# Internal controls and SOX: what AI models recommend, October 2026

Gane Index, October 2026 Edition. Asked as "SOX compliance software" and as "internal controls management tool", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of a mid-market B2B company. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/tax/internal-controls-and-sox/2026-10

This is the permanent record of the October 2026 Edition, published October 1, 2026 and superseded since. The current standing: https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/tax/internal-controls-and-sox/index.md

**Standing:** FloQast leads with 25% of first choices; verdict contested. 51 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [FloQast](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/floqast/index.md) | 25% | 4% | 28 |
| 2 | [AuditBoard](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/auditboard/index.md) | 12% | 24% | 33 |
| 3 | [Sprinto](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/sprinto/index.md) | 6% | 0% | 15 |
| 4 | [Onspring](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/onspring/index.md) | 6% | 0% | 14 |
| 5 | [Optro](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/optro/index.md) | 6% | 27% | 15 |
| 9 | [Hyperproof](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/hyperproof/index.md) | 4% | 0% | 14 |
| 13 | [Scytale](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/scytale/index.md) | 2% | 9% | 11 |
| 14 | [Drata](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/drata/index.md) | 2% | 18% | 17 |
| 15 | [BlackLine Controls & Certifications](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/blackline-controls-certifications/index.md) | 2% | 9% | 11 |
| 19 | [Workiva](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/workiva/index.md) | 0% | 26% | 42 |
| 20 | [Diligent One Platform](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/diligent-one-platform/index.md) | 0% | 11% | 19 |
| 21 | [ServiceNow Integrated Risk Management](https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/vendors/servicenow-integrated-risk-management/index.md) | 0% | 17% | 18 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 90 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: no first choice; alternatives BlackLine Controls & Certifications, FloQast, HighRadius, LogicGate Risk Cloud
- GPT-5.4 mini: AuditBoard; alternatives Vanta, Workiva
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Optro; alternatives FloQast, Pathlock, Scytale, Vanta
- Perplexity Sonar: FloQast; alternatives Netwrix Auditor, Optro, Scytale
- Grok 4.20: FloQast; alternatives AuditBoard, BlackLine Controls & Certifications
- Mistral Small: AuditBoard, FloQast; alternatives Complies.ai, Scytale
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: FloQast; alternatives BlackLine Controls & Certifications, Hyperproof, Workiva
- Llama 4 Maverick: FloQast, Scytale
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: FloQast; alternatives AuditBoard, Scytale
- Kimi K2: FloQast; alternatives Hyperproof, Onspring, Workiva
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: FloQast; alternatives Hyperproof, NAVEX One, Onspring, Workiva
- MiniMax M2.5: FloQast; alternatives AuditBoard, Workiva
- GPT-6 Luna: Optro; alternatives FloQast, Workiva
- Muse Glimmer 30B: FloQast; alternatives AuditBoard, HighRadius, Hyperproof, Onspring

## Sources the answers cite

76 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- riskpublishing.com: 32 answers, 32 citations
- riskwatch.com: 29 answers, 41 citations
- optro.ai: 29 answers, 34 citations
- gitnux.org: 26 answers, 40 citations
- itechguides.com: 26 answers, 33 citations
- sprinto.com: 26 answers, 27 citations
- zipdo.co: 23 answers, 30 citations
- worldmetrics.org: 22 answers, 31 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://riskpublishing.com/best-sox-compliance-software-compared (31 answers)
- https://sprinto.com/blog/internal-control-software (23 answers)
- https://supervizor.com/blog/grc/internal-control/software (19 answers)
- https://highradius.com/resources/Blog/best-sox-compliance-tools (15 answers)
- https://itechguides.com/best/internal-controls-software (15 answers)
- https://netwrix.com/en/resources/blog/sox-compliance-software (14 answers)
- https://scytale.ai/resources/best-sox-compliance-tools (14 answers)
- https://metricstream.com/learn/internal-control-software.html (13 answers)
- https://mitti.com/apps/sox-compliance-software (13 answers)
- https://optro.ai/blog/best-internal-control-management-software (13 answers)

## Warned against

- Workiva: 11 of 42 labels negative. "avoid platforms like Workiva, MetricStream, or IBM OpenPages, as they can be overkill and too expensive" (MiniMax M2.5, paraphrase prompt)
- AuditBoard: 8 of 33 labels negative. "What to Avoid on a Budget - AuditBoard/Optro \u2014 custom pricing, typically enterprise-level" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, budget prompt)
- MetricStream: 5 of 18 labels negative. "Enterprise-grade solutions that require significant implementation resources and budget." (Kimi K2, paraphrase prompt)
- Microsoft Excel: 4 of 5 labels negative. "Avoid using shared Excel files where multiple users have "Edit" access simultaneously. This overwrites audit trails and allows unauthorized changes." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt)

## Movement since September 2026

Floor: 10 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat.
New leader: AuditBoard (18%) to FloQast (27%). Margin 14 points, beyond the floor.

- FloQast: 18% to 27%, +9. Inside the floor by 1 point · rank 2 → 1 of 88.
- Sprinto: 0% to 7%, +7. Inside the floor by 3 points · rank 21 → 3 of 88.
- AuditBoard: 18% to 13%, −5. Inside the floor by 5 points · rank 1 → 2 of 88.
- Onspring: 2% to 7%, +5. Inside the floor by 5 points · rank 10 → 4 of 88.
- Diligent One Platform: 4% to 0%, −4. Inside the floor by 6 points · rank 5 → 20 of 88.
- LogicGate Risk Cloud: 4% to 0%, −4. Inside the floor by 6 points · rank 6 → 21 of 88.
- Hyperproof: 4% to 2%, −2. Inside the floor by 8 points · rank 7 → 10 of 88.
- BlackLine Controls & Certifications: 0% to 2%, +2. Inside the floor by 8 points · rank 62 → 11 of 88.
- Optro: 4% to 2%, −2. Inside the floor by 8 points · rank 8 → 16 of 88.
- Workiva: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 8 points · rank 9 → 19 of 88.
- Vanta: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 8 points · rank 11 → 23 of 88.
- Archer: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 8 points · rank 13 → 25 of 88.

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/finance/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, October 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/finance.