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Whistleblowing auditors—The ultimate betrayal?

  • Published:
International Journal of Value-Based Management

“If everybody minded their own business”, said the Duchess in a hoarse growl, “the world would go round a deal faster than it does”.-Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Abstract

The topic of whistleblowing is achieving prominence. Some influential voices are suggesting that far from whistleblowing—informing on organizations, it may in certain circumstances be an activity deserving high praise. Inevitably it entails huge risks to the activist, and these risks need to be personally and carefully considered. John Banham, Director General of the Confederation of British Industry, wrote in support of the Social Audit report on the subject (Winfield, 1990), and a government-established committee has suggested the possibility of honouring whistleblowers in the British Honours system for their good corporate citizenship.

The first part of this treatise examines the case of external audit. There has been much debate on the role and purpose of external audit, and this has tended to exclude whistleblowing. However there are winds of change, and tightening of legislation and recent ethical guidance suggests that the issue is no longer closed. Internal audit seems far more resistant on this point in terms of the professional guidance issued. For the troops on the ground the issue is far from clear-cut, and the Institute of Internal Auditors, and its unofficial spokesperson, Gil Courtemanche, are urged to reconsider this matter seriously. We conclude by looking at generalized examples of whistleblowing, provide criteria for valid forms of whistleblowing and suggest the way forward.

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Vinten, G. Whistleblowing auditors—The ultimate betrayal?. Int J Value-Based Manage 5, 49–76 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02919231

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