Automating access reviews in Identity Governance & Administration (IGA)

Why automate access reviews?

Access reviews ensure that employees, consultants, and external partners only have the access they need, no more and no less. When performed manually, these reviews can become a checkbox exercise, increasing the risk of oversight. By introducing automation, organizations can achieve consistent, timely reviews and minimize the potential for human error.

With an Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) platform, you can:

• Automatically initiate reviews when users join, change roles, or leave the organization (JML automation)
  

• Prioritize entitlements that carry higher risk

• Instantly remove access when privileges are revoked
  

• Collect audit-ready documentation automatically

How to automate access reviews in 5 steps

1. Start with clean identity data

Accurate identity data is the foundation. Make sure HR or another trusted system is the source of truth for who's part of your organization, their department, and reporting structure. Clean data promotes smooth automation and eliminates unnecessary headaches down the line.

2. Prioritize reviews based on risk

Not every system or access level requires the same review frequency. Adopting a risk-based approach keeps your efforts focused where it matters most:

• High-risk applications: Review quarterly or when significant events occur.

• Medium-risk applications: Review every six months.

• Low-risk applications: Review annually. 

This method helps you use resources efficiently and keeps your review process both thorough and manageable.

3. Automate what can be automated

Streamline the review process by using pre-certification logic. Automatically approve low-risk, unchanged access, and promptly revoke accounts that are inactive or orphaned. This means reviewers spend their time on the items that need real attention.

4. Make roles easy to understand

If reviewers must check every access right individually, the process quickly becomes overwhelming. By creating a straightforward, business-friendly role model (such as RBAC or ABAC), you can group permissions logically, for example all the systems a "Sales Manager" typically needs. This simplifies reviews and makes decision-making clearer for everyone involved.

5. Enforce and record decisions

Once reviewers have approved or removed access, the changes should take effect automatically through provisioning connectors or tickets with strict SLAs. Make sure each approval or removal is carefully logged, complete with timestamps and reasons, to support your ongoing compliance and audit needs.

Common challenges and how to address them

Below are some of typical challenges for organizations and how to overcome them: 

Reviewer fatigue: Too many low-risk items can overwhelm reviewers. Streamline the process with improved pre-certification rules and robust role management.

Outdated access models: Proactively review and refine roles and entitlements using up-to-date usage data for optimal access management.

Weak enforcement: Strengthen governance by ensuring that rejected access is promptly removed, ideally within a few hours.

Shadow IT: Enhance visibility and control by including all SaaS applications within your IGA scope.

Tracking your progress

To see how your automation is making a difference, keep an eye on:

The completion rate of reviews

How quickly rejected access is revoked

The percentage of orphaned accounts after each cycle

The number of Segregation of Duties (SoD) conflicts identified and resolved

Monitoring these metrics helps you showcase compliance and highlight the business value delivered.

Turning access reviews into a reliable control

Automating access reviews is not just about saving time. It builds trust in your access controls and reduces the risk of over-entitlement. Begin with your most important systems, establish clear ownership, and build from there.

With accurate data, a straightforward role model, and a risk-based mindset, automated access reviews can become a consistent, reassuring part of your security practice – no longer a once-a-year burden, but an ongoing, reliable process.

FAQ

What is the best approach to automate access reviews in IGA?

Start by bringing together clean identity data, a straightforward role model, and automated joiner-mover-leaver workflows. Add in risk-based review cycles and automatic enforcement with built-in audit trails to make the process seamless and reliable.

Who should approve access reviews?

Managers make sure there's a clear business need, application owners verify everyone has only the access they require, and security keeps an eye on anything high-risk.

How often should reviews be done?

It’s best to review high-risk access every quarter, medium-risk access every six months, and low-risk access once a year. Additionally, be sure to conduct reviews any time there’s a change in roles or employment.