Moving fast on AI was the easy part.
The board will ask whether AI is under control and paying back. Be ready to answer.
You pushed the business to move on AI. Now you are asked to show what is in use, what it costs, what it has returned and who answers for it. Most chief executives cannot yet give a straight answer to all four.
of chief executives say AI has delivered neither extra revenue nor lower cost so far (survey of 4,454 chief executives).
PwC Global CEO Survey, January 2026of UK employees say they have used AI tools their employer did not approve (vendor survey, 2,003 people).
Microsoft UK / Censuswide, 2025of UK leaders say they can only partly see what AI costs the business (small sample, 116 leaders).
KPMG UK, July 2026Four questions you cannot yet answer, and two you will be asked next.
of chief executives report no significant financial benefit from AI, according to PwC's 2026 survey.
PwC Global CEO Survey, 2026Tools arrive on expense cards, personal accounts and features added to software you already own. What it costs you: decisions on risk and spend are made on a partial picture.
Activity is easy to count. Outcomes are not recorded by anyone. What it costs you: the next investment case rests on belief, and the board knows it.
IBM's 2025 UK research found that businesses with high levels of unapproved AI use paid on average £498,000 more when a breach happened (vendor research). What it costs you: exposure you did not choose and cannot measure.
Only 31% of UK employers have a formal policy on generative AI (CIPD, 2025). A policy that is not applied is a document. What it costs you: a policy you cannot evidence offers little protection when you are asked.
Gartner expects over 40% of agent projects to be cancelled by the end of 2027 because of cost, unclear value or weak risk controls (forecast, June 2025). What it costs you: money spent on projects that never reach production.
Evidence assembled by hand for each request is slow and varies from one answer to the next. What it costs you: deals, renewals and credibility at the moment they matter.
The distance between what the company decided and what people did is where the risk sits.
Official figures count what companies decided to adopt: ONS found 35% of UK businesses with ten or more staff used AI in 2026. Employee surveys count what people did: 71% used tools their employer had not approved. The two measure different things. The gap between them is the part of your AI that has no owner, no budget line and no record. Closing it does not need a ban or a programme. It needs one list, one set of rules and a record, owned by named people.
ONS, 2026; Microsoft UK / Censuswide, 2025 (vendor survey). The figures use different bases and are shown to illustrate the gap, not to measure it.
Six things a chief executive can put in front of the board.
Register, Usage Insight, Board Report and Value Register are in early access. We confirm in writing what is live for you before you commit.
Register finds the tools, accounts and agents in use and the data they touch, and keeps the list current. A named owner sits against each entry.
About RegisterWhat it is doing, by teamUsage Insight shows activity, spend and the mix of models against your rules, across the AI connected to GenWA.
About Usage InsightA regular report for the boardBoard Report brings usage, cost, issues and value into one page on a regular cycle, so nobody assembles it by hand.
About Board ReportWhat AI has returnedValue Register records the benefit and the cost of each use of AI side by side, using figures your own teams record. We do not promise a fixed return.
About Value RegisterEvidence you can hand overEvidence Packs produce the register, data-flow map, control matrix and exception log for the period asked. We prepare the evidence; accredited bodies issue any certification.
About Evidence PacksAn independent starting pointThe Independent AI Audit gives you a first view of use, cost and control. Its fee is credited in full against year one if you go on to a platform plan.
See advisoryThree moves a chief executive can make this month.
Three routes, matched to the decision in front of you.
AI Strategy and Planning with your board, an independent audit, and a policy and controls review. Right when the first need is a clear position and a plan.
See advisoryProductRegister, Usage Insight and Board Report keep the view current once you have it. Hosted in your AWS or Azure account, or by GenWA on AWS as agreed.
See the productsIncubatorIf you want AI to do real work, we define, build and run an agent function for you, with a named owner on every workflow. You own the rules, prompts and record.
See the IncubatorThe three colleagues who will help you answer the board.
Owns the single number for AI spend and the case for what has been worth it. See the CFO page.
For the CFOCompliance and General CounselOwns the rules, the record and what you would show a regulator or insurer.
For Compliance and General CounselChief technology or information officerOwns the route AI takes through your systems and the list of what is connected.
For the CTO and CIOA consulting report with invented references had to be corrected, and part of the fee returned.
In 2025 Deloitte Australia revised an independent assurance report prepared for the Australian government after it was found to contain fabricated references, and repaid part of its fee. The firm disclosed that it had used generative AI. The point for a chief executive is not the technology. It is that someone needed to check the output before it went out, and the record needed to show who did.
Public incident reported by CFO Dive and Fortune, 2025. GenWA had no involvement.
Want to see what you would show the board?
Book a demo and we will walk through the board view with example data.
Keep reading
Guard
Leapfrog your own roadmap: what APIs teach about MCP
How open connections let large businesses grow faster than their trajectory allows, and how to do it with control.
By Steven Myers · 10 min read
Advisory
Why AI returns stall, and how to set AI up properly
Many AI trials never show a return. A five-step frame and the measures that tell you if AI is paying its way.
By John White · 5 min read
Straight answers.
How can a chief executive show the board that AI is under control?
Bring one current view of what AI is in use, what it costs, which rules apply and who owns each use. The AI health check gives a first view. Register, Usage Insight and Board Report keep that view current across AI connected to GenWA. A named person in your business owns each decision that matters.
We already have an AI policy. Why do we need anything more?
A policy is a good start, and only 31% of UK employers have one (CIPD, 2025). The board question is whether it is followed and whether you can show that. Rules enforced on connected, routed AI and a record of what happened turn a policy into something you can evidence.
Does this slow the business down?
The aim is to say yes to more AI, with confidence. Rules decide what is allowed, so people are not waiting for case-by-case approval. Some actions are held for a named person where the consequence is high. We do not quote a fixed time saving, and we agree the rules with you.
What does AI cost a business of our size, and who should own the number?
We cannot give a figure without your data, and we will not invent one. KPMG UK found 42% of leaders only partly see AI cost (2026). The finance lead usually owns the number and the technology lead owns the list of tools. The health check and audit put figures against both.
Do we need an in-house AI team to use GenWA?
No. Advice, set-up and, if you wish, managed operations come from our team. You need a named owner for each use of AI and someone to review the board report. Hosting is in your AWS or Azure account, or by GenWA on AWS as agreed.
What is the difference between the health check and the audit?
The health check is a short questionnaire, a usage-export check run locally in your browser, or a visit. The Independent AI Audit goes further, with a register, spend view, risks and a 90-day plan. The audit fee is credited in full against year one of a platform plan.
Can GenWA stop people using tools we have not approved?
Controls apply to AI that is connected and routed through GenWA, so we do not claim to find or block every unmanaged app. Register helps surface what is in use, and giving people an approved route is usually more effective than a ban, which can push use out of sight.
Find out where your AI stands. Then decide.
Indicative audit fees are shown on the advisory page, exclude VAT and are confirmed in writing before you commit.