If you are a Chief Compliance Officer, Head of Risk, or Board Member at a European fintech scaleup, this playbook was built for you.
As a senior leader in a high-growth fintech operating under the scope of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), you face mounting pressure to establish robust governance structures, demonstrate effective third-party risk oversight, and maintain auditable resilience capabilities, while scaling rapidly and under close regulatory scrutiny. The expectations are clear: boards must actively govern operational resilience, firms must report major ICT-related incidents within tight deadlines, and third-party dependencies must be managed with rigor. With limited internal compliance bandwidth and complex cross-framework requirements, building a compliant and sustainable operational resilience program from scratch is time-intensive, costly, and prone to gaps.
Engaging a Big-4 consultancy to design and implement a DORA compliance framework typically costs between EUR 80,000 and EUR 250,000. Alternatively, dedicating 2 to 3 full-time compliance or risk professionals for 4 to 6 months to develop internal materials, assessment tools, and evidence documentation can delay product roadmaps and stretch teams thin. This playbook delivers the same foundational structure, documentation, and implementation guidance at a fraction of the cost, just $395.
What you get
| Phase | Files Included | Purpose |
| Governance & Oversight |
Board Governance & Operational Resilience Assessment (30 questions) Executive Risk Reporting Dashboard Template Board Meeting Agenda Template , DORA Update Roles and Responsibilities (RACI) Matrix , Governance Layer Policy: Operational Resilience Governance Framework |
Enable board-level understanding and oversight of DORA obligations, define accountability, and standardize executive reporting. |
| Risk Identification & Assessment |
ICT Risk Assessment Template Threat-Led Penetration Testing (TLPT) Planning Guide Critical Function Mapping Worksheet Digital Operational Resilience Self-Assessment Risk Appetite Statement Template , ICT & Resilience |
Systematically identify, categorize, and assess risks to critical ICT functions in alignment with DORA Article 11 and supervisory expectations. |
| Third-Party Risk Management |
Third-Party Risk Assessment Template Critical ICT Third-Party Register Due Diligence Checklist , Cloud & SaaS Providers Subcontractor Oversight Matrix Policy: Third-Party ICT Risk Management |
Establish controls for identifying, assessing, and monitoring third- and fourth-party ICT providers, including contractual obligations and audit rights. |
| Incident Management & Reporting |
Major Incident Identification Flowchart Incident Reporting Template (EBA/ESMA Format) Internal Incident Escalation Procedure Post-Incident Review Protocol Log Retention & Evidence Collection Checklist |
Ensure timely detection, classification, internal escalation, and regulator reporting of major ICT incidents within 24 to 72 hours as required by DORA Article 23. |
| Resilience Planning & Testing |
ICT Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Template Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) Outline Resilience Testing Schedule Calendar Scenario-Based Test Design Guide Annual Resilience Testing Report Template |
Develop and maintain response plans, conduct required resilience testing (including TLPT), and document outcomes for audit purposes. |
| Internal Processes & Controls |
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) , DORA Implementation RACI Matrix , Cross-Functional DORA Team Compliance Tracker (Excel) Document Retention & Version Control Log Internal Audit Readiness Checklist |
Map implementation efforts, assign responsibilities, track progress, and maintain version-controlled records for inspection readiness. |
| Evidence & Audit Readiness |
Evidence Collection Runbook Audit Prep Playbook Regulator Inquiry Response Template Gap Remediation Tracker Compliance Demonstration Pack (PDF/Word) |
Prepare for supervisory reviews by compiling documented evidence, responding to inquiries, and demonstrating continuous compliance. |
Domain assessments
- Board Governance & Operational Resilience Assessment: Evaluates board engagement, oversight mechanisms, and strategic alignment with DORA's governance requirements.
- ICT Risk Management Assessment: Assesses the maturity of risk identification, assessment, and mitigation processes for critical ICT systems.
- Third-Party ICT Risk Assessment: Reviews due diligence, contractual controls, and ongoing monitoring of third- and fourth-party providers.
- Incident Management & Reporting Assessment: Tests the effectiveness of incident detection, classification, escalation, and regulator reporting workflows.
- Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Assessment: Measures the adequacy and test frequency of BCP and DRP plans for critical functions.
- Resilience Testing & Threat-Led Penetration Testing Assessment: Evaluates the design, execution, and documentation of required testing activities.
- Information & Communication Systems Security Assessment: Reviews alignment with cybersecurity policies, access controls, and monitoring practices under DORA and ISO/IEC 27001.
What this saves you
| Task | Without This Playbook | With This Playbook |
| Develop board-level governance materials | 40, 60 hours of legal and compliance effort to draft from scratch | Use pre-built assessment, RACI, and agenda templates (under 10 hours to customize) |
| Create third-party risk documentation | 30+ hours to design checklists, registers, and due diligence workflows | Deploy ready-to-use templates and adapt to existing vendor inventory (under 8 hours) |
| Prepare for incident reporting obligations | 20+ hours to interpret regulatory templates and build internal procedures | Implement pre-formatted reporting and escalation tools (under 6 hours) |
| Compile evidence for audit or inspection | 50+ hours of manual document collection, formatting, and validation | Follow the evidence runbook and use the compliance pack (under 15 hours) |
| Map controls across multiple frameworks | 60+ hours of cross-referencing DORA, NIST, COSO, and ISO standards | Use included cross-mappings to align controls once and reuse across frameworks |
Who this is for
- Chief Compliance Officers at EU-based fintechs preparing for DORA compliance
- Heads of Operational Risk responsible for implementing resilience programs
- Chief Information Security Officers aligning cybersecurity practices with DORA
- Board members and non-executive directors seeking oversight tools
- General Counsel teams integrating regulatory obligations into governance
- Startup founders and CTOs in scaling fintechs with investor or regulatory pressure
- Internal audit leads preparing for DORA-specific review cycles
Cross-framework mappings
DORA Articles 5, 25, COSO ERM Framework (2017), NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) v1.1, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, NIS2 Directive (Annexes I and II), ECB Guidelines on ICT Risk Management, EBA Guidelines on ICT and Security Risk Management
What is NOT in this product
- This is not a software tool or SaaS platform, it is a documentation and implementation playbook in downloadable file formats (PDF, Word, Excel)
- No automated workflows, dashboards, or real-time monitoring capabilities are included
- It does not provide legal advice or guarantee regulatory approval
- No consulting services, training sessions, or direct support are bundled with purchase
- It does not cover non-ICT domains such as financial crime, conduct risk, or product governance
- Country-specific implementation support (e.g., national competent authority nuances) is not provided
- No integration with GRC, SIEM, or ticketing systems is included or enabled
Lifetime access and satisfaction guarantee
You receive lifetime access to the playbook files with no subscription and no login portal. Once downloaded, the materials are yours to use, modify, and distribute within your organization. If this playbook does not save your team at least 100 hours of manual compliance work, email us for a full refund. No questions, no friction.
About the seller
The creator has spent 25 years developing compliance frameworks for financial institutions, regulators, and technology firms. They have analyzed 692 regulatory, risk, and control frameworks and built 819,000+ cross-framework mappings to enable efficient compliance implementation. Their materials are used by over 40,000 practitioners across 160 countries, including compliance officers, auditors, and board members in banking, insurance, asset management, and fintech.
Need this for your team? We offer site licenses starting at $2,500 for up to 25 users. Reply to this page or DM Gerard directly on LinkedIn.
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