CRISC Risk Response and Mitigation Practice Question
During a risk assessment, the risk owner identifies that the residual risk level is higher than the risk appetite. Which of the following actions should the risk owner take FIRST?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse the risk owner's authority with senior management's authority, assuming the risk owner can independently implement controls or adjust appetite without escalation.
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
✓
Escalate to senior management
When residual risk exceeds risk appetite, the risk owner must escalate to senior management because they have the authority to accept the risk or allocate resources for additional controls. This aligns with the CRISC framework's principle that risk acceptance decisions beyond appetite are a management responsibility, not the risk owner's alone.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Update the risk register
Why it's wrong here
Recording the shortfall in the risk register documents it but leaves the exposure unaddressed; the owner must first respond to the gap between residual risk and appetite. Updating the register is a valid later step, once a treatment decision has been made and needs tracking.
- ✓
Escalate to senior management
Why this is correct
Residual risk exceeding appetite sits outside the risk owner's delegated authority, so the owner cannot accept it unilaterally. Escalation to senior management is the required first step, since only they can authorise additional treatment or formally accept the elevated exposure.
- ✗
Implement additional controls
Why it's wrong here
Implementing controls is a treatment response, but it presumes the correct option has already been chosen; the owner must first evaluate and select a response, which may be avoid, transfer or accept rather than mitigate. Jumping to controls skips the required decision step.
- ✗
Reduce the risk appetite
Why it's wrong here
Raising the appetite to match the residual risk inverts the governance relationship: appetite is set by senior management, not adjusted by the risk owner to legitimise existing exposure. Revisiting appetite is a legitimate escalation topic, but only after treatment options have been assessed and rejected.
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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.