarked against peer cohort. The most material governance gaps identified and prioritised by impact and ease of remediation.

Board Briefing A 2–3 hour closed-door session with the board or governance committee presenting findings and fielding challenge. Principal-delivered by Owen.

90-Day Action Plan Specific, prioritised remediation actions with ownership assignments, resource requirements, and success metrics. Not a long-term strategy document: a concrete next step for each material finding.

The Conversion Path

30–50% of Diagnostic engagements convert to a retained relationship. This is by design, not by sales pressure. The Diagnostic surfaces specific governance gaps. The most efficient way to close those gaps is a Retained GaaS engagement where Owen maintains continuous oversight of the remediation programme.

If a retained relationship is not the right fit, the Diagnostic stands alone as a complete, credible deliverable.

When to Commission a Diagnostic

• Before a major strategic decision or capital commitment
• When a regulatory examination is anticipated in the next 12 months
• When a board composition change has altered the governance balance
• Before or during a PE transaction (buy-side or sell-side)
• When a significant operational or governance incident has raised internal questions
• As an annual governance health check for boards that take their oversight obligations seriously