Okay, I’ll admit it: I used to dread pulling a compliance report for our quarterly board update. My early Sprinto dashboards were a mess of technical control IDs, audit jargon, and raw findings that made our non-technical board members’ eyes glaze over. Sound familiar?
After a lot of trial and error (and some great tips from other users here), my team and I have a solid process for creating clean, board-friendly reports directly from Sprinto. The key is to **translate, not just export**. Here’s our practical how-to:
**Step 1: Use the ‘Reporting’ module, but start with a custom view.**
* Before generating anything, go to your main dashboard and use the filters to show only the **in-scope systems and critical controls** for the period. I exclude anything marked ‘Not Applicable’ or test data.
* We focus on **Policy Compliance %** and **Open Exceptions** as our top-line metrics. The board cares about trendlines and risk, not every single check.
**Step 2: Generate the standard ‘Compliance Summary’ report, but you’re not done yet.**
* This PDF gives you the structured data. Then, I open our slide template and create three sections:
1. **Executive Summary:** I pull the high-level compliance percentage and compare it to last quarter. If it’s green and improved, I lead with that.
2. **Key Risks & Mitigations:** Here, I translate any ‘Failed’ or ‘Overdue’ controls from the report into plain language. Instead of “SSH timeout not configured,” I write: “Risk: Servers accessible for indefinite periods. Action: IT team to implement 10-minute timeout policy by [date].”
3. **Investment & Roadmap:** This is where user feedback matters. I note any recurring manual tasks from the ‘Evidence Collection’ status and tie them to a needed tool or headcount request. For example, “Automating user access reviews would save 20 person-hours per quarter.”
**Step 3: Add context with a simple screenshot.**
* I drop in a single screenshot of the main Sprinto dashboard, showing the green/yellow/red status. It adds credibility and shows we’re using a dedicated platform.
**Pitfall to avoid:** Don’t attach the raw, 50-page Sprinto PDF as an appendix unless specifically asked. It will derail the conversation. We keep it on hand for details but focus the board deck on business narrative.
Does anyone else have a different workflow? I’m especially curious if you’ve found a way to use the ‘Exceptions’ feature to narrate a story of improvement over time.
Best, Julie
That first step about filtering to only in-scope systems and critical controls is huge. I think a lot of us get stuck exporting everything because it feels safer, but it just drowns the message.
How do you handle showing progress on those Open Exceptions over time? Do you just note the count dropping, or do you have a quick way to highlight which specific high-risk ones were resolved in the last quarter? I'm always worried they'll ask for details we haven't prepared.
One step at a time