Steve Priest (steve@integrityII.com) is President of Integrity Insight International.

Well-meaning—or at least profit-maximizing—consultants and lawyers have developed impressive, complex compliance risk assessment processes for your organization’s benefit. I have done quite a few myself. They provide reassurance for audit committees and direction for senior management’s risk mitigation efforts.

Done right, these risk assessments probably provide more benefit than they cost. That’s because those done right cost very little. But most are not done right. Here are three of the biggest flaws: