What’s New in SAS Model Risk Management Since April 2025 (Includes Images)
This post highlights the latest enhancements to SAS Model Risk Management from April 2025 through October 2025. These updates focus on improving user experience, strengthening governance workflows, and expanding customization capabilities. From refreshed UI themes and better error logging to new policy, control, and risk workflows, SAS continues to deliver tools that support effective model lifecycle management and regulatory compliance.
April: UI Enhancements & Privacy Labels
- Monitoring Plan Renamed: Now called model evaluation plan for improved clarity.
OLD
NEW
This screen capture displays the new Evaluation Summary tab on the Model screen. This is where you can link from your model evaluation plan to the model object.
- Finding Page Updates: Support for longer messages, better object relationship design, and configurable date/timestamp options.
- Information Privacy Label: New classification for data assets—Candidate, None, or Private—on the Asset Details tab.
Data set from SAS Information Catalog with Private label (marked in red boxes).
This option appears after clicking the Analyze data button. Depending on the analysis of the data set, you may also see None, Candidate, or Sensitive.
Linking the data set from SAS Information Catalog to SAS Model Risk Management.
The Information privacy label Private appears (marked in red box).
June: Better Troubleshooting & Visual Refresh
- Improved Error Logging: Auto-generated model attestations now include direct log links for easier issue diagnosis.
When a user auto generates a model attestation from an Inventory Attestation, a direct link to the execution log is now provided on the Inventory Attestation page, similar to the way that logs are linked in the model review process. Instead of displaying only a generic error message, users can click on a link to view the log file for clear, detailed messages that explain what went wrong (for example, missing model owners, inconsistent dimensional contexts, and so on). This enhancement ensures that it is easier for users to identify and correct configuration issues, reducing time spent on troubleshooting.
This screen captures a failed auto generated model attestation from the Inventory Attestations page and the Execution Logs link at the bottom of the screen.
- SAS Viya Theme Refresh:
- Enhanced keyboard navigation
- Updated Dark and High Contrast themes
- New graph color palette and redesigned UI elements
- Improved typography and illustration style
This screen capture shows the newly designed login screen for SAS Model Risk Management.
This screen capture shows the newly improved design for the Risk Assessment tab on the Models object page.
July: Policy Governance & Customization
- Policy Workflow: Enables users to create, approve, monitor, and close governance policies.
The new policy object in SAS MRM makes it easier to manage and track changes to important rules. Every policy now comes with a built-in workflow that shows the steps from start to finish, so it’s clear who needs to do what and when.
This object includes 3 key roles: Policy Owner, Policy Administrator, and Policy Approvers.
This screen capture shows a new Policy object and its workflow.
- Model Risk Management Advanced: Add-on for creating and managing custom solution-specific objects.
Note: The ability to create and manage custom objects requires a separate license.
Let’s say your company needs to follow a special rule in another country, or you have extra steps for reviewing AI models. You can now create a custom form with the exact fields you need, like checklists, review dates, or approval status.
Other use cases:
- a tracker for local finance rules
- a monitor for fairness in machine learning
- a form to log risk scores for insurance models
This feature gives you the freedom to stay compliant and organized without waiting for a system update. You can add fields like audit scores, approval status, or stress test results. It’s like designing your own dashboard for model risk, making it easier to track what matters most to your team. Whether you're in finance, insurance, or tech, custom objects help you stay ahead of the curve and ready for audits, reviews, or reporting.
For more information on this topic, please refer to the section labeled, About Creating Custom Objects in the SAS Model Risk Management Admin documentation guide.
August: Workflow Flexibility & Control Testing
- Custom Workflow Templates: Admins can enable users to modify linked workflow templates via new environment variables.
This screen captures the new Page Configuration keys in SAS Risk Cirrus Builder.
This screen captures the default Action Plans Workflow Template property key for workflow templates set to False.
This screen captures the Policies object Workflow Template in the SAS Model Risk Management user interface when Policies.workflowTemplate.readOnly is set to False.
This screen capture shows the workflowTemplate.readOnly page configuration key for the Policy object. It has been set to TRUE. This key can be found in SAS Risk Cirrus Builder.
This screen capture shows the Policy Object Workflow Template field in the SAS Model Risk Management user interface.
Note: The Workflow Template field is no longer available for selection.
- Multiple Evaluation Plans: Models can now be linked to more than one evaluation plan.
This screen captures a model being linked to multiple Model Evaluation Plans.
- Controls Object & Workflow: New functionality for testing and validating risk control effectiveness.
The Controls object is where you track the safety measures you’ve put in place to deal with the risks you’ve identified. It’s like saying, “Here’s what we’re doing to stop that problem.”
You can test each control to make sure it’s being used correctly (adequacy) and that it actually works (effectiveness). For example, if you’re worried about bias in your model, you might create a control that runs fairness audits and then test it to make sure it’s doing its job.
Controls are tested over time, and if they pass, they get certified for a set period. This helps you prove that your models are being managed responsibly and that you’re ready for audits or reviews.
September: Risk Management Integration
- Risks Object & Workflow: Introduces tools for identifying and managing risks that could impact organizational objectives.
The Risks object in SAS Model Risk Management helps you track potential problems that could affect your models. Think of it like a warning list. It could be anything that could cause your model to fail, break rules, or lead to financial loss gets logged here. You can describe what the risk is, how likely it is to happen, and what kind of damage it could cause. For example, if your AI model might be biased or if it could expose sensitive data, you’d record that as a risk.
Using the Risks object gives you a clear view of what could go wrong before it actually does. It helps everyone stay on the same page and prepares you to take action early.
Once a risk is logged, you can start planning how to reduce or prevent it. That's where the Controls object from before comes in.
Together, Risks and Controls give you a full picture of your model’s health, from what could go wrong to how you’re keeping things safe.
October: Streamlined Evaluation Plan Creation
- In-Model Evaluation Plan Creation: Users can now create model evaluation plans directly within a model object.
This screen captures the ability to create a model evaluation plan from the Models object page. Previously, you could not do this.
These updates from April through October 2025 show how SAS Model Risk Management is evolving to meet real-world needs.
Whether you're tracking risks, testing controls, managing policies, or customizing your own objects, the platform now gives you more flexibility, better visibility, and stronger governance tools. With a refreshed look, smarter workflows, and easier ways to stay compliant, SAS Model Risk Management continues to support teams in building trustworthy models and making confident decisions.
Ready to explore these features in your own environment? Dive into the SAS Model Risk Management documentation, connect with your admin team to enable new workflows, or reach out to your SAS contact for a demo.
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