ABSTRACT
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ethics as the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation. The interest in ethics is more than philosophical. Business ethics, especially as pertains to the role of internal auditors, must be practical. Assessing an organization's ethical environment represents an atypical review for most internal auditors, who are accustomed to examining transactions and documents. Auditing ethics can be different. An audit of ethics often involves reviewing the organization's corporate culture. The focus is typically ethics within the audit client's organization, but that scope is limited. Auditing ethics is increasingly being added to organizations audit plans. These audits include reviewing practices and documents like the Code of Ethics (COE), conflict of interest (COI), ethics training, and allegations of wrongdoing. It also includes surveying employees to get their opinions about the ethical environment, leadership style, and workplace dynamics like harassment and retaliation.
