The correct answer is to request a revised risk assessment that includes contingency plans for provider outages, because the governance committee’s fiduciary duty requires that all identified risks—especially those involving regulatory compliance and critical transaction continuity—be fully addressed before project approval. In cloud migration, a risk assessment that omits outage impact on core banking transactions is fundamentally incomplete, as SLAs like 99.99% uptime do not eliminate the need for documented contingency measures covering data residency, audit trails, and failover procedures. On the CISA exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the governance committee’s role in risk acceptance and the principle that SLAs are not substitutes for comprehensive risk treatment. A common trap is assuming high SLA percentages negate the need for contingency planning; instead, remember that SLAs cover availability, not compliance or data sovereignty. Memory tip: “SLAs promise uptime, not compliance—always demand the contingency plan.”
CISA Governance and Management of IT Practice Question
This CISA practice question tests your understanding of governance and management of it. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A financial services company is migrating its core banking system to a public cloud to improve scalability and reduce costs. The project is high-risk due to regulatory compliance requirements (e.g., data residency, audit trails). The IT governance committee has reviewed the project plan and finds that the risk assessment is incomplete – it does not address the potential impact of a cloud provider outage on critical transactions. The committee must approve the project or request changes. The project manager argues that the cloud provider's SLA guarantees 99.99% uptime and that additional controls would delay the project. What should the governance committee do?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Request a revised risk assessment that includes contingency plans for provider outages.
Option D is correct because the committee's duty is to ensure risks are adequately addressed; requiring a comprehensive risk assessment and contingency plans is necessary. Option A is wrong because committees should not bypass governance processes. Option B is wrong because SLAs do not cover all risks (e.g., data residency). Option C is wrong because a pilot does not address the missing assessment.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Reject the project and require the system to remain on-premises.
Why it's wrong here
Rejection is drastic; cloud may still be viable with proper controls.
✓
Request a revised risk assessment that includes contingency plans for provider outages.
Why this is correct
The committee must ensure all risks are identified and mitigated.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Approve the project based on the provider's strong SLA.
Why it's wrong here
An SLA does not eliminate the need for a full risk assessment.
✗
Approve a pilot migration for non-critical systems first.
Why it's wrong here
The committee should address the risk assessment gap before proceeding.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the CISA exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which CISA exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Governance and Management of IT — This question tests Governance and Management of IT — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Request a revised risk assessment that includes contingency plans for provider outages. — Option D is correct because the committee's duty is to ensure risks are adequately addressed; requiring a comprehensive risk assessment and contingency plans is necessary. Option A is wrong because committees should not bypass governance processes. Option B is wrong because SLAs do not cover all risks (e.g., data residency). Option C is wrong because a pilot does not address the missing assessment.
What should I do if I get this CISA question wrong?
Identify which CISA exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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