AuditBoard

AuditBoard built a $300 million ARR business by making internal audit, risk, and compliance workflows fast, collaborative, and AI-powered. But here's the problem: Workiva dominates financial reporting and ESG compliance with robust integration capabilities. ServiceNow owns enterprise workflow automation across IT, security, risk, and compliance. IBM OpenPages scales GRC for large enterprises with deep analytics. OneTrust dominates privacy and security compliance markets. AuditBoard's audit-first positioning is being squeezed by generalist platforms and point specialists.

Governance

Risk Management

🗓 Founded

2014

💰 Revenue

$300M

🌎 Headquarter

Los Angeles, US

👥 Employees

946

AuditBoard

AuditBoard built a $300 million ARR business by making internal audit, risk, and compliance workflows fast, collaborative, and AI-powered. But here's the problem: Workiva dominates financial reporting and ESG compliance with robust integration capabilities. ServiceNow owns enterprise workflow automation across IT, security, risk, and compliance. IBM OpenPages scales GRC for large enterprises with deep analytics. OneTrust dominates privacy and security compliance markets. AuditBoard's audit-first positioning is being squeezed by generalist platforms and point specialists.

Governance

Risk Management

AuditBoard

AuditBoard built a $300 million ARR business by making internal audit, risk, and compliance workflows fast, collaborative, and AI-powered. But here's the problem: Workiva dominates financial reporting and ESG compliance with robust integration capabilities. ServiceNow owns enterprise workflow automation across IT, security, risk, and compliance. IBM OpenPages scales GRC for large enterprises with deep analytics. OneTrust dominates privacy and security compliance markets. AuditBoard's audit-first positioning is being squeezed by generalist platforms and point specialists.

Governance

Risk Management

🗓 Founded

2014

💰 Revenue

$300M

🌎 Headquarter

Los Angeles, US

👥 Employees

946

AuditBoard

AuditBoard's competitive landscape is intensifying from every direction. The GRC software market is estimated at $9.5B+ globally with 15%+ CAGR through 2030. That should be good news for AuditBoard. It's not. Here's why.

AuditBoard achieved $300M ARR with 2,000+ customers and strong Fortune 500 penetration (50% of F500). The company maintains 98% customer retention and is ranked by G2 as market leader in Audit Management for 8+ consecutive quarters. AuditBoard held only 2.22% market share despite being a top-3 player, indicating market fragmentation.

But competitive pressure is intensifying from multiple directions. Workiva dominates financial reporting and ESG with 5B+ market cap and superior integration capabilities. ServiceNow GRC offers workflow automation and risk orchestration at enterprise scale. IBM OpenPages and OneTrust each own $2B+ valuations with specialized compliance focus. Diligent owns board governance integration. LogicGate focuses on workflow customization for mid-market.

This is AuditBoard's competitive moment. The question isn't whether GRC software matters. It's whether AuditBoard can defend audit-first positioning against platforms that offer broader GRC plus specialized compliance modules.


Competitive Advantage

Despite competitive pressure, AuditBoard maintains three structural advantages:

Audit-First Connected Risk Platform. AuditBoard's architecture connects internal audit, risk, compliance, and ESG workflows into one "connected risk" model. Unlike Workiva (financial reporting-first) or ServiceNow (IT service management-first), AuditBoard starts with the internal audit workflow—evidence collection, testing, control validation, and issue remediation. CEO Raul Villar Jr. explains: "Connected risk turns noisy workflows into repeatable outcomes — reducing handoffs, automating checks and keeping the quarter on track with people-first AI".

98% Customer Retention & Strength in Fortune 500. AuditBoard maintains 98% customer retention and serves 50% of Fortune 500—more than comparable competitors. This indicates strong product-market fit with the C-suite. The company's G2 leadership in Audit Management for 8+ consecutive quarters reflects customer satisfaction above alternatives.

AI-Powered Automation & Analytics. AuditBoard AI automates evidence collection, control testing, report summarization, and issue mapping. AuditBoard Analytics streamlines audit testing with out-of-the-box use cases and no/low-code analytics workflows. The recent acquisition of FairNow (AI governance platform) positions AuditBoard as a leader in the emerging AI governance compliance category.

But here's the uncomfortable truth: these advantages are being challenged. Workiva is adding audit capabilities alongside financial reporting. ServiceNow is expanding into specialized GRC domains. Diligent and LogicGate are winning customers on customization and ease-of-use.

Workiva – The Financial Reporting & ESG Incumbent

Workiva doesn't compete with AuditBoard on audit workflows. Workiva competes on financial reporting integration and ESG compliance excellence.

Workiva is a public company ($5B+ market cap) that dominates connected reporting for financial compliance, ESG disclosures, and internal audits. The platform excels where audit data feeds into financial statements and regulatory filings.

What Workiva Does

Workiva enables seamless real-time communication among teams, links data across reports for consistency, and provides tools for audit planning, risk assessments, and issue tracking. The platform supports SOX, GDPR, and ESG reporting frameworks with automated data gathering from multiple sources. Workiva integrates with ERP systems and financial platforms better than AuditBoard.

Workiva sells to CFOs, controllers, and compliance officers—anyone managing regulatory reporting.

Why This Matters

Workiva's superior financial reporting and ESG integration appeal to organizations managing SOX, GDPR, and ESG at scale. The platform's connectivity to finance systems creates switching costs.

The Vulnerabilities

Workiva lacks AuditBoard's specialized audit workflows and control testing features. Workiva's pricing is higher for advanced modules. For pure audit teams, Workiva feels over-engineered.

But Workiva's financial integration is a fortress. Companies managing both audit and regulatory reporting often choose Workiva for compliance consolidation.

ServiceNow GRC – The Workflow Automation Powerhouse

ServiceNow doesn't compete with AuditBoard on audit specialization. ServiceNow competes on workflow automation and existing customer relationships.

ServiceNow is a public company ($200B+ market cap) that dominates enterprise workflow automation across IT service management, ITSM, security, and GRC. Organizations already using ServiceNow for IT operations increasingly want GRC on the same platform.

What ServiceNow Does

ServiceNow GRC harnesses the ServiceNow Now Platform to enhance visibility and orchestrate cross-functional GRC processes, detect and assess risks in real-time, and streamline compliance controls. The platform offers automated, workflow-driven risk orchestration that connects incidents, audits, and remediation tasks into one lifecycle. AI-powered actionable insights help accelerate decision-making with predictive analytics.

ServiceNow sells to CISOs, IT leaders, and enterprise risk teams already embedded in the ServiceNow ecosystem.

Why This Matters

ServiceNow's existing relationship with IT and security organizations creates distribution advantages. The platform's workflow automation and incident-to-risk-to-control remediation resonates with enterprises managing complex cross-functional processes.

The Vulnerabilities

ServiceNow has a steep learning curve and requires significant training and customization. ServiceNow pricing can be expensive, ranging $50,000 to $500,000+ annually depending on configuration. For audit-specialized workflows, ServiceNow feels over-engineered.

But ServiceNow's ecosystem lock-in and automation capabilities are formidable. Organizations with existing ServiceNow investments often consolidate GRC there.

AuditBoard's Strategic Positioning (Market Fragmentation)

AuditBoard's evolution under new CEO Raul Villar Jr. signals a strategic shift: from audit-first to connected risk first, with AI and ESG as expansion vectors.

AuditBoard acquired FairNow (AI governance platform) in October 2025 to expand capabilities in the emerging AI governance compliance category. The company is being positioned as the "connected risk" leader—linking audit, security, operations, and ESG risk into one executive dashboard. Villar emphasizes: "You can't invest in everything to prevent risk, but you know which ones are the highest probability of failure and that's what we're trying to solve for".

But this expansion creates execution risk. AuditBoard is now competing with Workiva on ESG, ServiceNow on workflow automation, and IBM OpenPages on enterprise GRC—all simultaneously. The GRC market holds only 2.22% mindshare despite being AuditBoard's core market, indicating deep fragmentation.

Why This Is Problematic

The GRC market is bifurcating into generalists (ServiceNow, SAP) and specialists (AuditBoard for audit, OneTrust for privacy, LogicGate for customization). AuditBoard is stuck in the middle—not generalist enough to beat ServiceNow on workflow automation, not specialized enough to own audit exclusively as generalists add audit features.

Hg's acquisition of AuditBoard for $3B signals confidence in the connected risk thesis. But Villar's focus on "customer outcomes" and "people-first AI" suggests the new strategy is doubling down on the core: make audit teams' work faster, smarter, and more integrated with enterprise risk.

AuditBoard

AuditBoard's competitive landscape is intensifying from every direction. The GRC software market is estimated at $9.5B+ globally with 15%+ CAGR through 2030. That should be good news for AuditBoard. It's not. Here's why.

AuditBoard achieved $300M ARR with 2,000+ customers and strong Fortune 500 penetration (50% of F500). The company maintains 98% customer retention and is ranked by G2 as market leader in Audit Management for 8+ consecutive quarters. AuditBoard held only 2.22% market share despite being a top-3 player, indicating market fragmentation.

But competitive pressure is intensifying from multiple directions. Workiva dominates financial reporting and ESG with 5B+ market cap and superior integration capabilities. ServiceNow GRC offers workflow automation and risk orchestration at enterprise scale. IBM OpenPages and OneTrust each own $2B+ valuations with specialized compliance focus. Diligent owns board governance integration. LogicGate focuses on workflow customization for mid-market.

This is AuditBoard's competitive moment. The question isn't whether GRC software matters. It's whether AuditBoard can defend audit-first positioning against platforms that offer broader GRC plus specialized compliance modules.


Competitive Advantage

Despite competitive pressure, AuditBoard maintains three structural advantages:

Audit-First Connected Risk Platform. AuditBoard's architecture connects internal audit, risk, compliance, and ESG workflows into one "connected risk" model. Unlike Workiva (financial reporting-first) or ServiceNow (IT service management-first), AuditBoard starts with the internal audit workflow—evidence collection, testing, control validation, and issue remediation. CEO Raul Villar Jr. explains: "Connected risk turns noisy workflows into repeatable outcomes — reducing handoffs, automating checks and keeping the quarter on track with people-first AI".

98% Customer Retention & Strength in Fortune 500. AuditBoard maintains 98% customer retention and serves 50% of Fortune 500—more than comparable competitors. This indicates strong product-market fit with the C-suite. The company's G2 leadership in Audit Management for 8+ consecutive quarters reflects customer satisfaction above alternatives.

AI-Powered Automation & Analytics. AuditBoard AI automates evidence collection, control testing, report summarization, and issue mapping. AuditBoard Analytics streamlines audit testing with out-of-the-box use cases and no/low-code analytics workflows. The recent acquisition of FairNow (AI governance platform) positions AuditBoard as a leader in the emerging AI governance compliance category.

But here's the uncomfortable truth: these advantages are being challenged. Workiva is adding audit capabilities alongside financial reporting. ServiceNow is expanding into specialized GRC domains. Diligent and LogicGate are winning customers on customization and ease-of-use.

Workiva – The Financial Reporting & ESG Incumbent

Workiva doesn't compete with AuditBoard on audit workflows. Workiva competes on financial reporting integration and ESG compliance excellence.

Workiva is a public company ($5B+ market cap) that dominates connected reporting for financial compliance, ESG disclosures, and internal audits. The platform excels where audit data feeds into financial statements and regulatory filings.

What Workiva Does

Workiva enables seamless real-time communication among teams, links data across reports for consistency, and provides tools for audit planning, risk assessments, and issue tracking. The platform supports SOX, GDPR, and ESG reporting frameworks with automated data gathering from multiple sources. Workiva integrates with ERP systems and financial platforms better than AuditBoard.

Workiva sells to CFOs, controllers, and compliance officers—anyone managing regulatory reporting.

Why This Matters

Workiva's superior financial reporting and ESG integration appeal to organizations managing SOX, GDPR, and ESG at scale. The platform's connectivity to finance systems creates switching costs.

The Vulnerabilities

Workiva lacks AuditBoard's specialized audit workflows and control testing features. Workiva's pricing is higher for advanced modules. For pure audit teams, Workiva feels over-engineered.

But Workiva's financial integration is a fortress. Companies managing both audit and regulatory reporting often choose Workiva for compliance consolidation.

ServiceNow GRC – The Workflow Automation Powerhouse

ServiceNow doesn't compete with AuditBoard on audit specialization. ServiceNow competes on workflow automation and existing customer relationships.

ServiceNow is a public company ($200B+ market cap) that dominates enterprise workflow automation across IT service management, ITSM, security, and GRC. Organizations already using ServiceNow for IT operations increasingly want GRC on the same platform.

What ServiceNow Does

ServiceNow GRC harnesses the ServiceNow Now Platform to enhance visibility and orchestrate cross-functional GRC processes, detect and assess risks in real-time, and streamline compliance controls. The platform offers automated, workflow-driven risk orchestration that connects incidents, audits, and remediation tasks into one lifecycle. AI-powered actionable insights help accelerate decision-making with predictive analytics.

ServiceNow sells to CISOs, IT leaders, and enterprise risk teams already embedded in the ServiceNow ecosystem.

Why This Matters

ServiceNow's existing relationship with IT and security organizations creates distribution advantages. The platform's workflow automation and incident-to-risk-to-control remediation resonates with enterprises managing complex cross-functional processes.

The Vulnerabilities

ServiceNow has a steep learning curve and requires significant training and customization. ServiceNow pricing can be expensive, ranging $50,000 to $500,000+ annually depending on configuration. For audit-specialized workflows, ServiceNow feels over-engineered.

But ServiceNow's ecosystem lock-in and automation capabilities are formidable. Organizations with existing ServiceNow investments often consolidate GRC there.

AuditBoard's Strategic Positioning (Market Fragmentation)

AuditBoard's evolution under new CEO Raul Villar Jr. signals a strategic shift: from audit-first to connected risk first, with AI and ESG as expansion vectors.

AuditBoard acquired FairNow (AI governance platform) in October 2025 to expand capabilities in the emerging AI governance compliance category. The company is being positioned as the "connected risk" leader—linking audit, security, operations, and ESG risk into one executive dashboard. Villar emphasizes: "You can't invest in everything to prevent risk, but you know which ones are the highest probability of failure and that's what we're trying to solve for".

But this expansion creates execution risk. AuditBoard is now competing with Workiva on ESG, ServiceNow on workflow automation, and IBM OpenPages on enterprise GRC—all simultaneously. The GRC market holds only 2.22% mindshare despite being AuditBoard's core market, indicating deep fragmentation.

Why This Is Problematic

The GRC market is bifurcating into generalists (ServiceNow, SAP) and specialists (AuditBoard for audit, OneTrust for privacy, LogicGate for customization). AuditBoard is stuck in the middle—not generalist enough to beat ServiceNow on workflow automation, not specialized enough to own audit exclusively as generalists add audit features.

Hg's acquisition of AuditBoard for $3B signals confidence in the connected risk thesis. But Villar's focus on "customer outcomes" and "people-first AI" suggests the new strategy is doubling down on the core: make audit teams' work faster, smarter, and more integrated with enterprise risk.

AuditBoard

AuditBoard's competitive landscape is intensifying from every direction. The GRC software market is estimated at $9.5B+ globally with 15%+ CAGR through 2030. That should be good news for AuditBoard. It's not. Here's why.

AuditBoard achieved $300M ARR with 2,000+ customers and strong Fortune 500 penetration (50% of F500). The company maintains 98% customer retention and is ranked by G2 as market leader in Audit Management for 8+ consecutive quarters. AuditBoard held only 2.22% market share despite being a top-3 player, indicating market fragmentation.

But competitive pressure is intensifying from multiple directions. Workiva dominates financial reporting and ESG with 5B+ market cap and superior integration capabilities. ServiceNow GRC offers workflow automation and risk orchestration at enterprise scale. IBM OpenPages and OneTrust each own $2B+ valuations with specialized compliance focus. Diligent owns board governance integration. LogicGate focuses on workflow customization for mid-market.

This is AuditBoard's competitive moment. The question isn't whether GRC software matters. It's whether AuditBoard can defend audit-first positioning against platforms that offer broader GRC plus specialized compliance modules.


Competitive Advantage

Despite competitive pressure, AuditBoard maintains three structural advantages:

Audit-First Connected Risk Platform. AuditBoard's architecture connects internal audit, risk, compliance, and ESG workflows into one "connected risk" model. Unlike Workiva (financial reporting-first) or ServiceNow (IT service management-first), AuditBoard starts with the internal audit workflow—evidence collection, testing, control validation, and issue remediation. CEO Raul Villar Jr. explains: "Connected risk turns noisy workflows into repeatable outcomes — reducing handoffs, automating checks and keeping the quarter on track with people-first AI".

98% Customer Retention & Strength in Fortune 500. AuditBoard maintains 98% customer retention and serves 50% of Fortune 500—more than comparable competitors. This indicates strong product-market fit with the C-suite. The company's G2 leadership in Audit Management for 8+ consecutive quarters reflects customer satisfaction above alternatives.

AI-Powered Automation & Analytics. AuditBoard AI automates evidence collection, control testing, report summarization, and issue mapping. AuditBoard Analytics streamlines audit testing with out-of-the-box use cases and no/low-code analytics workflows. The recent acquisition of FairNow (AI governance platform) positions AuditBoard as a leader in the emerging AI governance compliance category.

But here's the uncomfortable truth: these advantages are being challenged. Workiva is adding audit capabilities alongside financial reporting. ServiceNow is expanding into specialized GRC domains. Diligent and LogicGate are winning customers on customization and ease-of-use.

Workiva – The Financial Reporting & ESG Incumbent

Workiva doesn't compete with AuditBoard on audit workflows. Workiva competes on financial reporting integration and ESG compliance excellence.

Workiva is a public company ($5B+ market cap) that dominates connected reporting for financial compliance, ESG disclosures, and internal audits. The platform excels where audit data feeds into financial statements and regulatory filings.

What Workiva Does

Workiva enables seamless real-time communication among teams, links data across reports for consistency, and provides tools for audit planning, risk assessments, and issue tracking. The platform supports SOX, GDPR, and ESG reporting frameworks with automated data gathering from multiple sources. Workiva integrates with ERP systems and financial platforms better than AuditBoard.

Workiva sells to CFOs, controllers, and compliance officers—anyone managing regulatory reporting.

Why This Matters

Workiva's superior financial reporting and ESG integration appeal to organizations managing SOX, GDPR, and ESG at scale. The platform's connectivity to finance systems creates switching costs.

The Vulnerabilities

Workiva lacks AuditBoard's specialized audit workflows and control testing features. Workiva's pricing is higher for advanced modules. For pure audit teams, Workiva feels over-engineered.

But Workiva's financial integration is a fortress. Companies managing both audit and regulatory reporting often choose Workiva for compliance consolidation.

ServiceNow GRC – The Workflow Automation Powerhouse

ServiceNow doesn't compete with AuditBoard on audit specialization. ServiceNow competes on workflow automation and existing customer relationships.

ServiceNow is a public company ($200B+ market cap) that dominates enterprise workflow automation across IT service management, ITSM, security, and GRC. Organizations already using ServiceNow for IT operations increasingly want GRC on the same platform.

What ServiceNow Does

ServiceNow GRC harnesses the ServiceNow Now Platform to enhance visibility and orchestrate cross-functional GRC processes, detect and assess risks in real-time, and streamline compliance controls. The platform offers automated, workflow-driven risk orchestration that connects incidents, audits, and remediation tasks into one lifecycle. AI-powered actionable insights help accelerate decision-making with predictive analytics.

ServiceNow sells to CISOs, IT leaders, and enterprise risk teams already embedded in the ServiceNow ecosystem.

Why This Matters

ServiceNow's existing relationship with IT and security organizations creates distribution advantages. The platform's workflow automation and incident-to-risk-to-control remediation resonates with enterprises managing complex cross-functional processes.

The Vulnerabilities

ServiceNow has a steep learning curve and requires significant training and customization. ServiceNow pricing can be expensive, ranging $50,000 to $500,000+ annually depending on configuration. For audit-specialized workflows, ServiceNow feels over-engineered.

But ServiceNow's ecosystem lock-in and automation capabilities are formidable. Organizations with existing ServiceNow investments often consolidate GRC there.

AuditBoard's Strategic Positioning (Market Fragmentation)

AuditBoard's evolution under new CEO Raul Villar Jr. signals a strategic shift: from audit-first to connected risk first, with AI and ESG as expansion vectors.

AuditBoard acquired FairNow (AI governance platform) in October 2025 to expand capabilities in the emerging AI governance compliance category. The company is being positioned as the "connected risk" leader—linking audit, security, operations, and ESG risk into one executive dashboard. Villar emphasizes: "You can't invest in everything to prevent risk, but you know which ones are the highest probability of failure and that's what we're trying to solve for".

But this expansion creates execution risk. AuditBoard is now competing with Workiva on ESG, ServiceNow on workflow automation, and IBM OpenPages on enterprise GRC—all simultaneously. The GRC market holds only 2.22% mindshare despite being AuditBoard's core market, indicating deep fragmentation.

Why This Is Problematic

The GRC market is bifurcating into generalists (ServiceNow, SAP) and specialists (AuditBoard for audit, OneTrust for privacy, LogicGate for customization). AuditBoard is stuck in the middle—not generalist enough to beat ServiceNow on workflow automation, not specialized enough to own audit exclusively as generalists add audit features.

Hg's acquisition of AuditBoard for $3B signals confidence in the connected risk thesis. But Villar's focus on "customer outcomes" and "people-first AI" suggests the new strategy is doubling down on the core: make audit teams' work faster, smarter, and more integrated with enterprise risk.

Made in Europe 🇪🇺 Zeitgeist Intelligence Market Technologies FlexCo. All rights reserved. © 2025

Made in Europe 🇪🇺 Zeitgeist Intelligence Market Technologies FlexCo. All rights reserved. © 2025

Made in Europe 🇪🇺 Zeitgeist Intelligence Market Technologies FlexCo. All rights reserved. © 2025