A risk register should be the live record of what could stop your organization reaching its objectives: who owns each risk, how serious it is, what controls it, and what is being done about it. Rukn ERM turns that list into structured, scored and connected records, on the web and on mobile.
Most registers start in Excel or Google Sheets, and a well-built spreadsheet is a reasonable place to begin. It stops being enough when the register has to be shared, kept current and reported on:
Risk register software keeps one shared register, calculates every score the same way, and reminds people when something needs their attention. If you are still deciding whether you need software at all, read our honest comparison of a spreadsheet versus ERM software.
Each risk is a structured record rather than a row of free text, so it can be scored, filtered, linked and reported consistently.
Each risk gets a unique code, a name and a description of the event, what could cause it and what it would affect.
Nested risk categories, plus the business unit and department the risk belongs to, so the register can be sliced the way your organization is run.
A named owner for every risk, a status that moves from draft through review and approval to active and closed, and a next review date.
Likelihood and impact on a 5×5 matrix give the inherent score. Control effectiveness turns it into a residual score. How assessment works.
Link the controls that mitigate each risk. One control can cover several risks, and its test history feeds the risk's control effectiveness.
Plan the response as actions with an owner, priority, due date and progress, and get reminders before and after they fall due.
Attach KRIs with amber and red thresholds so the register shows early warning, not just the last assessment. KRI monitoring.
Record incidents against the risks they relate to, and attach evidence files to risks and controls.
Set appetite per risk category and be alerted when a residual score moves above it.
A shared register is only useful if a "High" means the same thing in every department. Rukn ERM calculates scores instead of accepting typed ratings:
| Score | What it is | How it is set |
|---|---|---|
| Inherent risk | Exposure before controls | Likelihood (1–5) × impact (1–5), from 1 to 25 |
| Control effectiveness | How well controls work | From the ratings of the linked controls, 1–5 |
| Residual risk | Exposure after controls | Inherent risk reduced by 15% per effectiveness point, up to 75% |
| Risk level | The band shown on the heat map | Low 1–4 · Medium 5–9 · High 10–16 · Critical 17–25 |
When a control is re-tested and its rating changes, the residual score of every risk it covers is recalculated. For the reasoning behind the two numbers, see inherent vs residual risk, with worked examples.
The register feeds a live heat map and the reports your committees ask for, without copying data into slides.
You do not have to start again. Download the startup data workbook, copy in the risks, controls and indicators you already track, and import it into your trial organization. If you are building a register for the first time, our step-by-step guide and free risk register template walk through the structure first.
Rukn ERM is aligned with the COSO Enterprise Risk Management framework (2017). The register sits in the framework's Performance component, alongside appetite, monitoring and reporting.
Yes. Administrators can import risks, controls and KRIs from the Rukn ERM startup data workbook, an Excel file with the same columns the register uses. Download it from our free templates, paste in what you already track, and import it during your trial.
Inherent risk is likelihood × impact on a 1–25 scale. Each point of control effectiveness (1–5) reduces it by 15%, up to 75%. A risk scored 20 with controls rated 4 has a residual score of 8. Control effectiveness comes from the ratings of the controls linked to the risk, so it moves when a control is re-tested. Worked examples.
Yes. Rukn ERM runs on iPhone, Android and the web against the same register, and the mobile apps keep your last-loaded data readable without a connection.
Plans start at $99 a month for up to 10 users, with a 30-day free trial for up to 3 users and no card required. See pricing.
Start a 30-day free trial for up to 3 users, or import the register you already have.
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