If no one’s updating it, challenging it, or closing things out – it’s not a live record. It’s a risk cemetery.
Most organizations start their risk register with good intentions. It’s meant to be a single source of truth, a living document that tracks exposures, informs decisions, and evolves with the business.
But give it six months, and things start to drift.
Risks stay open long after they’ve been addressed, new threats emerge but never make it in. Owners change roles, and updates stop happening… what started as a strategic tool ends up becoming a stagnant list.
And when that happens, no one trusts it.
People start managing risks in spreadsheets, or worse… not at all.
Signs Your Risk Register Is Deceased
You know something’s wrong when the same risks appear quarter after quarter with no status change. Or when nobody can say who’s responsible for which entry. Or when risks are so vague or generic that they offer no real insight.
These are signs of a register that’s become performative, not practical. It exists to satisfy audits and frameworks, not to guide action.
How to Resuscitate It
A useful risk register is active, not archival.
That means embedding regular updates into the flow of business. Assigning clear ownership. Closing risks that no longer apply. Reassessing priorities as conditions change. And making sure the register actually helps teams do their jobs, not just check a box.
It also means designing the system so it nudges the right behaviors. The more the platform prompts owners to update, shows dependencies, and links risks to real-world outcomes, the more likely it is to stay alive.
A risk register isn’t a museum.
It’s a working tool, built to reflect reality and support decisions.
Treat it that way, and it becomes a source of clarity. Let it rot, and it just becomes noise.
Want to bring yours back to life?
👉 https://empoweredsystems.com
