A CLEAR STARTING POINT
An effective assessment establishes the facts before significant time or budget is committed. It considers the organisation’s objectives, the AI systems involved, the governance already operating and the evidence available to support it.
The result is a proportionate plan focused on the gaps that genuinely affect certification, regulatory readiness, customer assurance or internal governance.
Establish what is already in place across governance, ownership, risk, controls, evidence and oversight, including work that can be reused.
Distinguish substantive weaknesses from documentation improvements, and understand which issues must be addressed first.
Give leadership a defined scope, priorities, responsibilities, timetable and budget before implementation begins.
OUR APPROACH
Hael combines document review, practitioner interviews and evidence testing to understand how governance works in practice. We assess the organisation you have, rather than measuring it against a generic maturity model.
We begin with why the assessment is being commissioned: certification, regulatory readiness, enterprise customer scrutiny, internal assurance or a wider governance programme.
We then establish the entities, business activities, AI systems and frameworks that should sit within scope.
We review governance, policies, ownership, AI inventory, risk and impact assessment, lifecycle controls, supplier oversight, evidence, monitoring and management review.
Where a process exists, we consider whether it is appropriately designed, understood by its owners and supported by evidence that it operates.
We convert the findings into a prioritised programme with clear actions, owners, dependencies and sequencing.
The plan distinguishes immediate decisions from longer-term improvements and identifies where existing controls or evidence can be reused.
THE OUTPUT
You receive an assessment of the current position, supported by the documents, interviews and evidence reviewed. Findings are written clearly and linked to the relevant requirement, risk or assurance objective.
Each gap is prioritised according to its significance and the work required to address it. We identify existing strengths, opportunities to reuse current processes and areas where leadership decisions are needed.
The final roadmap sets out the recommended workstreams, responsibilities, dependencies and delivery sequence. It can be used by your internal team, by Hael as an implementation partner or as the basis for selecting another provider.
PLANNING THE WORK
The scope depends on the objective, the frameworks involved, the number and maturity of the AI systems, the organisational boundaries and the depth of assurance required. A focused assessment may address one certification or regulatory requirement. A broader assessment may consider the governance of AI across an enterprise portfolio.
Before work begins, we agree the scope, information request, people to be interviewed, timetable, deliverables and fee. The assessment is planned to give leadership enough evidence to make a sound decision without creating unnecessary work for the organisation.
NEXT STEPS
Put the required governance, policies, controls, responsibilities and evidence into operation.
Obtain an appropriately independent assessment of whether the management system is implemented and effective.
Prepare the organisation, evidence and people for assessment by an independent certification body or examiner.
Keep systems, controls, evidence and review activity current as the organisation and its use of AI change.
