Most compliance maturity models look clean on paper. Four stages. Clear progression. Straight lines from “immature” to “optimized.”
Real organizations don’t work that way.
Most companies—especially those heading into their second or third audit—operate in a mixed state. Some controls are solid and repeatable. Others are fragile, undocumented, or dependent on a single person. Progress happens, but not evenly. And maturity is rarely linear.
That doesn’t mean something is wrong. It means the organization is generally like most out there, working to become better year over year.
Below is a practical look at the four stages of compliance maturity; not as ideals, but as they tend to show up inside growing, regulated organizations.
STAGE 1 – REACTIVE: COMPLIANCE HAPPENS TO THE BUSINESS
At this stage, compliance is driven almost entirely by external pressure: a customer request, a sales deal, or an upcoming audit.
In practice, this often looks like:
- Controls defined quickly to satisfy audit requirements
- Evidence gathered manually, often at the last minute
- Heavy reliance on a few individuals who “know where everything is”
A typical example:
A fast-growing SaaS company preparing for its first SOC 2® has policies, screenshots, and spreadsheets scattered across shared drives. The security lead and IT manager spend weeks assembling evidence while still doing their day jobs. The audit passes—but only because everyone sprinted.
Reactive compliance isn’t careless or lazy. It’s a natural starting point. The risk comes from staying here too long.
STAGE 2 – REPEATABLE: COMPLIANCE CAN BE DONE AGAIN, BUT IT’S STILL HEAVY
By the second audit, most organizations have learned some hard lessons. Controls exist. Evidence is easier to find. There’s a basic rhythm to audit preparation.
But the work is still manual and time-consuming.
Common signs of this stage:
- Evidence is reused, but not always trusted
- Processes exist, but aren’t consistently followed
- Each audit still feels disruptive
A recognizable scenario: A healthcare technology company undergoing its second HITRUST CSF® assessment or SOC examination has a defined control set and a Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) tool in place and mostly utilized. But when auditors ask questions, teams still scramble to confirm whether controls are operating as intended, or just documented that way.
Repeatable compliance reduces chaos, but it doesn’t yet reduce friction.
STAGE 3 – OPTIMIZED: COMPLIANCE IS PLANNED, NOT ENDURED
Optimized organizations stop treating audits as events and start managing compliance as an ongoing function. Operationally, this looks like:
- Controls mapped across multiple frameworks
- Evidence collected and controls monitored continuously, not seasonally
- Clear ownership between security, IT, and compliance teams
A common example: A company supporting multiple customer audits can respond confidently because control intent is understood instead of just documented. When an auditor asks for clarification, teams know why a control exists and how it mitigates risk, not just where the policy lives.
At this stage, compliance becomes risk-informed. Decisions are based on material risk, not just framework language. That’s when reuse becomes reliable and audits become predictable.
STAGE 4 – STRATEGIC: COMPLIANCE SUPPORTS GROWTH, TRUST, AND SPEED
Strategic compliance programs reduce audit pain and actively support the business. The results often look like:
- Faster sales cycles with security-conscious buyers
- Easier expansion into new markets or frameworks
- Leadership using compliance data to inform risk decisions
For instance, a company preparing for acquisition or enterprise expansion can demonstrate both audit results and a mature control environment. Due diligence moves faster. Confidence is higher. Compliance becomes a signal of operational discipline, not overhead.
Strategic maturity doesn’t mean perfection. It means confidence in your controls, evidence, and decision-making.
THE REALITY: MOST COMPANIES ARE IN BETWEEN
Very few organizations sit cleanly in one stage. Most operate across multiple stages at once: optimized in some areas, reactive in others.
That’s totally normal. The goal of maturity isn’t to eliminate messiness. It’s to reduce the cost of that messiness over time. Fewer surprises. Less rework. Better alignment between risk, controls, and business priorities.
In next week’s post, we’ll explore why maturity actually matters—not only for audits, but for risk reduction, efficiency, and long-term business value.
