Business Ethics Auditing — More Than a Stakeholder’s Toy

Abstract

The explosion of interest in responsible corporate citizenship since 1995 has reminded many of the earlier rapid development of interest in environmental management issues. Active stakeholders and lobby groups have successfully exerted pressures on management for improved corporate behaviour. The paper looks at some recent initiatives and draws conclusions about the imprecise terminologies in use. It moves on to consider tools to better manage business risk exposures within the corporation. The example of the "Business Ethics Strategic Survey" is described, together with the attendant benefits it can deliver to company chairmen, Audit Committees and investment fund managers.