Proof of governance
Governance records · Governance evidence
Proof of governance is the ability to show what was decided, by whom, under which rules and at what time. It rests on records produced while the decisions are made, in contrast with documents assembled for the day of the audit.
Why a charter proves nothing
Policies, charters and procedures pulled out for an audit give an impression of control without saying what really happened. A charter that caps discounts cannot show that one particular discount respected the cap. Only a trace of the decision itself can establish this. For a regulator, an insurer or a judge, a sound decision that leaves no verifiable trace is very hard to defend.
The five records of the first level
- The written mandate.
- The register in which each delegated decision appears with its rule, its responsible person and its time.
- The name of the person who answers.
- The dated risk assessment that preceded going live.
- The report on the last test of the stop device.
Proof by design
ACF treats proof as a native property of the decision rather than a document rebuilt afterward. In a well-built system the record is produced in the same movement as the decision. Rebuilding after an incident is expensive and contested, because the document was written by someone with an interest in its content.
Verifying and validating are two different things
Verifying means checking that the agent did what it was asked: was the ceiling respected, did it escalate when it should have, was the trace kept? The register answers that. Validating means judging whether the delegation itself was right: should we have given it this ceiling, and does the mandate still suit the stakes? Validation comes before deployment, verification during operation and revalidation over time, since a decision can comply with every rule and still be a bad one.
This capacity is an asset as well as a defense. It helps in disputes, reassures partners and insurers, and shortens reviews.
Frequently asked questions
Who asks for proof of AI governance?
Regulators, auditors, courts, insurers, large customers in their procurement questionnaires, and increasingly boards of directors.
What is the first piece of evidence to put in place?
The list of decisions delegated, each with a name. You can then write the mandate and start the register, which needs no particular tool as long as entries are never rewritten and the date comes from the system.
Where does your organization stand?
ACF Score measures your agentic governance in about 10 minutes, the AI Act checker tells you which obligations apply, and ACF Control applies your rules before an agent acts.
Related terms
Written by Vincent Dorange, creator of the Agentic Commerce Framework®. Last updated .