Template

Access Review Worksheet

A repeatable quarterly review of who has access to what, with a decision recorded for each row.

Intended audience
Managers and account administrators
Difficulty
Intermediate
Estimated time
25 minutes
Access
Free
NIST SP 800-171
SOC 2
All industries

Version v1.0.0 · Last reviewed 2026-08-01 · Document owner: ComplianceAnvil Content Team

What you will be able to do

  • Capture the columns needed to review who has access to what on a recurring basis.
  • Record a still-required decision and action taken for each access row.
  • Identify administrator rights separately for closer scrutiny.

Columns to capture

  • System and account name.
  • User and role.
  • Privilege level, including administrator rights.
  • Still required: yes or no.
  • Action taken and date.
  • Reviewer name.

Key takeaways

  • An access review worksheet should record system, user, role, and privilege level so the reviewer can judge appropriateness at a glance.
  • The 'still required' column forces an explicit decision on every access entry, rather than passive review.
  • Administrator rights should be called out specifically, since elevated privileges carry more risk than standard access.
  • Recording the action taken and its date creates evidence that the review resulted in real changes, not just observation.
  • Naming the reviewer on each cycle establishes accountability for the review itself.

Sources

Written from these public, authoritative publications. ComplianceAnvil paraphrases and summarizes them; it does not reproduce copyrighted control text.

How this was written and reviewed

Published
Author
ComplianceAnvil Editorial Team
Technical reviewer
ComplianceAnvil Technical Review Board
Jurisdiction
United States (federal)
First published
2026-08-01
Last reviewed
2026-08-01
Next review due
2027-08-01

Version v1.0.0 · Document owner: ComplianceAnvil Content Team

Important

This template is provided for readiness and educational purposes. Organizations should review and adapt it for their environment.

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