1.4 ETHICAL CLIMATE
CIA candidates should understand the governance process, governance principles, and ethical culture. The IIA may ask questions that require candidates to apply knowledge to a set of face.
1. Definitions
a. Business ethics are an organization's policies and standards established to ensure certain kinds of behavior by its members.
b. Individual ethics are the principles of conduct Expected to be followed by individuals.
2. Issues in Business Ethics
a. The following are the major issues:
1) General business understanding of ethical issues
2) Compliance with laws (e.g., tax, securities, antitrust, environmental, privacy, and labor)
3) External financial reporting
4) Conflicts of interest
5) Entertainment and gift expenses
6) Relations with customers and suppliers (Should gifts or kickbacks be given or accepted?)
7) Social responsibility
3. Factors That May Lead to Unethical Behavior
a. In any normal population, some people behave unethically. If these people hold leadership positions, they may have a bad influence on subordinates.
1) Organizational Factors
a) Pressure to improve short-run performance is an incentive for wrongdoing.
b) Emphasis on strict chain-of-command authority may excuse unethical behavior when following orders.
c) Informal work-group loyalties may result in tolerance of others' unethical behavior.
d) Committee decision processes reduce individual responsibility.
2) External Factors
a) Competitive pressures may result in unethical compromises in the interest of survival.
b) The advantage obtained by a competitor's wrongdoing is an excuse for imitation of that behavior.
c) Definitions of ethical behavior may vary from one culture to another. For example, bribes to officials or buyers may be consistent with customary business practices in some countries.
4. Criteria for Evaluating Ethical Behavior
a. The following questions a in defining an ethical issue:
1) “Would my behavior be acceptable if people l respect were aware of it?”
2) “What are the consequences of this behavior for myself, other employees, customers, and society?”
b. Ethic are individual and personal. They are influenced by the following:
1) Life experiences (rewards for doing right punishment for doing wrong)
2) Friendship groups (professional associations, informal groups)
3) Organizational pressures (responsibilities to superiors and the organization)
5. Codes of Ethics
a. An organization's code of ethics is the established general value system the organization wishes to apply to its members activities by
1) Communicating organizational purposes and beliefs and
2) Establishing uniform ethical guidelines for members.
a) This guidance extends to decision making.
b. Laws and specific rules cannot cover all situations. Thus, organizations benefit from establishing a code of ethics that effectively communicates acceptable values to all interested internal and external parties. For example, a code may do the following:
1) Require compliance with the law
2) Prohibit conflicts of interest
3) Provide a method of policing and disciplining members for violations through
a) Formal review panels and
b) Group pressure (informal).
4) Standards against which individuals can measure their own performance.
5) Communicate to those outside the organization the value system from which its members must not be asked to deviate.
c. A typical code for auditors or accountants in an organization requires the following:
1) Independence from conflicts of economic or professional interest.
a) They are responsible for presenting information fairly to stakeholders rather than protecting management.
b) They are responsible for presenting appropriate information to all managers. They should not favor certain managers or conceal unfavorable information.
c) They are responsible for maintaining an ethical presence in the conduct of professional activities.
i) They should do what they can to ensure organizational compliance with the spirit as well as the letter or pertinent laws and regulation
ii) They should conduct themselves according to the highest ethical and legal standards.
iii) They should report to appropriate in or external authority any fraudulent or other illegal organizational act.
2) Integrity and a refusal to compromise professional values for personal gain
3) Objectivity in presenting information, preparing reports, and making analyses
6. Role of the Internal Audit Activity
a. This topic is covered by the following implementation Standard:
Implementation Standard 2110.A1
The internal audit activity must evaluate the design, implementation, and effectiveness of the organization's ethics-related objectives, programs, and activities.
b. The internal audit activity's role in this process includes monitoring compliance with the corporate code of conduct and assessing the ethical climate of the board and the organization. The ethical culture of an organization has a significant effect on the success of the overall governance process. The following outline, based on a publication of The IIA, describes that role:
1) The governance process meets four responsibilities:
a) Compliance with legal and regulatory rules
b) Satisfaction of generally accepted norms and social expectations
c) Providing benefits to society and specific stakeholders
d) Reporting fully and truthfully to ensure accountability
Governance Process
Responsibilities
Compliance Creditors
Satisfaction Send
Benefits Billing
Reporting Reminders
2) Governance practices reflect the organization's culture and largely depend on it for effectiveness. The culture
a) Sets values, objectives, and strategies;
b) Defines roles and behaviors;
c) Measures performance;
d) Specifies accountability; and
e) Determines the degree of sensitivity to social responsibility.
3) Because of their skills and position in the organization, auditors should active support the ethical culture. Auditor roles may include
a) Chief ethics officer,
b) Member of an ethics council, or
c) Assessor of the ethical climate.
4) The minimum internal audit activity role is assessor of (a) the ethical climate and (b) the effectiveness of processes to achieve legal and ethical compliance. Internal auditors should evaluate the effectiveness of the following features of an enhanced, highly effective ethical culture:
a) A formal code of conduct and related statements and policies (including procedures covering fraud and corruption)
b) Frequent demonstration of ethical attitudes and behavior by influential leaders
c) Explicit strategies enhance the ethical culture with regular programs
d) Easily accessible means of confidentially reporting alleged violations
e) Regular declarations by employees, suppliers, and customers about the requirements for ethical behavior
f) Clear delegation of responsibilities for (1) providing counsel, (2) investigation, and (3) reporting
g) Easy access to learning opportunities
h) Positive personnel practices that encourage every employee to contribute.
i) Regular surveys of employees, suppliers, and customers to determine the state of the ethical climate
j) Regular reviews of the processes that undermine the ethical culture
k) Regular reference and background checks
c. Other internal audit activity roles include (1) recommending resolution of ethics complaints, (2) determining the disposition of ethics violation 3) fostering a healthy ethics climate, (4) administering the business conduct policy, and (5) reporting or compliance.
1) A conflict of interest policy should
a) Prohibit the transfer of benefits between an employee and those with whom the organization deals.
b) Prohibit the use of organizational information for private gain.
Stop and review! You have completed the outline for this subunit. Study multiple-choice 11 through 13 on page 34.