HR Audit: Auditing HR Processes, Employee Files and HR Controls – London, 14–18 Jun 2027

Programme overview

Introduction:

An HR audit often reveals the same problems: personnel files missing signed offers or right-to-work records, leave balances that do not match attendance data, payroll changes approved by nobody, and HRIS access left open after staff move roles. This Core Concept course shows HR and audit practitioners how to plan an HR audit, work through checklists for each HR process, sample employee files, test HR system controls and rate what they find. Participants leave with an HR audit programme, a rated findings log and an HR audit report with a corrective action plan.

Course Objectives:

• Define the scope, objectives, audit type and criteria for an HR audit of one or more HR processes
• Apply process checklists to test recruitment, onboarding, payroll and benefits, leave and attendance, performance and training records
• Select and document a sample of employee files and HR transactions, and record exceptions in audit working papers
• Test HR data quality, HRIS user access and approval controls over changes to pay and employee master data
• Rate HR audit findings by risk and write them with condition, criteria, cause, effect and a corrective action
• Produce an HR audit report and corrective action tracker that HR leadership can follow through to closure

Target Audience:

• HR managers who own the quality and documentation of HR processes
• HR officers and HR operations staff who maintain personnel files, leave and attendance records
• Payroll and benefits leads responsible for pay changes, allowances and deductions
• Internal auditors and compliance reviewers assigned to audit the people function
• HR systems and HR data leads who administer the HRIS and employee master data

Course Outline:

Day 1: HR Audit Foundations, Scope and Planning

• HR Audit Types: Compliance, Best-Practice, Function-Specific and Strategic
• HR Process Map as the Basis for Audit Coverage
• HR Audit Scope, Objectives and Audit Criteria Statement
• Document Request List and Pre-Audit Data Pull from the HRIS
• HR Audit Planning Memo and Stakeholder Interview Schedule

Day 2: HR Audit Checklists by Process

• Recruitment and Selection Checklist: Requisition, Shortlisting and Offer Approval
• Onboarding and Personnel File Checklist: Mandatory Documents and Signatures
• Payroll and Benefits Checklist: Salary Changes, Allowances and Deductions
• Leave and Attendance Checklist: Balances, Absences and Timesheet Approval
• Performance, Training Records and HR Policy Acknowledgement Checklist

Day 3: Sampling Employee Files and Testing HR Transactions

• Employee File Sampling Plan: Population, Sample Size and Selection Method
• Personnel File Review Worksheet and Exception Log
• Payroll-to-HR Master Data Reconciliation for a Sample Period
• Employment Terms Testing Against Contract, Policy and Applicable Labour Rules
• HR Audit Working Papers: Evidence, Cross-Referencing and Reviewer Sign-Off

Day 4: HR Data, System Controls and Rating Findings

• HRIS User Access Review and Segregation of Duties in HR and Payroll
• Change Control Over Employee Master Data and Pay Rates
• Record Retention, Confidentiality and Personal Data Handling in HR Files
• Red Flags in HR Records: Ghost Employees, Duplicate Payments and Backdated Changes
• Finding Risk Rating Matrix and Root Cause Using the 5 Whys

Day 5: HR Audit Case Work and the Audit Report

• Hospital Group Case: Personnel File and Leave Record Audit
• Logistics Company Case: Payroll Change and HRIS Access Testing
• HR Audit Report Structure: Executive Summary, Rated Findings and Recommendations
• Corrective Action Plan with Owners, Deadlines and Follow-Up Testing
• HR Audit Programme Assembly and Peer Review

Skills You Will Gain:

• HR Audit Planning
• HR Process Checklist Design
• Personnel File Review
• Audit Sampling of HR Records
• Payroll Reconciliation Testing
• HRIS Access Control Review
• Findings Risk Rating
• Corrective Action Tracking

Why Attend This Course:

• Return with an HR audit programme, rated findings log and HR audit report template built around your own HR processes
• Find gaps in personnel files, leave, payroll and HR system records before an external inspection or a dispute brings them to light
• Give HR leadership findings they can act on, each with an owner, a deadline and a follow-up test
• Compare HR record-keeping and control practice with peers from healthcare, logistics, services and public-sector organisations

Conclusion:

HR processes produce records that support pay, entitlements and employment decisions, and gaps in those records carry cost and legal exposure. This course moves from scoping and planning an HR audit, through process checklists and employee file sampling, to HRIS access, master data changes and the rating of findings. The final day applies these methods to multi-sector cases and assembles an HR audit programme and report with a corrective action plan ready for use in the next audit cycle.