Vendor Control Gap Calculator

Turn assessments into clear, actionable vendor plans fast. Compare control areas, weights, and evidence confidence. Download results, share with teams, reduce third‑party risk quickly.

Vendor Details
Add context for your assessment and exports.
Tier reflects business criticality and exposure.
Risk & Evidence Inputs
These help estimate residual third‑party risk.
Higher means stronger proof and testing depth.
Higher reduces residual risk from gaps.
Inherent Risk Factors (1–5)
Use your internal vendor-tiering rubric.
These combine into an inherent risk score (0–100).
Control Coverage by Domain
Enter totals, implementation status, and importance weights.
Input rules
  • Applicable = Total − Not Applicable.
  • Implemented and Partial are capped to applicable controls.
  • Weights range from 1 (low impact) to 5 (high impact).
Domain Total Not Applicable Implemented Partial Weight (1–5)
Access Control
Data Protection
Incident Response
Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery
Monitoring & Logging
Vulnerability Management
Compliance & Privacy
Reset
Results appear above this form after submission.
Example Data Table
A realistic snapshot for a mid‑risk SaaS vendor.
Domain Total Not Applicable Implemented Partial Weight
Access Control2221445
Data Protection2011255
Incident Response161934
BC/DR142734
Monitoring & Logging183944
Tip: Start with your vendor questionnaire and map each requirement to one domain.
Formula Used
Transparent calculations for repeatable assessments.
  • Applicable = Total − Not Applicable
  • Effective Implemented = Implemented + (Partial × 0.5)
  • Coverage = Effective Implemented ÷ Applicable
  • Gap = 1 − Coverage
  • Weighted Gap = Σ(Gap × Weight) ÷ Σ(Weight)
  • Weighted Gap % = Weighted Gap × 100
  • Coverage % = 100 − Weighted Gap %
Residual Risk (estimation)
  • Inherent Risk Score = average(risk factors 1–5) × 20
  • Residual Risk = Inherent Risk × (Gap % ÷ 100) × (1 − Compensating %)
Adjust weights to match your control framework and vendor tiering model.
How to Use This Calculator
A practical workflow for third‑party reviews.
  1. Group vendor requirements into the listed domains.
  2. Enter total controls and mark not-applicable items.
  3. Count implemented and partially implemented controls.
  4. Set weights based on impact, exposure, and tier.
  5. Choose risk factors and compensating control effectiveness.
  6. Press Submit to view results and download reports.
Note
This tool supports prioritization and reporting. Always validate with interviews, evidence review, and control testing before making risk acceptance decisions.

Control gaps define third‑party exposure

Vendor gaps appear when required safeguards are missing, partial, or untested. In many programs, 40–60% of questionnaire items map to access, data protection, monitoring, and response. This calculator converts those counts into a comparable gap percentage so reviews stay consistent across vendors, tiers, and regions. Teams can set targets, keeping weighted gaps under 20% for Tier 1 services quickly.

Weighted scoring keeps priorities realistic

Not every control has equal impact. A weight scale of 1–5 lets you elevate high‑impact domains, such as encryption or privileged access. If two vendors both show 30% raw gaps, the one with higher weights in critical domains will surface as a higher weighted gap, guiding remediation sequencing. Many organizations start with weights of 5 for data protection and access control, 4 for incident response and monitoring, and 3 for continuity and compliance.

Coverage uses partial credit for progress

Implementations are rarely binary. The tool credits partial controls at 50% by default, reflecting “designed but not enforced” states. For example, 12 implemented and 4 partial out of 18 applicable yields effective implementation of 14.0 and coverage of 77.8%, which translates into a 22.2% gap for that domain. If partial controls are closer to “implemented,” you can model that by converting some partial items into implemented counts during re‑assessment.

Residual risk ties gaps to inherent exposure

Risk factors (1–5) translate into an inherent risk score (0–100). Residual risk then scales with the weighted gap and is reduced by compensating controls. With inherent risk 70, weighted gap 35%, and compensating effectiveness 20%, residual risk estimates 19.6. Evidence confidence adds operational context: a 90% confidence score suggests strong testing, while 50% indicates that document review should be supplemented with technical validation or interviews.

Reporting improves audits and follow‑ups

Exported CSV and PDF outputs help track remediation over time. Capture assessment date, tier, and evidence confidence to support re‑testing cycles. A practical cadence is 90 days for critical vendors and 180 days for medium‑impact vendors, with targeted retests focused on the top three gap drivers. When gaps remain above policy thresholds, document acceptance rationale, compensating measures, and deadlines in your vendor register to maintain traceability.

FAQs
Quick guidance for consistent vendor assessments.

What does the weighted gap percentage represent?

It shows the average shortfall across applicable controls after applying domain weights. A lower value indicates stronger overall control coverage in higher‑impact areas.

How should I pick weights from 1 to 5?

Start from your risk appetite: use 5 for domains tied to critical data and privileged access, 4 for monitoring and incident response, and 3 for continuity or compliance. Adjust by vendor tier and integration depth.

Why are partial controls counted at 50%?

Partial credit models controls that exist but are not fully enforced, such as MFA for admins only. It prevents overstating maturity while still recognizing progress. Reassess and move items to implemented when evidence improves.

How is residual risk estimated in this tool?

Residual risk scales inherent exposure (0–100) by the weighted gap, then reduces it by compensating control effectiveness. It is a prioritization aid, not a substitute for testing or formal risk acceptance.

What is evidence confidence used for?

Evidence confidence reflects how reliable the control claims are. Higher scores suggest validated testing, logs, or attestations. Lower scores indicate you should request additional artifacts, interviews, or technical verification before closing gaps.

Can I use the exports for audits and tracking?

Yes. CSV supports trend analysis and remediation tracking, while PDF is useful for sharing assessment snapshots. Store exports with dates, tier, owners, and retest plans to show governance over third‑party risk.

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