Ethics and the Internal Auditor's Political Dilemma: Tools and Techniques to Evaluate a Company's Ethical Culture

• Helps auditors understand the reality of performing the internal audit role and the importance of properly understanding and managing ethical standards
• Provides many examples of ethical conflicts and proposes alternative actions for the internal auditor
• Prepares auditors to manage ethical issues they encounter
• Draws upon interviews with other internal audit professionals regarding ethical situations they have faced and how they have managed them

Summary

This book helps auditors understand the reality of performing the internal audit role and the importance of properly managing ethical standards. It provides many examples of ethical conflicts and proposes alternative actions for the internal auditor. Internal auditors are well-schooled on the IIA Standards, but the reality is that the pressure placed on internal auditors related to execution of work and upholding ethical standards can be very difficult. Regardless of best practice or theory, auditors must be personally prepared to manage through issues they run across.

About the Author

Lynn A. Fountain, CGMA, CRMA, MBA, has over 35 years of experience in the business profession, which includes public and industry accounting and over 20 years within internal and external auditing combined. She is a nationally recognized trainer and speaker and a published author. In April 2015, the Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation released Ms. Fountain’s first technical book "Raise the Red Flag – The Internal Auditor’s Guide to Fraud Evaluations. In October 2015, Ms. Fountain’s book "Leading The Internal Audit Function", will be the first book released for Dan Swanson’s book series. Ms. Fountain has been a successful past Chief Audit Executive for two international companies. She was instrumental for implementation Sarbanes-Oxley in the initial years with her public utility. She has been recognized as a leader and innovator in SOX processes. She is a subject matter expert and specializes in Internal Audit, Sarbanes-Oxley, Enterprise Risk Management, Fraud, Governance and Compliance. She has also been instrumental in the establishment of ERM, Sarbanes-Oxley and Governance frameworks. Ms. Fountain has developed and delivered leading edge training sessions on the new COSO framework and has assisted companies in identifying risk gap analysis in their individual processes. From 2012 – 2014, Ms. Fountain coordinated two highly successful e-workshops for the Institute of Internal Auditors. One was on fraud and the second was on Ethics and the Internal Auditor’s dilemma. In addition, she has performed as an adjunct instructor for the School of Business for Grantham University and the School of Business at the University of Kansas.Ms. Fountain obtained her BSBA from Pittsburg State University and her MBA from Washburn University in Kansas. She also holds her certificate in Certified Public Accountancy.