--- sourceDocument: Yokohama Governance, Risk, and Compliance sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/yokohama/governance-risk-compliance Release : - yokohama ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Yokohama Governance, Risk, and Compliance ft:clusterId : - grc bundleId : - grc workflow : - Technology --- # Manage engagements # Manage engagements {#ariaid-title1} * Release version: Yokohama * * Updated January 30, 2025 * * ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 3 minutes to read Summarize ![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) Summarized using AI This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. ## Summary of Manage engagements The audit engagement process in ServiceNow's Manage engagements feature enables customers to create, plan, scope, conduct, and report on audit engagements efficiently. This structured process guides audit managers through defining the scope, validating audit elements, conducting fieldwork, obtaining approvals, following up on open tasks, and closing audits. Entity-based access controls provide granular data access management for audit-related records linked to specific entities. Show full answer Show less ## Engagement Process States * **Scope:** Audit managers define involved entities to set the audit boundaries and include relevant business services and departments. * **Validate:** Risks, controls, test plans, and indicator results related to scoped entities are associated with the engagement. Audit managers review and can adjust scope and begin planning audit tasks. * **Fieldwork:** Auditors perform assigned tasks such as control testing, interviews, and walkthroughs. Issues found are documented and linked to the engagement. Audit managers finalize engagement results. * **Awaiting Approval:** Designated approvers review audit results and issues, then approve or reject the engagement. * **Follow Up:** If open audit tasks, issues, or milestones remain after approval, auditors work to resolve them before marking the engagement complete. * **Closed:** Engagements close either as incomplete in early states or automatically after all tasks are resolved post-approval and follow-up. ## Key Features * **Audit Task Management:** Create and track audit tasks such as control tests, interviews, walkthroughs, and other activities to document compliance evidence. * **Reuse Engagements:** Create new engagements based on previous ones to streamline scope, team, and approver setup for recurring audits. * **Control Tests and Activities:** Define control tests and related activities to periodically verify control effectiveness. * **Communication Tools:** Generate audit reports and knowledge base articles summarizing findings for executive communication. * **Entity-Based Access:** Configure granular user access to engagement data based on entity associations, enhancing data security and relevance. * **Engagement Workbench:** Use a timeline-based visual interface to manage engagements easily and navigate audit activities. ## Practical Benefits ServiceNow customers can leverage this engagement process to systematically manage audits, ensure comprehensive coverage of risks and controls tied to business entities, and maintain clear documentation of audit activities and findings. The structured workflow supports collaboration between auditors and approvers, facilitates timely issue resolution, and improves audit reporting and communication. Entity-based access controls enhance data security by restricting visibility to relevant audit data. The audit engagement process involves creating, planning, scoping, and conducting engagements as well as reporting on engagement findings. ## Engagement process The base system audit engagement process includes steps for scoping, validating, conducting, and approving engagement results. It also contains steps for following up on open audit tasks and issues, and finally closing out the audit engagement. Note: The Entity-based access provides a framework for a more granular approach to the management of data access to objects associated with an entity. Administrators can grant access to an entity's related records by adding users or user groups, or by using entity user fields for entity-based access configuration. For more information, see [Entity Based Access](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/o5HtikyKZ2ZQu3zvRY423A "The Entity Based Access (EBA) application enables you to segregate data on the records that are based on entities. Entity-based access administrators can use this tool to set up secure, controlled access to various objects."). When a user is qualified based on these configurations and has the minimum required roles, they will have access to the following tables: * Engagement * Test Plan * Control Test * Observation * Control to Engagement * Test Plan to Engagement * Risk to Engagement * Issue to Engagement * Entity to Engagement {#c_Engagements__ul_pgf_ggt_dfc} {#c_Engagements__table_pzj_vyr_pw__entry__2} | State | Description | |-|-| | Scope | During the Scope state, audit managers define which entities are involved in the audit engagement. For example, for a financial audit, one may include all business services that the finance department relies on and the finance department itself. See [Add entities to an engagement scope](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/VfviQuDAqQx9_zIPDJG2Xg "Audit managers can define which entities are involved in the audit engagement. When you add an entity to an engagement, the corresponding risks, controls, test plans, and indicator results of the entity are also added to the engagement."). | | Validate | After an engagement has moved to the Validate state, all the risks, controls, and test plans associated with the entities in the engagement's scope will be associated with the audit. Indicator results that were collected during the audit period of the engagement will also be associated with the audit. Audit managers can review the risks, controls, test plans, and indicator results, and update the scope of the engagement, if necessary. Audit managers can also begin creating and planning audit tasks for the engagement. To move an engagement into the Validate state, click Validate on any engagement currently in the Scope state. | | Fieldwork | Auditors complete their assigned audit tasks during the Fieldwork state. These tasks include control testing, interviews, walkthroughs, and other activities. Issues that are found during control testing are associated with the engagement. Auditors can also create general issues associated with the engagement. Audit managers can create additional audit tasks as needed. When the audit is done, audit managers specify the result of the engagement, whether it's satisfactory, adequate or inadequate, and provide details on their opinion. To move an engagement into the Fieldwork state, click Advance to Fieldwork on any engagement currently in the Validate state. See [Audit task management](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/wY2iphbRHYQOctCk122Tzw "Audit tasks are completed throughout an engagement and provide documented evidence that the organization is complying with external regulations and internal policies."). | | Awaiting Approval | During the "Awaiting Approval" state, the approvers specified in the Approvers field of the engagement review the results of the audit tasks conducted and the issues that were created. After reviewing the results of the engagements, approvers approve or reject the engagement. To move an engagement into the Awaiting Approval state, click Request approval on any engagement currently in the Fieldwork state. See [Approve or reject an engagement](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/tMfC2D3~ZewPZNEJViMyEg "Audit users that are assigned as approvers for an engagement can approve or reject engagements in the Awaiting Approval state."). | | Follow Up | After an engagement has been approved, if there are any remaining open tasks, issues or milestones, in case of GRC Advanced Audit, associated with the engagement, the engagement automatically goes into the Follow Up state. During this stage, auditors must close out all remaining issues, tasks, and milestones before the engagement are marked as complete. | | Closed | Engagements move into the "Closed" state under one of three conditions: * The engagement is closed as incomplete during the Scope, Validate, or Fieldwork states. * There are no open audit tasks, issues, and milestones after the engagement is approved. In this case, the engagement automatically moves from the Awaiting Approval state to the Closed state. * All follow-up tasks, issues, and milestones are closed out. In this case, the engagement automatically moves from the Follow Up state to the Closed state. {#c_Engagements__ul_dnn_kfs_pw} | [Table 1. States of the engagement process] {#c_Engagements__table_pzj_vyr_pw} * **[Audit task management](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/wY2iphbRHYQOctCk122Tzw)** Audit tasks are completed throughout an engagement and provide documented evidence that the organization is complying with external regulations and internal policies. * **[Create an engagement](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/nAe~q0~Bjbly8O5MSTMr_g)** Audit managers create engagements to manage audit information and collect entities, controls, and control tests that are relevant to the audit. * **[Generate an audit report from an engagement](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Xh6xTOXJrZw4PH6mN1ah6Q)** Generate an audit report and maintain different versions of audit reports from an engagement in Follow up state. * **[Create an engagement from a previous engagement](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/tlAcZgjmkc5Ga1zkbVVFoQ)** Audit managers can create engagements from previous engagements to reduce the need to redefine the scope, auditors, and approvers for similar engagements that are conducted throughout the year. * **[Create a control test from an engagement](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/kafEvG5n1KGx8ri4W_f7qQ)** After defining a control, audit managers create control tests that run periodically and provide documented evidence of whether the associated control is operating correctly. * **[Create an audit task activity](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/2uzywZfqbpXyaqyytCwfyQ)** After defining a control, audit managers create activities that explore and provide documented evidence of whether the associated control is operating correctly. * **[Create an interview](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/R1hUov6wHScAkbw3bcR~qQ)** After defining a control, audit managers create interviews with control owners to discuss and provide documented evidence of whether the associated control is operating correctly. * **[Create a walkthrough](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/U4sE7kev9EtpbuNdRsYIeg)** After defining a control, audit managers create walk throughs that will be conducted to observe and provide documented evidence of whether the associated control is operating correctly. * **[Generate a KB article from an engagement](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/qX1onOKrkZjQyEgVa2AjbQ)** Audit managers can generate a KB article that summarizes the findings of an engagement so report findings can be communicated to executives. * **[Approve or reject an engagement](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/tMfC2D3~ZewPZNEJViMyEg)** Audit users that are assigned as approvers for an engagement can approve or reject engagements in the Awaiting Approval state. * **[Add entities to an engagement scope](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/VfviQuDAqQx9_zIPDJG2Xg)** Audit managers can define which entities are involved in the audit engagement. When you add an entity to an engagement, the corresponding risks, controls, test plans, and indicator results of the entity are also added to the engagement. * **[Use the Audit Engagement Workbench to visually manage engagements](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/kx4kjJ7liTOBQssPdG0SNg)** The Engagement Workbench provides a timeline view from which you can select an audit engagement to view details or create a new engagement.