Attestation enables submitters, reviewers, and approvers to formally certify, review, and sign off on model attributes at specific points in time, supporting compliance and governance processes.
Attestation on the ValidMind Platform begins at the start of the attestation period after the process has been set up initially. The platform captures a snapshot of each model and its artifacts, preserving the state at that point in time. Changes made after the process starts do not affect the historical record.
Responsibilities for the attestation process are shared:
graph TD
subgraph Submitter
A["**Not Started**"] --> B["**In Progress**"]
B --> C["**Ready for Review**"]
end
subgraph Reviewer
C --> D["**Reviewed**"]
D -.-> B
end
subgraph Approver
D --> E["**Signed Off**"]
end
The attestation process — Submitter, reviewer, and approver responsibilities
Attestation participants access their tasks via My Inbox in the left sidebar. Tasks appear under the Tasks tab with the current attestation status, also known as attestation instances.
The submitter is responsible for completing the questionnaire and addressing change requests. The reviewer is responsible for reviewing the questionnaire and requesting any necessary changes. The approver is responsible for signing off on the questionnaire.
Plan your attestation periods ahead of time to ensure they can be completed on time. The start date must be today or a future date, and you cannot set a date in the past to trigger attestation retroactively.
Attestation submissions are organized by owner AND group. This structure supports organizations where:
Attestation questionnaires are typically used in model risk management to confirm that key controls, governance processes and documentation requirements have been followed throughout a model’s lifecycle. These questionnaires are part of a broader effort to ensure accountability and regulatory compliance.
Areas typically covered in the questionnaire:
Verification of responsibilities — Attests that model owners, developers and validators have performed their roles in accordance with internal policies and procedures.
Documentation of compliance — Confirms that required documentation — such as model documentation, validation reports and change logs — has been completed and properly archived.
Evidence of control operation — Serves as formal evidence that key controls (for example: backtesting, performance monitoring, version control) are in place and functioning as intended.
Governance checkpoints — Used as checkpoints at critical stages, such as model approval, annual reviews or retirement, to ensure all required steps have been completed before proceeding.
Regulatory reporting — In regulated environments, provides a documented trail that can be reviewed during internal audits or by external regulators.
Risk ownership and accountability — By signing off on questionnaires, individuals acknowledge their responsibilities and support a strong control culture.
Work with your model risk management team to create a template that accurately reflects your organization’s attestation requirements.