About ASCEP-EU
The AI System Compliance Evaluation Protocol for European Union(ASCEP) is one of the world’s first scientifically-validated framework for quantifying EU AI Act compliance. Unlike subjective checklists or basic assessment tools, ASCEP transforms complex legal requirements into precise, measurable indicators that give you concrete compliance scores, financial risk estimates and and potentionally, a strategy to enhance your organisation’s AI compliance.
The EU AI Act is here, and compliance isn’t optional. Violations of the act can cost companies €15-35 million or 3-7% of their annual global turnover. With such steep penalties at stake, organizations need more than good intentions, they need proven, scientific methods to measure and demonstrate their compliance and to prepare for future audits.
Background
The Regulatory Revolution in AI
The artificial intelligence landscape changed forever on August 1, 2024, when the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act officially came into force. The AI Act is the first-ever comprehensive legal framework on AI, which addresses the risks of AI and positions Europe to play a leading role globally in AI compliance. This groundbreaking legislation didn’t just establish new rules, it fundamentally redefined what it means to deploy AI responsibly at scale.
The Global Compliance Challenge
What makes the EU AI Act particularly significant is its extraterritorial reach. The EU AI Act has wide-ranging impacts on any business that either operates in the EU and / or offers AI products, services, or systems for EU citizens. This means that even US-based companies, Asian manufacturers, and all organizations worldwide must comply, if their AI systems touch European markets in any way.
The regulation follows a risk-based approach, defining 4 levels of risk for AI systems: All AI systems considered a clear threat to the safety, livelihoods and rights of people are banned, while others face varying degrees of compliance requirements based on their potential impact.
The Measurement Gap
Despite the Act’s comprehensive scope, a critical gap emerged almost immediately: how do organizations actually measure their compliance? The regulation is rich in principles and requirements but offers little guidance on quantification. Terms like “appropriate,” “sufficient,” and “reasonable” appear throughout the text, leaving organizations struggling to translate legal obligations into concrete, measurable actions.
Many aspects of the EU AI Act will be challenging for organizations to implement and address, especially in terms of technical documentation for the testing, transparency, and explanation of AI applications. The complexity goes beyond simple documentation, organizations need systematic ways to:
- Assess Risk and Compliance Levels: Accurately categorize AI systems within the Act’s risk framework and to assess their current AI compliance status
- Measure Compliance Depth: Understand not just whether requirements are met, but how well
- Track Progress: Monitor improvement over time with quantifiable metrics
- Estimate Financial Exposure: Translate compliance gaps into concrete business risk
- Benchmark Performance: Compare organizational readiness against industry standards
- Prioritize Compliance Efforts: Determine which compliance gaps to address first based on risk exposure, implementation effort, and regulatory deadlines
The Cost of Non-Compliance
The stakes couldn’t be higher. Based on the European Parliament’s adopted position, using prohibited AI practices can result in fines of up to €35million, or 7% of worldwide annual turnover. For many organizations, these penalties represent existential threats rather than mere compliance costs. These costs can vary depending on the size of company, risk of AI system, market share, etc.
The risks extend beyond financial penalties. Organizations have begun mapping and assessing their AI systems to ensure they are not engaging in prohibited activities. Being non-compliant can damage reputation, disrupt operations, and limit market access across the European Union. In extreme cases this can mean that the AI system / product will be banned on EU markets.
Why Traditional Approaches Fall Short
Early compliance efforts have revealed the limitations of conventional assessment methods:
- Subjective Interpretations: Legal teams and consultants often provide conflicting advice on the same requirements, leading to inconsistent compliance strategies.
- Binary Thinking: Most assessment tools offer only “compliant” or “non-compliant” classifications, missing the nuanced reality that compliance exists on a spectrum.
- Limited Actionability: Generic checklists identify gaps but offer little guidance on prioritization, effort estimation, or risk quantification
- Static Snapshots: Traditional audits provide point-in-time assessments that quickly become outdated as AI systems and regulatory interpretations evolve..
The Solution
ASCEP emerged from recognition that compliance measurement requires the same rigor applied to other complex organizational challenges. Just as financial performance is measured through standardized accounting principles, and quality management follows ISO frameworks, AI compliance needs scientifically-grounded metrics.
The EU AI Act represents more than just another regulatory hurdle, it signals a fundamental shift in how organizations must approach artificial intelligence development and deployment. ASCEP provides the measurement infrastructure this new era demands, turning regulatory complexity into organizational capability through proven, quantifiable methods.
Want to know more about the EU AI Act?
The EU AI Act, enacted in 2024, is the world’s first comprehensive AI regulation. It uses a risk-based approach with four categories, from banned high-risk systems to minimal oversight for low-risk ones. High-risk AI (healthcare, hiring, infrastructure) requires strict transparency and safety measures. It applies globally to any AI used in the EU, with penalties up to €35 million or 7% of annual revenue.
Why choose ASCEP?
Scientifically validated assessment tool
When your organization faces potential penalties of up to €35 million, you can’t rely on guesswork or generic checklists. ASCEP is one of the first compliance assessment framework built through rigorous academic research and validated by experts in AI regulation, law and data science.
What does “scientifically validated” mean for your business?
Unlike subjective assessment tools that vary from consultant to consultant, ASCEP’s methodology has been:
- Peer-reviewed by independent academic experts
- Expert-validated by professors specializing in AI, law and compliance metrics
- Empirically tested through pilot studies with simulations and real organizations
- Methodologically sound using established risk management frameworks reviewed by data-science experts
This scientific foundation delivers consistent, reliable results regardless of who conducts the assessment. When regulators scrutinize your compliance efforts, you have defensible, evidence-based documentation rather than subjective opinions.
Assessing compliance level fast, efficient and with ease
Traditional compliance assessments can take weeks or even months, involving lengthy document reviews, complex legal interpretations, and multiple rounds of back-and-forth between teams. ASCEP transforms this cumbersome process into a streamlined evaluation that delivers comprehensive results faster.
Speed Without Sacrifice
ASCEP’s structured methodology guides you through the assessment systematically, eliminating the guesswork that typically slows down compliance reviews. Our clear evaluation criteria and step-by-step process mean your team can quickly identify what information is needed and where to find it, no more hunting through regulations trying to interpret vague requirements.
Designed for Real Organizations
You don’t need a team of lawyers or compliance specialists to use ASCEP effectively. The framework is built for business professionals who understand their AI systems but may not have deep regulatory expertise. Clear guidance, practical examples, and intuitive scoring help bridge the gap between technical AI knowledge and legal compliance requirements.
Immediate, Actionable Results
While other assessment methods leave you with lengthy reports to decode, ASCEP provides instant clarity. You’ll know immediately which AI systems pose the highest compliance risks, what specific requirements need attention, and how to prioritize your remediation efforts.
Scalable Across Your Organization
Whether you’re evaluating a single AI system or managing compliance across dozens of applications, ASCEP’s efficient structure scales with your needs. Assess new systems as they’re developed, re-evaluate existing ones as requirements evolve, and maintain ongoing compliance monitoring, all without overwhelming your team or budget.
Both diagnostic insight and strategic guidance
This dual capability, deep diagnostic insight paired with strategic guidance, means ASCEP doesn’t just assess your current state; it actively helps you navigate toward full compliance with confidence and efficiency. Most compliance tools stop at telling you what’s wrong. ASCEP goes further, it becomes your strategic partner for the entire compliance journey.
Diagnostic Precision: ASCEP doesn’t just identify compliance gaps; it quantifies them with surgical precision. You’ll know exactly which AI systems pose the highest risk, which requirements need immediate attention, and how far you are from full compliance—all expressed in clear, measurable scores that leadership can understand and act upon.
Strategic Roadmapping: But diagnosis is only the beginning. ASCEP’s penalty estimation module translates compliance gaps into concrete financial projections, showing you exactly what each deficiency could cost. This transforms compliance from a legal checkbox into a strategic business decision, you can prioritize remediation efforts based on actual risk exposure rather than guesswork.
Actionable Prioritization: With limited resources and tight deadlines, knowing what to fix first is crucial. ASCEP’s integrated scoring system considers regulatory timelines, implementation complexity, and financial risk to create a clear remediation roadmap. You’ll know not just what needs to improve, but in exactly what order to minimize risk most efficiently.
Continuous Value: Unlike point-in-time audits that quickly become outdated, ASCEP grows with your organization. As you implement improvements, the framework tracks your progress with quantifiable metrics, helping you demonstrate continuous compliance improvement to regulators, stakeholders, and leadership.
Standardized process for all type of organizations
Whether you’re a startup with three employees or a multinational corporation with thousands of AI systems, ASCEP works the same way. Our standardized methodology ensures consistent, comparable results across organizations of every size and industry.
Universal Application For All Sizes
ASCEP’s modular design adapts to your organization’s complexity without changing the underlying assessment logic:
- Small companies can evaluate their handful of AI systems quickly and cost-effectively
- Medium enterprises can scale the process across multiple departments and business units
- Large corporations can coordinate assessment across global operations while maintaining consistency
Consistent Scoring Across Industries
A compliance score of 85% means the same thing whether you’re a fintech startup, a healthcare provider, or a manufacturing giant. Your company meets 85% of the regulations that apply to it. This standardization enables:
- Internal benchmarking: Track your progress over time with meaningful comparisons
- External benchmarking: Understand how your compliance maturity compares to industry peers
- Regulatory clarity: Present consistent documentation to authorities regardless of your organization’s size or sector
This standardization doesn’t mean one-size-fits-all. ASCEP accounts for your organization’s specific role (developer, deployer, distributor), market position, and risk profile while maintaining methodological consistency that regulators and stakeholders can trust.
Three-step Evaluation Framework
ASCEP-EU operates through three interconnected processes that provide a comprehensive compliance evaluation, a compliance improvement strategy and a financial risk-analysis. (Not counting the initial quick assessment) Although the most comprehensive picture is obtained by using the 3 processes together, they can be separated if your company only requires a specific section!
See the quick summary of the three processes down:
Process summary:
A quick initial assessment that determines whether your AI system is subject to EU AI Act regulations through a short series of targeted questions. This screening process helps organizations understand their regulatory obligations upfront, potentially saving time and compliance costs by identifying cases where the Act may not apply to their specific situation.
Process summary:
Individual AI systems are assessed through a detailed classification and scoring methodology. The process determines risk categorization under the EU AI Act’s framework (unacceptable, high-risk, limited-risk, or minimal-risk), maps relevant regulatory obligations, and applies a sophisticated 0-5 scoring scale that captures compliance nuances beyond simple binary assessments.
Process summary:
Organizational-level compliance is evaluated by examining how companies manage their AI portfolios, governance structures, and risk mitigation strategies. This process aggregates individual system scores while incorporating entity-specific obligations for developers, deployers, and distributors under the EU AI Act.
Process summary:
A unique forward-looking component that translates compliance gaps into projected financial consequences based on the EU AI Act’s penalty structure. This module considers organizational factors such as company size, market share, and mitigating circumstances to provide realistic penalty ranges.
