Template

TPRM Policy Template

Build a vendor risk policy that auditors accept on day one

  • 1. PURPOSE and scope of TPRM program
  • 2. DEFINITIONS of key terms and concepts
  • 3. VENDOR CLASSIFICATION framework and criticality tiers
  • 4. RISK ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS by tier
  •  5. VENDOR TIERING and tier assignment logic
  • 6. ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES across teams
  • 7. ONGOING MONITORING and escalation triggers
TPRM Policy Template
 

You need a formal vendor risk policy. Your audit firm is asking for one. This pre-drafted policy language comes from enterprises that have refined it through multiple audit cycles. It covers assessments, tiering, monitoring, escalation, and governance. Aligned with NIST, ISO, and regulatory expectations. Customize for your organization and you're done in days, not weeks.

You need a formal vendor risk policy. Your audit firm is asking for one. This pre-drafted policy language comes from enterprises that have refined it through multiple audit cycles. It covers assessments, tiering, monitoring, escalation, and governance. Aligned with NIST, ISO, and regulatory expectations. Customize for your organization and you're done in days, not weeks.

Why consistency matters

Vendor risk assessment is foundational to everything downstream: tiering decisions, monitoring priorities, remediation focus, board reporting. If your assessment is ad-hoc, everything else is unreliable.

A solid assessment framework gives you:

  • Comparable vendor scores - actually compare vendors against each other
  • Audit-ready documentation - show auditors exactly how you assessed and why
  • Faster cycles - standardized questions mean less customization
  • Clear escalation triggers - when a score drops, you know what to do

How to use this:

You have two paths forward. You can build this yourself using the template. Start by customizing it for your specific industry and risk profile, then send it to vendors to complete. As responses come in, you'll track them in a spreadsheet and score them manually. It takes time and effort to coordinate, but you own the entire process and can adjust it whenever you need.

Alternatively you can use ComplyScore®.
Instead of vendors filling out spreadsheets and you doing manual scoring, vendors answer once in the platform and scoring happens automatically. Risk trends appear in real-time, so you're not waiting weeks for data. Every vendor gets assessed using the exact same framework without shifting criteria or inconsistencies.
And here's the key difference: monitoring continues automatically without you having to rebuild the framework every quarter.