Personnel Audit as a Risk-Based Corporate Governance Instrument: A Conceptual Framework for Human Capital Risk Integration
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36690/2674-5208-2026-1-102-115Keywords:
personnel audit, human capital risk, corporate governance, enterprise risk management, PARI framework, risk taxonomy, Solvency II, human capital governance, risk integration, board oversight, governance oversight, organizational resilienceAbstract
This study addresses a significant gap in contemporary corporate governance research, specifically the insufficient integration of human capital risks into enterprise risk management (ERM) frameworks. Although Solvency II, ISO 31000:2018, and COSO ERM 2017 establish comprehensive architectures for risk governance, they do not adequately position personnel audit as a structured mechanism for identifying, assessing, and communicating human capital risks. The study aims to reconceptualize personnel audit as a risk-based corporate governance instrument and to develop a framework that integrates human capital risks into ERM systems. The paper adopts a conceptual research design grounded in agency theory, stakeholder theory, and systems thinking. Through conceptual synthesis, systems analysis, and comparative regulatory review, it develops the Personnel Audit Risk Integration (PARI) framework as a three-tier model operating at operational, tactical, and strategic levels of governance. The study proposes a structured taxonomy of human capital vulnerabilities across five interrelated domains: competency risk, behavioral integrity risk, succession risk, compliance risk, and organizational culture risk. It further establishes theoretical and regulatory linkages between personnel audit outputs, board-level risk oversight, and Solvency Capital Requirement calculations in regulated industries. The PARI framework demonstrates both conceptual originality and practical relevance for boards of directors, chief risk officers, and HR governance practitioners seeking to strengthen resilience and governance quality. Future studies should empirically validate the framework and explore methodologies for quantifying human capital risks across different industries and regulatory contexts.
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