AI Readiness and Risk Assessment
Most organizations in regulated industries know that AI can improve efficiency and reduce costs. But between employees using AI tools informally, unclear internal policies, and a regulatory landscape that’s shifting at both the federal and state level, it’s hard to know where to start. It’s even harder to know how much risk already exists within the organization today.
SunHawk’s AI Readiness and Risk Assessment provides a structured path from uncertainty to a clear plan of action. We assess your organization’s current state, identify what’s already happening with AI across your teams, evaluate the risks in detail, and deliver documentation your compliance team and leadership can actually use.
This engagement is designed as the natural starting point for any organization considering AI adoption. It also serves organizations that have already begun using AI tools and need a formal assessment of the risks and governance gaps that may have been introduced along the way.
The Assessment Process
Understanding your organization. We begin by mapping how your organization actually operates: what services you provide, what data you handle, where sensitive information lives, and what regulatory frameworks apply to your operations. This is the foundation that every recommendation builds on. Without it, any AI strategy is guesswork.
Assessing current AI usage. We investigate what’s already happening with AI across the organization. Has AI been formally adopted, informally tolerated, or banned? Are employees using third-party tools on their own? Are there AI features enabled in existing vendor platforms that no one is actively monitoring? We document the full picture before making any recommendations.
Interviewing staff across departments. We speak directly with employees across the organization to understand their daily workflows, their pain points, and their readiness for change. This is where we identify the highest-value opportunities for AI and develop a realistic understanding of what adoption will actually look like on the ground. The best AI strategy in the world doesn’t work if the people doing the work aren’t part of the conversation.
Conducting the risk assessment. This is the core of the engagement. For every identified AI use case, whether it’s something already in practice or something being proposed, we evaluate risk through four critical lenses: Risk Tiering, Use-case Mapping, Pre-deployment Validation, and Regulatory Alignment.
Recommending mitigation strategies. Based on the risk assessment, we recommend specific controls for each use case. This includes human-in-the-loop workflows with clear escalation paths, input screening and output validation processes, continuous monitoring with baseline testing, automated alerts for model drift, and scheduled re-evaluation cycles. Each recommendation is matched to the risk level and the operational context of the use case.
Recommending a deployment path. Based on the sensitivity of your data, your existing infrastructure, and your budget, we recommend the right deployment approach for each use case. Lower-risk applications may be well served by third-party AI providers with appropriate safeguards. Higher-risk use cases, particularly those involving PHI or other protected data, may call for private cloud or fully on-premises deployment where the organization maintains complete control.
What You Recieve
AI Readiness Assessment
A complete picture of where your organization stands today. This covers current AI usage across the organization, employee readiness and adoption patterns, workflow opportunities with the strongest case for AI, and the full risk assessment findings across every identified use case.
AI Governance Framework
A governance policy and acceptable use framework tailored to your specific regulatory environment. This is designed to be something your compliance team and leadership can adopt and put into practice, not a theoretical document that sits on a shelf. It includes acceptable use policies, risk classification guidelines, and the decision-making framework for evaluating new AI tools and use cases going forward.
Prioritized Roadmap
A clear, prioritized plan for what to do next. Which use cases to pursue first, what controls need to be in place before they go live, what deployment approach fits each one, and what timeline is realistic. This roadmap gives leadership and the compliance team a shared reference point for moving forward.
Beyond the Assessment
Once you have a strategy and governance framework in place, SunHawk can help you execute. Our Private AI Infrastructure practice handles the full deployment stack for self-hosted AI, and our Custom AI Applications practice builds purpose-built tools for specific compliance and operational workflows. The assessment is designed to feed directly into these engagements so there’s no gap between planning and implementation.
Testimonials
"SunHawk demonstrated a commendable commitment to precision and compliance throughout our engagement. Their expertise in navigating complex healthcare regulations was evident, providing us with a thorough and insightful audit. We required assistance with a complex billing audit that required statistical analysis. As a smaller healthcare system, SunHawk provided us a level of audit expertise that we are not able to staff in-house. The team’s responsiveness and industry knowledge make them a valuable partner for healthcare organizations seeking rigorous and reliable auditing services."
Sara Coverstone
Chief Compliance & Privacy Officer
Northern Arizona Healthcare
"SunHawk was an outstanding partner in the provision of interim leadership in compliance and internal audit for our organization. They provided seamless coverage and advancement of our compliance and internal audit functions. As CEO, I had no concerns or worries during our engagement. They were true partners for us!"
Alfred E. Pilong
President and CEO
Garnet Health
"James and the SunHawk team have been an invaluable resource for our Compliance Office - they are a reliable, well experienced, trusted and knowledgeable team of professionals who at a moment’s notice will take your calls or respond to your emails.
Their advice helped us navigate the ever evolving, highly regulated healthcare industry! Whether it’s discussing report methodology or determining appropriate repayment, SunHawk provides the reassurance and confidence that you are doing the right thing!
We are honored to have partnered with SunHawk and will continue to do so in the future!"
Natasha Cogdill
Vice President/Chief Ethics, Compliance and Privacy Officer
Community Health System
"SunHawk’s professionals are leaders in the compliance and risk industries. Over the years I have worked with a number of their professionals on a series of projects/issues and learned SunHawk’s professionals are problem/solution-oriented and great coalition builders.
SunHawk Professionals get the job done and are a pleasure to work with. Commitment, Experience, Professionalism, and Integrity; that's what SunHawk Professionals brings to the table."
Gerry Roy
Vice President/Chief Ethics, Compliance and Privacy Officer
Phoenix Children's Hospital
"Jim Rough is among the most conscientious professionals I have encountered. When he says he is going to do something -- he does it. Jim has a broad range of experience gained over decades in leading organizations.
Now as the founder of his own firm, Jim will be enabled to provide the same high-quality service to his clients in a setting that allows greater customization to his clients' financial circumstances."
Frank M. Placenti
Chair, US Corporate Governance & Securities Regulation
Practice, Squire Patton Boggs
"SunHawk Consulting's HIPAA Check Program provided us with an invaluable third-party review of our HIPAA policies and practices. The tracking tool SunHawk includes with the Program has become an integral part of our continued monitoring for HIPAA compliance.
Jan Elezian's extensive hands-on compliance experience was evident during site visits and staff interviews as she translated difficult subject matter into practical use scenarios and provided quality feedback. Thank you SunHawk team!"
Nancy Lipman
Vice President, Compliance
Chicanos Por La Causa, Inc.
"SunHawk provides an array of dynamic professionals, each with significant subject matter expertise and a problem-solver approach. Beyond their knowledge and conscientious work ethic, however, is a team of caring individuals who strive to furnish individualized, tailored assistance with a personal touch.
Jim Rough's dedication to the success of SunHawk clients is evidenced by his strategic and prospective thinking complemented by his ability to truly anticipate the needs of a company in the midst of the complicated compliance climate. I highly recommend SunHawk for companies of any size seeking actionable solutions and measurable results."
Michelle Missal
Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer
Paragon 28, Inc.
“Sunhawk Consulting has proven to be a trusted partner with the ability to deliver results. We have consistently been impressed with their expertise, professionalism, and commitment to customer service. Sunhawk Consulting has supported our enterprise-wide risk assessment, risk management activities, and the configuration of our Governance, Risk and Compliance software tool.
Sunhawk Consulting’s leadership and consultative services have helped us to successfully navigate through the complexities of SOC, HIPAA, NIST and FedRAMP audits this year. The knowledgeable team of Sunhawk professionals has been and continues to be an invaluable resource for us, ensuring we are positioned for success in all our audits and assessment activities.”
Zachary Fain
Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
Signature Performance
“The team at SunHawk Consulting helped our private equity backed company establish consistent auditing processes for our patient charts and shared easily digestible data that we could take back to our clinical teams to help drive improvements and consistency around their clinical documentation. We highly recommend utilizing SunHawk Consulting to help your company ensure compliance is top of mind for your clinical teams. ”
Lauren Gerdin, DDS
Chief Dental Officer
Cherry Tree Dental
“SunHawk’s healthcare compliance, privacy, and security consulting team embodies the principles of integrity, responsibility, quality, and collaboration in both interaction and product. Their in-house buffet of expertise allows for uninterrupted service, no matter the subject. I am pleased to recommend SunHawk Consulting to any organization seeking a dedicated and knowledgeable consultant. ”
Rosali Delgado-Steffen
Compliance Manager/ Privacy Officer
Northern Valley Indian Health
Get In Touch
SunHawk Consulting
2550 E Rose Garden Ln.
Unit 72016
Phoenix, AZ 85050
info@sunhawkconsulting.com
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