CRISC Risk Response and Reporting Practice Question
A risk owner is reviewing a control that has a deficiency rate of 15%. The target deficiency rate is less than 5%. Which of the following is the MOST appropriate immediate action?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often choose 'Accept the risk and document the decision' (Option D) because they confuse risk acceptance with a standard response to control deficiencies, but CRISC emphasizes that acceptance is only appropriate after a formal risk assessment and when remediation is not feasible or cost-justified.
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
✓
Investigate the root cause of the high deficiency rate
A deficiency rate of 15% against a target of less than 5% indicates a control failure that requires immediate remediation. Investigating the root cause is the first step in the risk response process to identify why the control is failing and to determine the appropriate corrective action, aligning with the Risk Response and Reporting domain's emphasis on addressing control deficiencies before considering acceptance or reporting.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Investigate the root cause of the high deficiency rate
Why this is correct
Root cause analysis is needed to identify why the control is failing.
- ✗
Increase the target deficiency rate to 15%
Why it's wrong here
Changing the target does not address the underlying issue.
- ✗
Report the deficiency to the external auditor
Why it's wrong here
Reporting to the auditor is not the immediate action; internal remediation comes first.
- ✗
Accept the risk and document the decision
Why it's wrong here
Acceptance is an option, but not immediate without understanding the cause.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CRISC 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 CRISC exam.