What the Function Maintains
A named individual accountable for AI overall, with documented mandate; committee operating at the cadence the AI Lifecycle requires; the Capability Portfolio classified by Lifecycle stage.
One-Page Posture Statement Row
The Auditor's Question
"Who is accountable for AI in this function, what is their documented mandate, and how does the committee cadence map to your AI capability lifecycle?"
Editorial Framing
Governance posture is Element 4 because it answers the structural question: who is accountable. A function with a named individual accountable for AI overall — with documented mandate and articulable authority — has a structural anchor. A function without is exposed to Accountability dilution (RC-9) as a baseline condition, independent of any specific failure.
The Capability Portfolio surfaces the across-capability view: every AI capability registered with its current Lifecycle stage. The Governance Cadence surfaces the committee's calendar mapped to Lifecycle. Together they make governance posture verifiable.
Evidence Artefacts
- Named accountable individual's documented mandate
- Committee charter
- Governance Cadence (committee calendar mapped to Lifecycle stages)
- Capability Portfolio (every capability registered by current Lifecycle stage)
- Quarterly attestation log
Common Failure Modes
- Accountability assigned to a role rather than a named individual
- Documented mandate absent or out of date
- Capability Portfolio unmaintained — capabilities at different Lifecycle stages not visible together
- Governance Cadence drifts from the Lifecycle (committee meets quarterly but Operate-stage cadence requires monthly)