---
sourceDocument: Yokohama Governance, Risk, and Compliance
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/yokohama/governance-risk-compliance

 Release :

    - yokohama

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Yokohama Governance, Risk, and Compliance

ft:clusterId :

    - grc

bundleId :

    - grc

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Risk indicators, control indicators, and indicator templates

# Risk indicators, control indicators, and indicator templates {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Yokohama
* 
* Updated January 30, 2025
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 1 minute to read

Indicators are an important tool used to manage your organization's risks. Indicators
collect data to monitor controls and risks, and to collect audit evidence. Indicators monitor a
single control or risk. They are used to enhance and facilitate the monitoring, mitigation, and
reporting of risks.

## Indicators {#manage-indicators-risk__section_cqs_hkg_bqb}

Indicators are useful when you want to know if your organization is compliant before you do an audit. If certain controls are non-compliant, indicators help you identify them and enable you to correct them. Continuous monitoring involves activities related to identifying and creating key risk and control indicators. Indicators are of the following types:

* Manual: Manual indicators are used for data that cannot be retrieved from a ServiceNow instance because it comes from an external system, such as customer data from a third-party sales system.
* Basic: Basic indicators are automated indicators based on an indicator source. The indicator source specifies a table and a frequency at which the scores from this table are saved.
* Scripted: Scripted indicators use a custom script to collect the data.
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The GRC indicator nightly run job executes the indicators. When an
indicator is run, you have the option to collect supporting data. Supporting data refers to the
evidence that is collected when an indicator is run. Supporting data or information can be
collected for the indicators through automatic data collection or manual tasks.  
Indicators yield results when the indicator tasks are closed. Those results are then used to create issues for controls, update risk scores, and provide supporting information for audit activities and control testing. Starting with version 10.1, the system displays the actual historical data for the supporting data records from the indicator results or indicator tasks. For more information on how to create the various types of indicators, see:

* [Create and run a manual risk indicator in the Risk Workspace](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/weo_FVrV~b4x89VsrNylfQ "Create and run a manual risk indicator to identify the possibility of a future adverse impact on your organization. Indicators are an early warning system and they enable you to take preventative actions on risks. In a manual indicator, the results are manually gathered using task assignments.")
* [Create and run a basic risk indicator in the Risk Workspace](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/z1S_687MWep2SDEgvEzOiQ "Create and run a basic risk indicator to identify the possibility of a future adverse impact on your organization. Indicators are an early warning system and they enable you to take preventative action on the risks. Basic indicators are automated indicators based on an indicator source.")
* [Create and run a scripted risk indicator in the Risk Workspace](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/ZFdc7SjkVm_5Zu6WmSllWQ "Create and run a scripted risk indicator to identify the possibility of a future adverse impact on your organization. A scripted indicator enables you to write your own script to run the indicators. Indicators are an early warning system and they enable you to take preventative action on the risks.")
{#manage-indicators-risk__ul_c3y_sfg_gqb}

## Indicator templates {#manage-indicators-risk__section_mbl_x1k_1qb}

Indicator templates enable you to create multiple indicators for similar controls or risks.
You can either use an indicator template to create indicators or you can create independent
indicators. Even if you use an indicator template to create an indicator, you can modify or
override the details of the indicators.