HR Auditing Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends HR Managers, Internal Auditors and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-HM-092

Before you join: Participants should have practical familiarity with core HR processes such as recruitment, onboarding, employee records, payroll administration, performance management or employee relations.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

HR audits test whether people policies, records, controls and management practices are working as intended. Weak controls can lead to inaccurate payroll, incomplete employee files, inconsistent hiring decisions, privacy incidents, unresolved grievances and unreliable workforce reporting. HR professionals and internal auditors need a disciplined way to define audit scope, assess risk, collect evidence, report findings and confirm corrective actions without confusing an audit with a legal investigation or employment-law advice.

This course develops the practical skills required to plan and conduct HR audits across the employee lifecycle. Participants work with an HR audit charter, audit universe, risk-and-control matrix, audit programme, sampling plan, interview guide, workpaper structure and corrective action register. The syllabus covers recruitment, onboarding, payroll interfaces, employee records, HRIS access, performance management, learning records, employee relations, workforce data and privacy controls. Participants learn to distinguish control design from operating effectiveness, test evidence, identify root causes and write findings that management can act upon.

Delivered over five instructor-led days, the course combines short briefings with cases drawn from payroll, recruitment, HR data and employee-relations scenarios. Participants analyse records, conduct audit interviews, test sample evidence, assess control gaps and prepare audit findings for discussion with management. Classroom delivery is available in 50+ cities, with a live online option. Each participant receives a certificate of completion and leaves with a reusable HR audit toolkit, including templates for planning, fieldwork, reporting and follow-up.

The course is suited to HR practitioners with assurance responsibilities, internal auditors reviewing HR functions, HR operations managers, compliance staff and professionals preparing for an HR audit assignment.

What you will be able to do

  • Define an HR audit mandate, scope and criteria using an audit charter
  • Build a risk-and-control matrix for priority HR processes
  • Design an HR audit programme with tests of control design and effectiveness
  • Apply sampling methods, interviews and walkthroughs to obtain sufficient audit evidence
  • Test HRIS access, employee records and data-processing controls against stated criteria
  • Assess recruitment, payroll, performance and employee-relations controls for control failures
  • Write evidence-based findings using condition, criteria, cause, effect and recommendation
  • Prepare corrective action plans and follow-up tests for agreed audit recommendations

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Conduct HR audits with a repeatable planning and fieldwork method
  • Identify weak controls before they create payroll, privacy or employee-relations issues
  • Produce clearer findings supported by traceable evidence and stated criteria
  • Build credibility when discussing HR control failures with senior management
  • Create an audit portfolio suitable for HR, compliance and internal audit assignments

For your organisation

  • Earlier detection of payroll, employee-data and recruitment control weaknesses
  • More consistent testing of HR policies, records and approval processes
  • Clearer ownership and deadlines for corrective actions after HR reviews
  • Better evidence for management assurance and internal audit reporting
  • Reduced risk of repeated findings caused by unresolved root causes

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can establish an HR audit mandate, governance structure and professional boundaries.

  • Purpose, authority and independence within an HR audit charter
  • Audit ethics, confidentiality and conflicts under ISO 19011 principles
  • Three-lines model roles for HR, management and internal audit
  • Audit universe construction from HR processes, locations and employee populations
  • Defining assurance, advisory and investigation boundaries before fieldwork begins
  • Stakeholder mapping for board, HR leadership, legal and payroll owners

Participants can assess HR risks and select justified audit priorities.

  • ISO 31000 risk criteria tailored to people-process control objectives
  • Risk-and-control matrix linking HR risks, controls, evidence and owners
  • Scoring inherent and residual risk using likelihood and impact scales
  • Materiality thresholds for payroll errors, employee data and legal exposure
  • Selecting audit priorities from risk ratings and control maturity
  • Fraud indicators within recruitment, overtime, expenses and employee records

Participants can prepare an auditable scope, criteria, programme and sampling approach.

  • Terms of reference specifying scope, objectives, criteria and reporting lines
  • Annual audit plan sequencing high-risk HR areas and available resources
  • Control objectives derived from policies, contracts, laws and procedures
  • Audit programme design using tests of design and operating effectiveness
  • Sampling plans using random, judgmental and stratified selection methods
  • Opening meeting agenda, document requests and audit communication protocol

Participants can gather, assess and document sufficient evidence for HR audit conclusions.

  • Evidence hierarchy: documents, observation, inquiry, reperformance and analytics
  • Interview planning with open questions, probing and corroboration techniques
  • Walkthroughs tracing a new hire from requisition to payroll
  • Attribute sampling for mandatory documents, approvals and policy acknowledgements
  • Maintaining workpapers, evidence indexes and review-ready audit trails
  • Data analytics tests for duplicate employees, pay anomalies and missing fields

Participants can test employee-file, HRIS access and personal-data controls.

  • Personnel file audit criteria for completeness, retention and access control
  • HRIS access reviews using joiner-mover-leaver control points
  • Data minimisation, purpose limitation and lawful processing under GDPR
  • Testing segregation of duties in employee master-data changes
  • Retention schedules for recruitment, medical, disciplinary and payroll records
  • Incident escalation for privacy breaches, inaccurate records and unauthorised access

Participants can evaluate key controls from hiring approval through payroll and benefits administration.

  • Recruitment controls from requisition approval through right-to-work verification
  • Testing consistent selection criteria, interview records and conflict declarations
  • Onboarding control checks for contracts, policies, induction and system access
  • Payroll-to-HRIS reconciliations identifying unauthorised changes and ghost employees
  • Compensation governance covering approvals, pay bands, bonuses and deductions
  • Benefits administration tests for eligibility, enrolment and vendor billing

Participants can audit performance, learning, succession and workforce-planning processes.

  • Performance management audit criteria for objectives, ratings and calibration
  • Learning records tested against mandatory training matrices and expiry dates
  • Succession planning controls over talent data, nominations and approvals
  • Workforce planning assumptions reconciled with headcount, turnover and vacancy data
  • Contingent worker controls covering classification, approvals and access termination
  • Metrics validation for turnover, absence, diversity and time-to-hire reporting

Participants can assess employee-relations controls, case records and fairness-related evidence.

  • Grievance case files assessed for timeliness, fairness and documentation
  • Disciplinary process testing against policy, investigation standards and approvals
  • Whistleblowing arrangements reviewed for confidentiality, non-retaliation and escalation
  • Equal opportunity controls assessed through recruitment, pay and promotion evidence
  • Absence management records tested for triggers, support and return-to-work actions
  • Health and safety HR interfaces mapped for training, reporting and accommodations

Participants can develop clear findings, practical recommendations and management-ready audit reports.

  • Finding statements structured around condition, criteria, cause, effect and recommendation
  • Root-cause analysis using five whys and fishbone diagrams
  • Rating findings by risk, urgency, control failure and repeat occurrence
  • Recommendations matched to owners, milestones, resources and measurable outcomes
  • Closing meeting techniques for factual validation and management responses
  • Audit reports separating observations, findings, agreed actions and residual risk

Participants can track remediation, verify closure and plan their next HR audit assignment.

  • Corrective action plans with due dates, evidence requirements and ownership
  • Follow-up testing to verify implementation and sustained control operation
  • Quality assurance reviews against ISO 19011 audit principles
  • Dashboard design for finding ageing, overdue actions and recurring issues
  • Escalation routes for delayed remediation and accepted residual risk
  • Personal application plan for the next HR audit assignment

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. HR audit charter template
  2. HR risk-and-control matrix
  3. Audit programme and sampling plan
  4. Audit interview and workpaper pack
  5. HR audit finding report template
  6. Corrective action follow-up register

Who should attend

  • HR Managers — need to assess control gaps within people processes and records
  • Internal Auditors — need a structured method for auditing HR functions
  • HR Operations Managers — need to test service delivery, payroll interfaces and employee data controls
  • HR Compliance Officers — need to monitor policy adherence and remediation actions
  • Payroll and HRIS Managers — need to assess access, change and reconciliation controls
  • Risk and Governance Professionals — need to evaluate people-related operational and compliance risks

Skills and tools covered

HR audit planningControl testingAudit evidence collectionHR risk assessmentFinding report writingCorrective action follow-up

Tools and standards

ISO 19011, ISO 31000, COSO Internal Control Framework, GDPR

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce audit methods, followed by case work based on realistic HR control issues. Participants review policies, map risks and controls, analyse sample employee records, plan audit interviews and assess documentary evidence. Group exercises focus on testing recruitment, HRIS, payroll and employee-relations controls. Simulations develop opening-meeting, interview, finding-validation and closing-meeting skills. Each participant completes application planning for an upcoming HR audit or control review within their own responsibilities.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical familiarity with core HR processes such as recruitment, onboarding, employee records, payroll administration, performance management or employee relations. Experience in internal audit, compliance, risk or quality assurance is helpful but not essential. Participants should be comfortable reading policies, procedures, reports and employee-process documentation. No formal audit qualification is required, and prior knowledge of ISO standards is not assumed. The course does not require legal training; it explains how to audit against defined legal, policy and contractual criteria rather than provide jurisdiction-specific legal advice.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand basic HR processes or have experience in audit, compliance, risk or quality assurance. Formal audit certification and prior knowledge of ISO standards are not required.

Bring a laptop if possible, plus a non-confidential example of an HR policy, process map or audit issue from your workplace. Course materials and templates are provided.

It is designed for HR managers, HR operations staff, internal auditors, compliance officers, payroll managers and HRIS managers. It is especially useful for people preparing to review HR controls or respond to audit findings.

This course teaches the audit method: scoping, evidence collection, control testing, findings and follow-up. It does not provide jurisdiction-specific legal advice or replace specialist employment-law training.

You can use the templates to plan an HR audit, test a process such as onboarding or payroll changes, and track corrective actions. The methods also support internal control reviews and HR compliance monitoring.

Training runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, with about 6.5 contact hours daily. The five days cover ten modules in teaching order, combining instruction, cases, group analysis, simulations and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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