CISM Information Security Governance Practice Question
A CISO is presenting a security investment proposal to the board. Which two metrics are most effective for articulating the business value of the investment?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Breach cost avoidance
Breach cost avoidance directly quantifies risk reduction, and compliance cost avoidance shows regulatory value.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Breach cost avoidance
Why this is correct
Measures financial benefit of preventing breaches.
- ✗
Mean time to patch
Why it's wrong here
Operational metric, not board-level value.
- ✗
Number of security staff
Why it's wrong here
Staff count is not a value metric.
- ✗
Number of security tools deployed
Why it's wrong here
Tool count does not represent value.
- ✓
Compliance cost avoidance
Why this is correct
Avoids fines and penalties.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 871 original CISM practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CISM practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISACA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CISM exam.