Does Internal Audit Need A Social Conscience?

I have a social conscience.

I care about many things but as I grow older and begin to realise that I will leave the planet to my children I begin to care more and more about social issues, including: –

·      The climate’s impact on our lives (44 degrees Celsius in Italy!)

·      Diversity

·      True inclusiveness in our workplace and not just ticking boxes.

·      Fairness in everything we do

·      Making sure bullying and subtle mind manipulation is eradicated from our businesses.

As an internal auditor, I have always had a dilemma. Do I use my position to preach as to how my colleagues should behave? If so, what exactly qualifies me to preach? Am I a moral paragon of virtue?

I will leave it to you to decide but the point I am trying to make is that our profession is no more qualified than any other profession to opine on whether our organisations have a social conscience.

This leaves me with a problem. I would like to get out of bed with a strong sense of purpose. It is important that my occupation is aligned with my moral compass.

The good news is that the world of “ESG” has come to my rescue. As a risk based internal auditor, I need to focus on my organisation’s biggest risks.

Guess what? The failure to comply with ESG related regulations now represents one of the most significant inherent risks in business. Please do not take my word for it – ask the CBI, Odey Asset Management or any organisation that ignored the hashtag#metoo movement.

The failure to manage these social risks means you can be here one moment and gone the next.

As a profession we are now obliged to make sure our own organisations have developed their own social conscience. Has your company assessed the social risks it runs and designed and effectively implemented a set of mitigants? Has your organisation built a heart-mind connection between its employees and its expectations in terms of behaviour?

How is your social conscience?