modern auditing

Library

The enterprise compliance map

Every framework, unified control, risk and workflow in one interactive graph — including the crosswalk that collapses 904 framework controls into 280.

22 frameworks · 904 controls · 280 unified · 167 risks · Interactive graph, browser · hosted on controlsmap.com

The map holds four layers and the relationships between them:

  • Standards and frameworks — 22 of them, from COSO and the IIA Standards through ISO 27001, SOC 2, NIST 800-53 and CSF 2.0, to GDPR, DORA, NIS2, the EU AI Act and ISO 42001. 904 individual controls in total.
  • Unified controls — 280 harmonised definitions that the framework controls map onto. This is the layer that makes “test once, satisfy many” concrete rather than aspirational.
  • Risks — 167, linked to the controls that address them, so coverage gaps are visible rather than argued about.
  • Workflows — the 138 published templates, attached to the controls they operate.

What it is useful for

Three things, in ascending order of value.

The obvious use is lookup: what does ISO 27001 A.8.16 correspond to in NIST 800-53, and which of our controls already covers both.

The better use is scoping a new obligation. When a framework lands — a customer demanding SOC 2, a regulator bringing DORA into scope — the question is what genuinely new work it creates. The map answers that by showing which of its requirements already have a unified control behind them and which do not. In most cases the honest answer is that 70–80% is already covered and the programme is an evidence exercise rather than a build.

The best use is arguing with it. The mappings are explicit and directional, which means you can disagree with a specific one. A crosswalk you cannot disagree with is a topic index.

The 3.2-to-1 number

904 framework controls reduce to 280 unified controls. That ratio is the arithmetic behind every multi-framework compliance strategy, and it is worth checking against your own environment rather than taking on faith — if your programme is running four frameworks as four programmes, the gap between 904 and 280 is roughly the size of the waste.


More in the artifact library, or start with thematurity model to work out which of these you need first.