The subject of ethics and its application to company operations has become a hot management topic. The author believes that good ethics equals good business. Benefits are likely to accrue from avoidance of embarrassing violations, from compliance with legal requirements, from occasional savings in capital investments, and from a better moral tone throughout an organization. Any endeavor to transfer U.S. made ethics to other required great sensitivity to local culture, laws, and traditions. Internal auditors are in a premier position to add reinforcement, depth, meaning, effectiveness, and controls to nascent corporate ethics programs.

The authors of a recent book allege that the country suffers from an obsession with ethics.

"Instead of paying attention to real transgressions, (Organizations) have concentrated on appearances. Elaborate rules have been created to avoid conflicts of interest, high-sounding codes of conduct have been promulgated, and a virtual industry of consultants has sprung up to help harried officials seem more ethical."

Ethics represents an environmental envelope that governs the internal auditor's natural habitat. The auditor should feel at home when (1) ethical values are shared by religionists of all persuasions, (2) the "stakeholder" concept has spread to corporate decision-making, including capital investment decisions, and (3) classical audit approaches and procedures can be readily applied to ethics-related activities. The author believes in the deterrent value of an ethical climate protected by internal auditors. Managerial codes of ethics and ethical role models can significantly modify a potentially corrupt environment.

THE COST OF UNETHICAL CONDUCT

UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR IS NOT LIKELY TO GO AWAY SOON 

WHAT IS ETHICS?

ETHICS: TOO IMPORTANT TO BE LEFT TO PHILOSOPHERS AND THEOLOGIANS ?

THE COMMONALITY OF BELIEFS BETWEEN AUDITOR AND AUDITEE

ETHICAL MODELS

WHAT IS ETHICS IN BUSINESS?

GOOD ETHICS IS GOOD BUSINESS

ETHICS AND THE GOVERNMENT: TWO INITIATIVES

THE NATURE OF THE AUDIT OPPORTUNITY