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DORA Audit 2026: Is your organization truly audit-proof?
We make them resilient.
Since January 2025, the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) has been binding, but 2026 shows: the real challenge is only just beginning. Financial institutions are increasingly the focus of intensive DORA audits (On-Site Inspections, OSI). Many organizations have developed concepts and documentation. However, supervisory authorities are now evaluating something else: actual operational effectiveness.
Why do DORA audits result in so many findings?
Experienced audit teams analyze IT and governance structures down to the last detail. The focus here is not solely on the guidelines, but above all on their implementation. The result: 60 to over 100 findings per audit are no exception.
Particularly affected by this are:
- Critical or important functions
- ICT Third-Party Risk Management
- Operational Resilience
- Incident and Vulnerability Management
Where do the greatest DORA risks arise?
The biggest challenges currently lie in the interplay of various topics:
- Incomplete or inconsistent information networks
- Complex hyperscaler and SIEM architectures
- Inadequately implemented Privileged Access Management (PAM)
- Unclear roles between IT, risk, and compliance
Based on experience, auditors primarily test implemented governance in practice. Therefore, OSI findings arise mainly where responsibility is not clearly anchored. Central against this background: verifiable governance capability across the entire organization.
What really makes a DORA control audit-proof?
A resilient DORA operating model goes far beyond compliance.
Crucial factors are:
- End-to-end governance across IT, risk, compliance, and business units
- Complete and up-to-date registers
- Effective control and management mechanisms
- Verifiable implementation in operational business
„Most DORA programs are audit-ready, but not capable of being managed, as Harry Neumann, Partner and Financial Services Expert at AdEx Partners. „Clear roles, reliable registers, functioning control mechanisms, and audit-proof governance are needed here.“
How does AdEx Partners support DORA implementation?
We
- support each other in preparing systematically for OSIs using our field-tested script,
- are your sparring partner on an equal professional footing,
- accompany your audit team individually tailored 24/7 during the audit
- help with processing the findings and
- Communication with the supervisor.
This is how you can look forward to your DORA review with greater peace of mind and confidence.