Overview
ISO 37004:2023, "Governance of organizations - Governance maturity model - Guidance", provides internationally agreed guidance for measuring and improving an organization’s governance maturity. Building on ISO 37000 governance principles and key aspects of practice, ISO 37004 defines the concept of governance maturity, a measurement framework, associated maturity scales, and a governance maturity model that are applicable to all types and sizes of organizations worldwide.
Key topics and technical elements
- Governance maturity aspects: Focuses on three interrelated dimensions - governance behaviour of the governing body, governance effectiveness, and governance efficiency.
- Measurement framework: Describes core measurement principles and activities, including Commitment, Design, Implement, Oversee, and Action.
- Maturity scales: Presents separate scales for governance behaviour, effectiveness, and efficiency, plus an aggregated governance maturity scale to summarize results.
- Measurement aggregation & calculation: Guidance on aggregating evaluations, applying judgement, and producing a combined maturity rating.
- Model content & evaluation: Sets out maturity model structure, evaluation judgements, and reporting expectations.
- Improvement guidance: Explains how to determine governance appropriateness, set improvement targets, and implement initiatives to raise maturity levels.
- Applicability: Designed for universal application-independent of sector, size, or location-while recognising that governance practices should be tailored to organizational context.
Practical applications and users
ISO 37004 is practical for organizations and stakeholders who need a consistent, repeatable approach to assess and improve governance:
- Governing bodies and boards: to self-assess governance behaviour and demonstrate accountability.
- Senior management and governance officers: to prioritise governance improvements and align governance practices with organisational purpose and values.
- Internal auditors and assurance functions: to benchmark governance maturity and integrate results into risk and compliance reporting.
- External stakeholders (investors, regulators, donors): to evaluate governance robustness for decision-making and oversight.
- Consultants and benchmarking services: to provide standardized maturity assessments, comparisons, and improvement roadmaps.
Benefits include improved stakeholder confidence, clearer prioritisation of governance risks, consistent benchmarking against ISO 37000 principles, and structured reporting of governance maturity over time.
Related standards
- ISO 37000, Governance of organizations - Guidance (normative reference): provides the governance conditions, principles and key aspects of practice that ISO 37004 measures against.
Keywords: ISO 37004:2023, governance maturity model, governance assessment, ISO 37000, governance measurement framework, governing body, governance improvement.
