Human Capital Governance, Risk and Assurance Training Course

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Introduction Key Learning Outcomes Training Methodology Outline

Introduction

People-related risks have become one of the most significant sources of organisational exposure, influencing operational resilience, regulatory compliance, corporate reputation, and long-term business performance. As organisations face increasing scrutiny over workforce governance, culture, ethical conduct, succession planning, and ESG reporting, establishing robust oversight and assurance frameworks has become essential for effective enterprise risk management.

This Human Capital Governance, Risk and Assurance training course develops the capability to identify, assess, govern, and assure workforce-related risks through recognised governance and risk management principles. It equips professionals to evaluate people controls, strengthen governance structures, enhance assurance practices, and produce reliable evidence that supports organisational accountability, board confidence, and credible workforce reporting.

Key focus areas of this Human Capital Governance, Risk and Assurance training course include:

Integrating people risk into enterprise risk management
Strengthening governance and oversight of the people function
Developing people risk registers and key risk indicators
Evaluating and testing workforce control environments
Auditing human capital governance and assurance activities
Supporting credible ESG workforce reporting and assurance

Key Learning Outcomes

At the end of this Human Capital Governance, Risk and Assurance training course, participants will be able to:

Apply enterprise risk management principles to human capital governance.
Design governance structures that strengthen workforce oversight and accountability.
Develop robust people risk registers and meaningful key risk indicators.
Assess and test the effectiveness of workforce-related internal controls.
Evaluate ESG workforce data to support reliable assurance and reporting.
Form and communicate well-supported assurance opinions on human capital governance.

Training Methodology

This training course combines expert-led instruction with interactive learning, group discussions, practical exercises, applied organisational scenarios, and real-world examples to reinforce understanding and strengthen professional capability. Throughout the learning experience, delegates progressively apply governance, risk, and assurance principles to realistic workforce challenges, enabling immediate application within their own organisations.

Human Capital Governance, Risk and Assurance

Who Should Attend?

This GRC Academy training course is designed for those with a governance, risk, audit or compliance responsibility touching the workforce, and will greatly benefit:

Internal Auditors and Heads of Internal Audit
Risk Managers and Enterprise Risk Professionals
Compliance Officers and Governance Managers
Human Resources Directors and Heads of People Operations
ESG and Sustainability Assurance Specialists
Company Secretarial and Governance Support Professionals
Ethics, Conduct and Investigations Leads

Course Outline

Day 1

People Risk in the Enterprise Risk Framework

Why people risk is systematically under-identified and under-controlled
Categories of human capital risk: conduct, capability, capacity, culture, compliance and data
Positioning people risk within the enterprise risk management framework
Risk appetite and tolerance applied to the workforce
Case study: anatomy of a workforce governance failure

Day 2

Governance and Oversight of the People Function

The three lines model applied to human resources and the workforce
Committee oversight: remuneration, nomination and audit
The problem of self-assessment: why the people function cannot assure itself
Policy architecture: enforceability, consistency and evidence of application
Delegated authority, decision rights and escalation over people matters
Workshop: designing a governance and oversight structure for the people function

Day 3

Risk Identification, Assessment and Indicators

Building a people risk register: sources, workshops and evidence
Assessing likelihood and impact where the data is soft
Quantifying people risk: cost of turnover, cost of claim, cost of capability gap
Key risk indicators that give genuine early warning rather than lagging comfort
Culture and conduct risk: measuring what resists measurement
Workshop: constructing a people risk register and indicator set

Day 4

Controls, Testing and Auditing the People Function

The control environment around recruitment, reward, promotion and exit
Controls over conduct: whistleblowing, grievance, investigation and consequence
Controls over succession and key person dependency
Controls over workforce data: privacy, access, retention and the use of artificial intelligence
Designing tests: design effectiveness against operating effectiveness
Sampling, evidence and the audit trail in people processes
Workshop: executing a control testing programme and drafting findings

Day 5

The Social Pillar of ESG and Assurance Reporting

The social pillar of ESG: what is claimed and what can be substantiated
The assurance implications of publishing a workforce metric
Data quality, definitions and the auditability of workforce numbers
Forming an assurance opinion on human capital
Reporting findings to the audit committee
Action planning: each delegate produces an assurance plan for human capital

International Standards & Professional Alignment

Our training courses are aligned with internationally recognised professional standards and frameworks across leadership, strategy, finance, governance, risk, compliance, and audit. By integrating globally trusted models, we ensure learners develop practical, relevant, and industry-recognised capabilities.

Our trainings draw on leading international standards and professional frameworks, including ISO, ISACA, COSO, OECD, IIA, FATF, Basel, IFRS/ISSB, GRI, NIST, CPD, ILM and the OECD AI Principles. This alignment ensures consistency with global best practices across financial management, risk oversight, digital governance, sustainability, and strategic decision-making..

Designed in alignment with globally recognised professional bodies, our courses support continuous professional development, strengthen organisational capability, and provide clear pathways toward professional certifications valued worldwide.

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