The board of directors of a global organization has found an increased number of reported cases of unethical practices since last year. To assist the…

Question breakdown

Tests

Select an appropriate method to assess ethical climate

Difficulty

Medium

Key idea: An anonymous, organization-wide survey measures employees' ethics awareness and perceptions directly across all locations and levels.

How to reach the answer

1. The goal is to understand the degree of ethics awareness, which is a diagnostic task and not a fix.
2. Training and reaffirming the code are remedies, and neither one measures awareness.
3. An assurance engagement tests controls and processes, but it does not easily capture the attitudes of employees across a global organization.
4. A broad survey gathers awareness data from everyone, so D is the best fit.

Each option

• AIncorrect. An assurance engagement evaluates ethics programs and controls, but it is less effective at measuring awareness among employees worldwide.
• BIncorrect. Training is a corrective action and does not tell the board what employees currently understand.
• CIncorrect. Reaffirming the code communicates expectations but produces no information for the board.
• DCorrect. A survey captures employee awareness and perceptions directly across the whole organization.

Common trap: Candidates who default to internal audit pick A because it seems the most rigorous choice.

In practice: Ethics and compliance functions often run culture or ethics surveys, and internal audit may use the results when evaluating the ethics program.

Remember: To measure awareness, ask the people directly; training and messaging fix gaps, while surveys measure them.

Drafted with AI assistance and checked against the answer key.