From time-to-time internal auditors are faced with situations which call for them to make an ethical decision. In addition, they may, in the middle of auditing, come across circumstances which themselves appear to be violations of a corporate
code-of-conduct.
Several laws now specifically state that internal auditors, in terms of the act, will be bound by the IIA Code of Ethics.
This webinar explores the IIA Code of Ethics as it applies to everyday situations the auditor may encounter.
The module is designed to provide the participants with an in-depth knowledge of:
Ethics theory
The IIA Code of Ethics
Applicable areas within Internal Audit
Reporting of material facts
Corporate Codes of Conduct
Auditing Corporate Ethics
Webinar contents will include:
Classes of Ethics
The role of business
Employee ethics
Honesty, Objectivity and diligence
Conflicts of Interest
Reporting of Material Facts
Corporate Codes of Conduct
Corporate Social Responsibility
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Ethics for internal auditors
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Richard Cascarino CISM,
CIA, ACFE, CRMA
Ethics for Internal
Auditors
About Jim Kaplan, CIA, CFE
President and Founder of AuditNet®,
the global resource for auditors
(available on iOS, Android and
Windows devices)
Auditor, Web Site Guru,
Internet for Auditors Pioneer
IIA Bradford Cadmus Memorial Award
Recipient
Local Government Auditor’s Lifetime
Award
Author of “The Auditor’s Guide to
Internet Resources” 2nd Edition
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ABOUT AUDITNET® LLC
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ABOUT RICHARD CASCARINO,
MBA, CIA, CISM, CFE, CRMA
• Principal of Richard Cascarino &
Associates based in Colorado USA
• Over 28 years experience in IT audit
training and consultancy
• Past President of the Institute of
Internal Auditors in South Africa
• Member of ISACA
• Member of Association of Certified
Fraud Examiners
• Author of Data Analytics for Internal
Auditors
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Today’s Agenda
Major terms involved in ethics and business
ethics in particular
Levels of business at which ethics is evaluated
and the core issues involved
Why ethics is necessary on the personal and
organisational level
Distinguish between ‘morality’ and ‘ethics’
Why IIA professional ethics and professional
virtues are important.
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Overall Ethical Values
Honesty
Integrity
Promise-keeping
Fidelity
Fairness
Caring
Respect
Responsibility
Striving for Excellence
Accountability
Ethics Theory
What are Ethics?
Go beyond moral principles
Designed for both practical and idealistic purposes
"above the law but below the ideal"
(Kell & Zeigler)
A professional way of life
Wheelwright's three key elements
Ethics involve questions requiring reflective choice
Ethics involve guides of right and wrong
Ethics are concerned with consequences of decisions
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Ethics Theory
Religious Ethics – an authoritative rule book to tell us what
rules to follow.
Duty Ethics - Fulfill your obligations. Duties and rights are
two sides of the same coin.
Utilitarianism – There is one and only one supreme moral
principal – that we should seek the greatest happiness of the
greatest number. Maximize happiness. Jeremy Bentham and
John Stuart Mill (1800).
Kant’s Approach To Ethics – Can your actions be
consistently generalized? Ask yourself “What if everyone did
that?”. According to Kant, if something is wrong, it is always
wrong!
In Kant’s view, happiness does not equal morality. Only a
good will has ultimate moral value. Moral rules should be
universal.
Special pleading – rationalizing to ourselves
The golden rule - treat others the way you
wish to be treated
Veil of ignorance - imagine the situation
from both points of view
Kant’s Approach to Ethics
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Ethics in Differing Religions
Common heritage going back a thousand
years before Christ
have important internal distinctions and structures
Orthodox Judaism, Reform or Progressive Judaism
Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Protestant and
Pentecostal ... and others
Four shared features of the ethics of Jewish and Christian
people.
Jewish Ethics
Grounded in the Torah
Mitzvoth (ethical commandments)
The golden rule
That which is hateful unto you, do not do unto others. Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself
The Talmud
Prophecy.
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Christian ethics
Ethics concerned with conscientiously living a whole
Christian life
Loving invitation and free response rather than law and duty
Jesus of Nazareth
Core moral guidelines in Christianity
Natural law
Sources of moral guidance
The Bible
Reason
Tradition
Experience
Modern moral maze.
Islamic ethics
Origins in Arabia
Islam means peace – engaged surrender or
submission to God or Allah’s will
Central belief: acceptance of God’s oneness and the
prophethood of Muhammad
Sources of moral guidance
• Qur’an
• Muhammad’s example
• shari’a (Islamic law)
Basis for evaluating ethical behaviour: God’s will
Action-based
Modern debate for Muslims today.
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Hindu ethics
Origins in India – oldest of Indian traditions
The eternal way
A richly diverse value system – tolerant & flexible
Deeds count more than sameness of belief
Life’s goals
Karma (actions)
Dharma (right or appropriate actions)
Sources of ethics
Various scriptures, such as Great Epic, the popular Ramayana and the Gita
Some controversial earlier practices
Modern revitalising movements.
POLLING QUESTION
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Internal Auditors must balance
Their personal feelings and moral
standards
The IIA code of ethics
Applicable statutes
An empathetic approach to attitudes
The auditee's
Management's
Society's
The law's
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A Body of Ethics
The hallmark of a profession
A profession characterized by
Acceptance by society
Service to society
A common body of knowledge
A body of standards of the technical requirements and
methodology of the profession
A body of ethics
The imposition by itself or by society when the ethics or
standards are not upheld
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Ethics Therefore
Help establish credibility of the members of the
profession
Establish public confidence in the profession as a whole
Establish a common guideline for measurement
Allow judgement by peers
To be effective they must
Be known
Be enforced vigorously and objectively
Be seen to be effective
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Applicable areas within Internal
Audit
Attitudes and actions relative to the organization
• Management
• Auditees
• Others
Attitudes and actions relative to other auditors
Professional proficiency and competence
Other ethical issues
Integrity
Objectivity
Independence
Acts bringing the profession into disrepute
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POLLING QUESTION
Ethics and Business
Amoral
Business is business and law = ethics
Ethically unaware (naïve)
Business exists only to make money
Immoral
If you don’t get caught it isn’t wrong
Unethical for the firm / Unethical against the firm
The Moral Employee
Ethically aware
Proactive
Code of conduct
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Classes of Ethics (1)
Imperative Principle
Requires strict compliance with the code
• No choices
• No rules with exceptions allowed
• No "lesser of two evils"
May cause problems when two or more provisions appear to be
at odds
May cause problems when the ethical principle produces results
out of proportion to the materiality
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Classes of Ethics (2)
Utilarianism
Course of action bringing most good to most people
Primary support of social ethics in countries
Act utilarianism
• Acts must lead to the greatest good for the greatest number
• If rules do not assist this, they are to be broken
Rule utilarianism
• Firm and publicly advocated moral rules
• All acts must conform to these
• No special cases
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Classes of Ethics (3)
Deontological Ethics
Concern is on the consequences of acts
Actions result from the concepts of duty
Principles are "independent of each person's conscience" (Kant)
Consistency is a requirement and conscience may condone acts
which could lead to societal disintegration
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Role of Business
Classical theories
Plato, Aristotle and Adam Smith
Business has no relationship to societal goals and social
objectives
"The purpose of business is business" (Friedman)
The Ethics Egoist
Achieving egoistical goals
Following established rules for the benefit of all
Social Responsibility
Held by "Moralists"
Business should have special goals
Business as a good citizen (Kant)
Social responsibilities beyond profits
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Ethics of Employees
The Duty of Obedience
A duty to obey all reasonable directions
No obligation to perform illegal or unethical acts
The Duty of Loyalty
Acts should be performed only in the interest of employers
• Only when acting as an employee
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The Duty of Confidentiality
Information acquired as a result of the
organization's operations may not be used
to further the interests of the employee or
another
Does not apply if the information is general
knowledge
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Codes of Conduct
Do not enforce "ethical" behavior
Serve as a means of expelling non-conforming members
of a population
Should be in place for all companies (recommended in
1987 by the Treadway Commission and 1994 by King)
Should be enforced
Internal Auditors can assist management in its design
Can then be reviewed and appraised by Internal Audit
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POLLING QUESTION
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ETHICAL GUIDELINES
FOR AUDIT PROFESSIONALS
Special Aspects of Professional Ethics
Internal Audit Professionals:
Are experts in their field,
Know customers rely on their knowledge, expertise, and honesty,
Understand their products (and related risks) affect many people,
Follow good professional standards and practices,
Maintain an expected level of competence and are up-to-date on
current knowledge and technology, and
Educate the non-audit professional.
“He or she must go beyond the
rules, thinking about why the
rules are necessary and written
as they are – in other words, the
substance behind the form.”
Ethical Issues in the Practice of Accounting, p.38 [ref. 2]
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Professional Practices Framework
• Code of Ethics
• Attribute, Performance, &
Implementation Standards
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Ethics &
Standards
Practice
Advisories
Development &
Practice Aids
•Books
•Research Studies
•Seminars
•Conferences
• Professional Practices
Guidance, Representation
IIA Code of Ethics
I Honesty, objectivity and diligence
II Loyalty
III No discreditable acts
IV Conflict of Interest
V Acceptance of gifts
VI Professional competence
VII Compliance with The Standards
VIII Confidentiality
IX Reporting of material facts
X Strive for improvement
XI Maintenance of standards 36
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Honesty, Objectivity and
Diligence
Primary requirements
Honesty
Professional Opinions, truthfully expressed
Not lying, cheating or stealing
Objectivity
Without fear or favor
Uncoloured by the auditor's personal feelings or opinions
Diligence
Persistence of effort
Following up on findings
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Loyalty
To
Organization
Management
Auditee
Public
Placing the organization's interests first
Loyalty does not require the Internal Auditor to break
the law
Non-disclosure of illegal activities
Becoming party to an illegal act
It does, however, preclude whistle-blowing except where
the Internal Auditor has been so tasked
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Discreditable Acts
Internal Auditors shall not knowingly
participate in:
Acts which are discreditable to the organization
Acts which are discreditable to Internal Auditing
Discrediting
Anything which leads to a loss of repute
Anything which causes doubt
Includes
Unprofessional activities
Acts directly against the interest of the organisation
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Conflicts of Interest
Activities in conflict with the interests of their
organizations
Activities which could prejudice the Auditor's ability to
carry out his responsibilities
Actual
Perceived
May include
Auditing in areas where there was a recent line management role
Auditing in areas where there will in the future be a line role
Auditing in areas where there is a family connection
Auditing in areas where there is a vested interest
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Acceptance of Gifts
From
Employees
Clients
Customers
Suppliers
Business Associates
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Items of Value
Items which could impair objectivity
Actual
Presumed
Previously "Items which could not be utilized
in one day"
Previously acceptable if the gift had
management's blessing
Now only non-valuable and promotional items
freely available may be accepted
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Confidentiality
Prudence in the use of information
acquired
Not for personal gain
Not for the gain of others
Not in any manner contrary to the law
Not in any manner detrimental to the welfare of the
organization
This includes "Whistle-blowing" where not
specifically tasked to do so
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Reporting of Material Facts
Non-concealment of material facts
Prevention of distortion of reports of
operations
Non-concealment of unlawful practices
Material
Important
Essential
Non-trivial
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Strive for Improvement
Continuous
Improvement in Proficiency
Improvement in the Quality of Service
Efficiency
Effectiveness
Economy
Ongoing Professional Development
Training
Reading
Conferences
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Maintenance of Standards
Competence
Morality
Dignity
Abiding by the Bylaws of the Institute
Upholding the Objectives of the Institute
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EVALUATING ETHICAL CHOICES
Is the action you have arrived at one that lives up to your
sense of moral integrity?
[Could I do this and still look at myself in the mirror]
Would it be the action chosen by someone you consider
a moral model?
[Could I feel good about telling my mother (father, minister, spiritual advisor,
spouse, etc.) I took this action]
Would you be comfortable if the action or its results were
made public?
[What if this became headline news?]
POLLING QUESTION
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The Ethics Audit
Systematic evaluation of an organization’s
ethics program and performance to
determine whether it is effective
Regular, complete, and documented measurements of
compliance with policies and procedures
Can be a precursor to establishing an ethics program
Helps to identify the firm’s current ethical standards, policies,
and risk areas
Benefits of an Ethics Audit
Identify potential risks and liabilities and
improve legal compliance
Can be key in improving organizational
performance
Improved relationships with stakeholders
Pressure to account for actions in areas including corporate
governance, ethics programs, customer relationships, employee
relations, environmental policies, and community involvement
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ASKING KEY QUESTIONS
What are the core values and beliefs of my organization?
Whose values, beliefs and interests may be at risk in this
decision?
Who will be harmed or helped by this decision or by the
decision of my organization?
How will my own or my organization’s core values and
beliefs be affected or changed by this decision?
How will I and my organization be affected by this
decision.
Risks in Ethics Auditing
Ethics audits may uncover ethical problems
that a company cannot remedy
Stakeholders may be dissatisfied with the
information
Conducting the audits is a financial and
record keeping burden
No guarantee that auditing is the solution to
ethics concerns
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