Operations
Reporting
Quarterly and annual reporting on the AI governance program.
Why Report
Reporting serves three purposes:
- Accountability: Demonstrates to leadership and the board that governance is functioning
- Transparency: Builds trust with stakeholders (internal and, selectively, external)
- Improvement: Surfaces trends, gaps, and opportunities to strengthen the program
Quarterly Report (to Executive Sponsor)
A concise update covering:
| Section | Contents |
|---|---|
| Inventory summary | Total systems by status and tier. New additions and retirements. |
| Intake activity | Cases submitted, tiered, and resolved this quarter. Average turnaround time. |
| Decisions | Notable approvals, conditions, escalations, and rejections. |
| Incidents | AI incidents and near-misses. Status and lessons learned. |
| Policy updates | Any policy changes made or proposed. |
| Champion network | Network health: coverage, activity, feedback. |
| Emerging risks | New technologies, regulatory developments, or organizational changes on the horizon. |
| Actions needed | Decisions or resources the sponsor needs to provide. |
Annual Report (to Board / Executive Leadership)
A full-year review covering:
- Everything in the quarterly report, aggregated for the year
- Program maturity assessment: How has governance capability evolved?
- Regulatory compliance status: Are obligations being met?
- Benchmark comparison: How does the program compare to industry peers?
- Strategic recommendations: What should change in the coming year?
- Resource needs: Budget, headcount, tooling for the coming year
External Transparency (Optional)
Some organizations (e.g., Microsoft) publish annual AI transparency reports. Consider publishing:
- A summary of AI principles and governance structure
- Aggregate statistics on AI use (number of systems, risk tiers, review volume)
- Key lessons learned (anonymized)
- Commitments for the coming year
This builds trust with customers, regulators, and the public.