Policy Exception in GRC 1. What is Policy Exception? A policy exception is a formally documented and approved deviation from a policy when a user or business unit cannot meet specific policy requirements. In simple words it provides temporary relief for control owners that are unable to meet compliance requirements. It allows temporary non-compliance under controlled conditions by capturing the justification, assessing the associated risk, and ensuring the exception is reviewed, approved, and tracked within the GRC framework. 2. Purpose of Policy Exception? Allows users to request documented exceptions when they cannot comply with a policy. Ensures exceptions are reviewed and approved to maintain controlled compliance. Helps identify and manage risks associated with policy deviations. Promotes accountability by requiring justification and transparency. 3. Roles Required Role Name Description sn_grc.business_user A GRC role for users who actively work on risk, compliance, and policy tasks. They can create/update issues, take/approve assessments, respond to evidence requests, and request/approve policy exceptions. Intended for broader participation in GRC processes. sn_grc.business_user_lite A limited-scope role for business stakeholders needing basic GRC interaction. They can report/read issues, respond to assigned tasks (attestations, evidence, questionnaires), and view/submit policy exceptions, but with fewer permissions than full business_user. 4. Process Flow Diagram for Policy Exception 5. Policy Exception – FORM View Navigate to All > Policies and Compliance > Policies Exceptions > My policy Exceptions > New Sections 6. Policy Exception All Fields   Field Description Number Unique identification number. Requester Person requesting the policy exception, usually the control owner. Approval group Group that has the compliance manager role. You cannot edit the approval group if the policy exception reaches Review state. If you do not provide an approval group, then the field defaults to compliance manager. Compliance manager is the default role if the policy exception is raised from any upstream application that is integrated with GRC. Approver User from the approval group. If the exception policy moves to the Analyze State, then you must select an approver. State State of the policy exception within the approval workflow. Substate Approval substate of the policy exception within the approval workflow. Priority Approval priority of this policy exception Watch list Users that are notified when the request is updated. Name Unique name of the policy exception. Reason Reason for requesting the policy exception. The requester can change the reason until the policy exception is approved. Justification Statement of explanation for the policy exception. Justification is also displayed in the additional comments. Source type Type of policy exception that you want to create. The options are: Control objective Control objective associated with this policy exception. Issue Issue associated with this policy exception. Target record Target record table on which the policy exception is applied. This table is also referenced in the Policy eception target table field of the Policy Exception Integration Registry Form. Risk rating Select the risk rating as determined by the risk assessment performed on the policy exception. Risk description Description of the risk as performed by the risk manager during risk assessment. Analysis of risk and impact Details on the likelihood of this risk occurring and residual impacts of this risk on the policy exception. Risk mitigation plan The risk mitigation plan for this policy exception. Valid from Day on which the policy exception begins. Valid to Day on which the policy exception ends. Duration Number of days between the Valid From and Valid to dates. Approved extensions Number of times extensions have been requested so far and have been approved. Remaining extensions Number of times extensions can be requested in future. Created Date on which the policy exception was requested. Date approved Date on which the request was approved. Extension date Requested extension date, which is after the Valid to date. Extension reason Reason for extension. Original valid to Date until which the policy exception was originally requested and approved. The original Valid to date is populated only when the extension is approved. Work Notes Work notes can be used by exception reviewers and approvers to share Information about the exception. Additional comments These comments are used by the reviewer to communicate additional information to the exception requester. 7. Policy Exception States and its Lifecycle 7.1. How to request Policy Exception Login to esc Portal > Open ‘Request Extension’ Record Producer > Submit Fill all the required fields Submit the Request 7.2. States of Policy Exception New When creating new policy exception from Native UI then state is NEW An exception request is created because a user, team, or system cannot meet a specific policy requirement. Person involved in this state is the Requestor (business user, system owner, or application owner). Goal is to document the need for the exception, including justification, scope, risk, and proposed compensating controls. Provide all the mandatory information and save the record then , once request gets created then state changs from New to Analyze      2. Analyze When Policy exception record is created then it is in Analyze state. The exception is being evaluated for risk, impact, and validity to determine whether it should move forward. Persons involved in this state are Risk team, Compliance/GRC analysts, and sometimes the Policy Owner. Goal is to review the justification, assess risks, determine required compensating controls, and confirm whether the request is reasonable. Provide Approver and Risk rating then click on ‘Request Compliance Review’ then state will change from Analyze to Review      3. Review Detailed review of the refined exception request after analysis is complete. Persons involved in this state are, reviewers such as department leads, technical SMEs, or policy owners. Goal is to validate accuracy, check completeness, ensure risks are understood, and confirm alignment with business/legal requirements. Click on UI action ‘Request Additional Approval’ but make sure your requester has manager assigned then state will change from Review to Awaiting Approval.    4. Awaiting Approval The exception has passed review and is now pending formal approval. Designated Approvers such as senior leadership, risk committees, compliance managers, or policy owners are responsible in this state Goal is