What is the primary purpose of risk assessment?

The primary purpose of risk assessment is to evaluate hazards and threats. This process involves identifying potential risks that could impact the safety and security of personnel, assets, and operations. By assessing these risks, organizations can understand the nature and level of threats they face and prioritize their resources accordingly.

Effective risk assessment allows for informed decision-making around security measures and policies, helping organizations to focus on the most significant vulnerabilities. It is a critical component in developing strategies to manage, mitigate, or accept risks.

The other options relate to important aspects of organizational management but do not capture the central focus of risk assessment. For instance, while increasing security budgets may be a consequence of identified risks, it is not the primary purpose of the assessment itself. Assessing employee performance is a human resources function that does not directly relate to threat evaluation. Lastly, while the goal may be to mitigate risks, it is often not possible to eliminate all risks completely, making "to mitigate all risks completely" an unrealistic aim. Therefore, the correct understanding of risk assessment centers around the evaluation of hazards and threats.