Can I bulk reassign access reviews to new managers ?

Question

Can I bulk reassign access reviews to new managers ?

Lin Dan 60

I am currently managing Microsoft Entra ID access reviews for our organization. The review process has generally been working well, but we have recently run into an issue that I have not been able to resolve on my own.

Some of our access reviews are now stalled because the assigned certifying managers are no longer with the company. Since those reviewers have left the organization, pending reviews cannot be completed, which is creating delays in our access governance process.

I need to reassign these review responsibilities to delegate managers, preferably in bulk, because there are multiple affected reviews across different teams. Managing each review individually is becoming difficult and time-consuming as the number of impacted users continues to grow.

Is there a way to bulk update or reassign access review reviewers when the original certifying manager is no longer available? For example, is there a best practice using Microsoft Graph, PowerShell, or access review settings to automatically redirect review ownership to delegate managers or replacement approvers ?

Thanks in advance.

0 comments

Answer accepted by question author

0 additional answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Hi Lin Dan

This is a known challenge when access reviews are configured to use managers or specific reviewers who later leave the organization. Unfortunately, there isn't currently a native bulk "reassign reviewer" function in the Microsoft Entra admin center for active review instances. However, Microsoft does support configuring fallback reviewers through Microsoft Graph when using manager-based or owner-based reviews, which helps prevent reviews from becoming blocked when the primary reviewer is unavailable.

For reviews that are already in progress and stuck, the most scalable approach is typically to use Microsoft Graph Access Reviews APIs to identify the affected review instances and update or recreate the review configuration with replacement reviewers. Many organizations automate this process through Graph PowerShell SDK scripts, especially when multiple reviews are impacted.

I would recommend configuring fallback reviewers or designated delegate reviewers wherever possible. This ensures that if a manager account is disabled or removed, the review can still be completed without manual intervention. Microsoft Graph supports both primary reviewers and fallback reviewers as part of the access review definition.

If the reviews are already active and stalled, you may need to either update the review definitions via Graph API where supported or create replacement review campaigns and close the affected reviews, depending on the review type and current state. I'd also recommend reviewing your onboarding/offboarding process to ensure reviewer assignments are automatically updated when management changes occur.

Lin Dan 60 Reputation points

2026-10-15T07:13:42.5333333+00:00

Hi HLBui

I want to know that is there any way to automatically detect and replace reviewers when a manager leaves the organization, without having to manually update access review definitions through Microsoft Graph ?

Thank for your response
HLBui 13,740 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-15T13:09:46.64+00:00

Hi, Lin Dan

At the moment there isn't a built-in capability in Microsoft Entra Access Reviews that automatically detects when a reviewer (such as a manager) leaves the organization and seamlessly replaces them in existing access review definitions. In most cases, reviewer assignments need to be updated manually or programmatically through Microsoft Graph, depending on how the access review was originally configured.