A.5.4 A.5 · Organisational Controls

A.5.4 — Management responsibilities

Require all managers to apply information security in accordance with established policies within their areas of responsibility.

Also written as A5.4, Annex A 5.4, ISO 27001:2022 A.5.4, ISO27001 A.5.4.

Written by Jett N. · Last reviewed

What ISO 27001 A.5.4 requires

Management responsibilities is one of 37 Organisational Controls in ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A. Require all managers to apply information security in accordance with established policies within their areas of responsibility. Organisational controls are judged on governance rather than tooling: an auditor wants a named owner, an approval trail, and evidence the control is exercised on a defined cadence rather than written once and filed.

Audit evidence assessors look for

When preparing your Statement of Applicability (SoA) for A.5.4, gather artefacts such as:

  • Manager IS responsibility section in employment contracts
  • Management IS awareness training records
  • Internal communications from management on IS obligations
  • Evidence of managers enforcing IS policy with their teams

How A.5.4 maps to SOC 2 and NIST CSF

If you run more than one framework, the same evidence usually satisfies all of them. A.5.4 aligns with:

SOC 2: CC1.1 Integrity and ethical values, CC1.5 Accountability for internal control

NIST CSF 2.0: GV.RR-01 Leadership accountability, GV.RR-02 Roles, responsibilities and authorities

ISO 27001:2013 mapping

A.5.4 consolidates the following ISO 27001:2013 control(s): A.7.2.1. If you are transitioning an existing ISMS, map your prior evidence for these to A.5.4 in your updated SoA.

Map A.5.4 to NIST CSF & SOC 2 →
Crosswalk this control in the Control Mapper & Gap Assessment.
Document the risk →
Record treatment for gaps against A.5.4 in the Risk Register.

Related Annex A controls

A.5.2 Information security roles and responsibilities A.5.1 Policies for information security A.6.2 Terms and conditions of employment A.6.6 Confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements A.5.36 Compliance with policies, rules and standards for information security A.6.4 Disciplinary process

See all 37 Organisational Controls →

Frequently asked questions

Is ISO 27001 A.5.4 mandatory?

Annex A controls are not mandatory in the abstract. Clause 6.1.3 requires you to compare your risk treatment plan against Annex A and justify, in the Statement of Applicability, any control you exclude. If your risk assessment surfaces a risk that A.5.4 addresses, excluding it needs a documented, risk-based rationale that an auditor will test.

How do auditors test ISO 27001 A.5.4?

In two passes. First design: does a documented control exist, is it owned, and does it address the risk? Then operating effectiveness: the auditor samples records from across the audit period to confirm the control actually ran. A Stage 2 audit will typically pull several samples, so evidence that only exists for the month before the audit is a common finding.

How often should A.5.4 be reviewed?

ISO 27001 sets no fixed interval — it requires review at "planned intervals" and after significant change. Annual review is the norm most certification bodies expect, with an out-of-cycle review triggered by incidents, major system changes, restructures, or new regulatory obligations. Record the review date and outcome either way; an undated control is treated as unreviewed.

What does ISO 27001 A.5.4 map to in SOC 2 and NIST CSF?

A.5.4 aligns with SOC 2 CC1.1, CC1.5 and NIST CSF GV.RR-01, GV.RR-02. Evidence gathered for one framework will usually satisfy the others, which is the basis for a test-once, satisfy-many control library.

What was A.5.4 in ISO 27001:2013?

A.5.4 consolidates 1 control(s) from the 2013 edition: A.7.2.1. When transitioning, re-point the existing evidence rather than rebuilding it — the underlying requirement has not changed materially.