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Independent Security Studies: Are You Looking at Executive Risk the Right Way?
Many organizations already have cameras, access control, travel procedures, workplace violence programs, or executive protection measures in place. However, some have never formally evaluated the security risks affecting their executives. A holistic way to address these security risks is through an Independent Security Study (ISS), which steps back and asks a broader question:
“What risks is our executive facing, and are the measures in place appropriate?”
An ISS is not a facility security assessment, workplace violence assessment, or enterprise-wide risk assessment. Instead, it focuses on the specific risks, exposures, and security concerns affecting designated executives or principals based upon their unique role, and association with, the entity.
One of the most common misconceptions is that an ISS is simply a tax-related exercise exclusively for publicly-traded companies. While an ISS may support Internal Revenue Code (IRC) §132 considerations, its value extends well beyond that purpose. In addition to companies with a stock ticker, an ISS may also result in favorable tax treatment for law firms, privately held companies, private equity firms, and family offices. Given the holistic assessment of the ISS, many clients who do not get a tax benefit from the ISS, such as non-profit hospital systems, are requesting to go through the ISS process to help identify, and respond to, executive risk.
At its core, an ISS is not a general security assessment or TVRA. It is a focused process that identifies and documents bona fide security concerns affecting specific executives or principals and establishing a clear, defensible connection between those concerns and reasonable protective measures. In other words, the goal is to look at the executive’s overall security environment, or risk exposure, determine whether meaningful security concerns exist, and recommends reasonable mitigation strategies.
An ISS requires looking at factors such as executive visibility, accessibility, travel activities, workplace and residential environments, public exposure, known incidents, concerning communications, digital vulnerabilities, and other circumstances that may increase risk. The objective is to understand how and why an executive may become exposed to unwanted attention, harassment, threatening communications, financial exploitation, targeted violence, reputational risk, or other adverse interactions by nature of their role within the company.
An ISS may reveal that executive protection measures, travel security practices, threat management efforts, and related security activities have evolved over time without a structured assessment of executive risk.
A few practical questions can help determine if an ISS is beneficial:
- Have executive-specific risks been formally evaluated?
- Are concerning behaviors, threats, or grievances assessed through a structured process?
- Are public appearances, executive travel, and residential security considerations routinely reviewed?
- Are security decisions based on documented risks rather than historical practices alone?
- Is executive risk periodically reassessed routinely and/or as circumstances change?
- Is our industry facing an elevated risk to executives?
These questions help determine whether executive security reflects current risks and circumstances. An ISS can formally identify security concerns and help determine what protective measures may be appropriate, including refined or developed anew.
That does not necessarily mean a significant threat exists. It may simply mean the organization lacks a structured way to evaluate and manage executive risk before issues emerge or circumstances change.
At Guidepost, we help organizations identify and assess executive-specific risks, understand where vulnerabilities and exposure pathways exist, and develop practical, risk-based recommendations. Whether the goal is strengthening executive security, improving governance, supporting executive protection decisions, or addressing IRC §132 considerations, an ISS provides a structured and defensible framework for making informed decisions.
Ultimately, executive security decisions should be based on documented risks, not assumptions. An Independent Security Study provides organizations with an objective way to understand executive risk, evaluate protective measures, and ensure that security decisions remain aligned with actual circumstances as those circumstances evolve.
MSU Institutional Assessment + RAMAGELLAN MonitorshipEmpire/Liberty Review