"Operational Review" describes a proactive assessment of the governance, operational design, and process control procedures within an organization. This comprehensive assessment assesses the readiness of the organization to achieve their objectives, including operational efficiency and effectiveness, as well as the ability of the internal control structure to protect the assets of the organization and deter fraud. The operational review is designed to reveal how the organization currently operates, as well as how prepared the organization is to meet future challenges.

While the "Internal Control Assessment" is primarily concerned with how the organization controls transactions, the Operational Review analyzes how the organization manages operations. The holistic nature of the assessment provides invaluable information to allow any organization to raise their performance to the next level.

Linking organizational objectives with the underlying means available to achieving those objectives is essential to identify opportunities to streamline and enhance the business operations. Frequently this process identifies opportunities to improve the efficiency of the business processes by identifying redundant and archaic control activities, freeing the operation to perform better, while at the same time improving overall control.