When assigning control ownership, it is MOST important to verify that the owner has accountability for:

The primary purpose of assigning control ownership is to ensure that a specific individual is responsible and accountable for the control's ongoing operational effectiveness. This means the owner must ensure the control is correctly implemented, maintained, and performing its intended function to mitigate risk effectively and consistently.

While budget for implementation is a factor, accountability for effectiveness is more crucial for ongoing risk management than just the initial funding.

Assessment of control risk is typically performed by risk management or audit functions, not solely by the control owner, whose primary role is operational effectiveness.

Internal control audits are an independent verification function, not the direct responsibility of the control owner, who is subject to these audits.