What is an example of a preventative control?

Preventative controls are designed to deter or prevent undesirable events from occurring before they happen. The segregation of duties is a classic example of a preventative control because it involves distributing responsibilities among different individuals to reduce the risk of errors or fraud. By ensuring that no single individual has control over all aspects of a financial transaction, organizations can mitigate the risk of manipulation or misappropriation of assets. This distribution of tasks creates a system of checks and balances within the operation, making it more difficult for any single individual to carry out and conceal fraudulent activities without detection.

The other choices, while important in their own right, focus on different aspects of risk management. Automated alerts for anomalies serve as a detection mechanism rather than a prevention method, as they identify issues after they have occurred. Regular training sessions for staff enhance awareness and understanding of controls but do not inherently stop an undesirable event from happening. Post-incident reviews are purely reactive; they analyze events that have already transpired to prevent future recurrence, rather than preventing an incident before it occurs. Thus, while all these controls play a role in a comprehensive risk management strategy, segregation of duties explicitly aims to prevent issues proactively.