Governance & Accountability ยท GOV-02
Executive accountability
A named senior executive is accountable for the organisation's use of AI, with a defined remit, and reports on it to the board or equivalent.
Why it matters
AI cuts across technology, data, risk and the business. Without one accountable executive it falls between functions, decisions stall and nobody owns the outcome.
Levels
| 0 Absent | Confirmed absent: the evidence shows nothing is in place. Not known is recorded as insufficient evidence, not 0. |
|---|---|
| 1 Initial | No one is accountable; AI is treated as a technology matter or left to enthusiasts. |
| 2 Developing | Someone is informally seen as the lead, but the remit is unclear or lacks authority. |
| 3 Defined | A named senior executive is formally accountable for AI under a written remit and reports on AI to the board or equivalent as a standing item. |
| 4 Managed | The board receives regular, evidence-based reporting on AI benefits, risks and performance, and challenges it. |
| 5 Optimising | Accountability arrangements are reviewed against outcomes and adjusted as AI use grows or changes in nature. |
Level 3 criteria
Level 3 is met when every applicable criterion is met. Criteria marked with an overlay apply only to organisations with that characteristic (overlays).
- GOV-02.1 A named senior executive is formally accountable for the organisation's use of AI.
- GOV-02.2 A written remit sets out that executive's accountability for AI.
- GOV-02.3 AI is a standing item in the executive's reporting to the board or equivalent.
Assessment questions
- Who is accountable for AI across the organisation, and where is that written down?
- What authority does that person have over budget, risk acceptance and stopping a use of AI?
- How often does the board or equivalent hear about AI, and what does it receive?
- Terms of reference, role description or scheme of delegation naming the accountable executive
- Board or executive committee papers and minutes covering AI
How to reach Level 3
- Choose a senior executive to be accountable for the organisation's use of AI and confirm it formally through the usual appointment route.
- Write a short remit covering what they are accountable for, what they can decide and what they must escalate.
- Make AI a standing item in that executive's regular reporting to the board or equivalent, drawing on MON-08.
Common pitfalls
- Giving accountability to a technical lead without the seniority to stop or redirect AI work.
- Splitting accountability between several executives so nobody owns the whole picture.
Starter artefacts
- Accountable executive remit
- Board AI report template
Ownership and sequence
- Accountable
- executive sponsor
- Contributors
- ai governance lead
- Depends on
- None
- Roadmap step
- 1
- Lifecycle
- strategy, operate
Cross-references
| ISO/IEC 42001 | 5.1 direct; 5.3 direct; A.3.2 partial |
|---|---|
| JSP 936 Part 1 | Preface para 7 partial; para 20 partial; para 49b partial; para 93 partial; para 100 direct; para 101 partial; para 104 partial |
| MITRE AI Maturity Model | P1.1 partial; P2.1 direct; P2.3 direct; P3.2 partial |
| NIST AI RMF 1.0 | GOVERN 2.3 direct |
| UNESCO AI Maturity Framework | 2.3 direct; 5.1 partial |
direct: this control at Level 3 meets the item. partial: it covers part of it.