GLIDE Exam key terms

The system of rules, practices, and decision rights by which an organization is directed, controlled, and held accountable for its performance and conduct.

The obligation of an individual or body to answer for decisions, actions, and results to a higher authority or to stakeholders who granted the authority.

The careful, responsible management of resources and public trust entrusted to a leader, focused on long-term value rather than personal or short-term gain.

The formal assignment of decision-making power from a senior role to a subordinate, with defined limits, retained accountability, and documented scope.

A documented multi-year roadmap that states an organization's mission, priorities, measurable goals, and the initiatives and resources needed to achieve them.

Deliberate, ongoing communication with parties affected by or interested in an organization's decisions, used to gather input and build legitimacy for choices.

The practice of openly disclosing decisions, data, and rationale so that stakeholders can understand and evaluate how resources were used and choices were made.

The governing body's duty to monitor management performance, approve strategy and budgets, and ensure legal and ethical compliance without running daily operations.

A situation where a person's private interest or relationship could improperly influence official decisions, requiring disclosure, recusal, or other mitigation.

A written standard describing expected conduct, prohibited behaviors, and reporting channels, intended to guide decisions when rules are ambiguous or competing pressures exist.

The possibility that an event or uncertainty will affect the achievement of objectives, usually assessed by combining likelihood of occurrence with severity of impact.

The amount and type of risk an organization is willing to accept in pursuit of its objectives, expressed as a statement or set of tolerance limits approved by leadership.

A structured process of identifying potential threats, estimating likelihood and impact, and ranking them to prioritize treatment and resource allocation.

A living log listing identified risks, their owners, ratings, planned responses, and review dates, used to track and communicate risk status over time.

Actions taken to reduce the likelihood or impact of a risk, such as controls, transfers, contingency plans, or deliberate avoidance of the activity.

Policies, procedures, and system safeguards designed to prevent errors and fraud, protect assets, and ensure reliable reporting and compliance with applicable requirements.

Dividing related tasks such as authorization, custody, and recordkeeping among different people so no single individual can both cause and conceal an error or fraud.

An organized set of policies, training, monitoring, and enforcement activities that helps an organization meet legal, regulatory, and contractual obligations.

A measurable metric that signals rising exposure in a specific area, enabling early corrective action before a risk becomes a realized loss or failure.

Documented procedures for maintaining or restoring critical operations during and after disruption, including roles, alternate resources, and communication steps.

A financial plan that estimates expected revenue and authorizes planned spending for a defined period, typically tied to organizational priorities and approved by a governing body.

Comparing actual financial results with budgeted or forecast amounts, then explaining the size and cause of differences to inform corrective management action.

Assigning shared or indirect costs to programs, units, or services using a documented and defensible basis so that reported costs reflect resource consumption.

Pricing or funding practice that captures all direct and indirect costs of delivering a service, including overhead, so the organization does not subsidize work unintentionally.

The subset of controls ensuring transactions are properly authorized, recorded, and summarized so financial statements are accurate and free of material misstatement.

An updated projection of future financial results based on current performance, known commitments, and revised assumptions, used to adjust plans before period end.

Monitoring and timing inflows and outflows of cash to ensure sufficient liquidity to meet obligations and avoid disruptive shortfalls or idle balances.

A workforce strategy that forecasts the skills, staffing levels, and development actions needed to deliver organizational objectives over a defined horizon.

Identifying and developing internal candidates for key roles so that critical positions can be filled with minimal disruption when vacancies occur.

A recurring cycle of setting expectations, observing and coaching performance, appraising results, and addressing gaps through development or corrective action.

Using workforce data such as turnover, vacancy rates, and skill inventories to diagnose problems and guide staffing, retention, and development decisions.

The number of direct reports assigned to a manager, which shapes supervision quality, communication flow, and organizational structure design.

Planned investment in employee skills, experience, and career growth through training, coaching, and stretch assignments that serve both individual and organizational needs.

A written commitment defining expected service scope, quality, timeliness, and remedies, used to align provider performance with customer or stakeholder expectations.

Systematic effort to analyze how work flows, remove waste or bottlenecks, and redesign steps so that quality, speed, and cost outcomes improve measurably.

Selecting indicators and targets, then routinely collecting data to judge whether services, programs, or processes are achieving intended results efficiently and equitably.

Using software rules to route tasks, approvals, and notifications automatically, reducing manual handoffs, cycle time, and transcription errors in service delivery.

A predefined sequence of detection, containment, notification, and recovery steps activated when a disruptive event or security breach occurs.

The assignment of decision rights and standards for data quality, access, retention, and use, ensuring information is trustworthy, protected, and consistently defined.

Safeguards protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information systems and data through access controls, encryption, monitoring, and user awareness.

Rules and technologies determining who may view or change specific systems and records, typically based on role, least privilege, and periodic review of permissions.

A chronological, tamper-resistant record of system activity and transactions that allows reconstruction of who did what, when, and in what sequence.

A schedule specifying how long each category of information must be kept and when it must be securely destroyed, balancing legal duties with privacy and storage cost.

The degree to which information is accurate, complete, timely, consistent, and fit for its intended use in reporting and decision-making.