easyMultiple Choice
CRISC Practice Question: Is the PRIMARY purpose of conducting a business…
Which of the following is the PRIMARY purpose of conducting a business impact analysis (BIA) during the IT risk assessment process?
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
✓
To determine the criticality and recovery time objectives of business processes
The primary purpose of a business impact analysis (BIA) is to identify critical business processes, determine their recovery priorities, and establish recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs). Option B is incorrect because identifying vulnerabilities is part of a vulnerability assessment, not a BIA. Option C is incorrect because identifying potential threat actors is part of threat modeling. Option D is incorrect because inventorying IT assets is part of asset management, not the primary goal of a BIA.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
To determine the criticality and recovery time objectives of business processes
Why this is correct
A BIA identifies which business processes are most critical and how quickly each must resume after disruption, producing recovery time objectives that then drive IT risk prioritisation. This directly satisfies the stem's requirement to establish criticality and RTOs, which no other risk assessment activity delivers.
- ✗
To identify vulnerabilities in IT systems
Why it's wrong here
That is the purpose of vulnerability assessment.
- ✗
To identify potential threat actors
Why it's wrong here
Threat actor identification is threat intelligence and threat modelling work, which profiles adversaries, motives and capabilities; a BIA instead establishes which business processes matter and how long they can tolerate disruption. It is tempting because threats inform risk, but a BIA measures impact, not adversary identity.
- ✗
To inventory all IT assets
Why it's wrong here
Asset inventory is performed by configuration management or discovery tooling, which records hardware, software and ownership; a BIA instead quantifies the operational and financial consequences of process downtime. It is tempting because asset data supports impact assessment, but the inventory itself is an input, not the BIA's purpose.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every CRISC question from scratch — 1,062 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.