Chief audit executives' perceptions of drivers of moral courage: Tunisian evidence

Abstract

A string of accounting-related scandals has revealed key shortcomings in internal auditor truthfulness. These scandals have led researchers, professional organizations and institutions to question causes of internal auditor silence and the failure of ethical guidelines. This study responds to these questions by revealing moral courage as the missing ingredient in internal auditor ethical instruction and as the tool needed for internal auditors to preserve their integrity and overcome their fears. Building on what is currently known of internal auditors and moral courage, this study sheds light on professional and ethical requirements placed on internal auditors to tell the truth, and it emphasizes the role of moral courage in guiding their ethical behaviors. It also considers what must be known about the development of moral courage among internal auditors and seeks to identify the factors that promote internal auditors' moral courage through thirty structured interviews with chief audit executives.

Breaking the silence: An empirical analysis of the drivers of internal auditors' moral courage

“…The findings of Everett and Tremblay () are consistent with those of Khelil, Hussainey, and Noubbigh (in press), who used 30 structured interviews with Tunisian chief audit executives (CAEs) to identify the factors that promote internal auditors' moral courage. There was a consensus among the interviewees that resilience is critical for the activation of courage.…”

“…Additionally, our results confirm those of Everett and Tremblay (), who find that the courageous behavior of Cynthia Cooper was enhanced due to her resilience and her adaptation capacities in the face of serious risks and threats. According to Khelil et al (in press), the internal audit activity, in Tunisian firms, is very damaging and tiring for an internal auditor who wants to work in an ethical manner respecting the standards and rules. In this sense, the internal auditor must resist by holding their ground with respect to moral matters even if they are opposing social pressures, and must therefore behave ethically whatever happens.…”

Psychological capital, moral courage and internal audit effectiveness (IAE): a complementary or substitution effect

“…These findings have increased the awareness of academicians (Everett and Tremblay, 2014;Khelil et al, 2016Khelil et al, , 2018aKhelil et al, , 2018b and the Institute of Internal Audit (IIA, 2021) of the need for moral courage. In addition, internal auditors are required to hold certain positive psychological resources such as resilience, self-efficacy, resilience, state hope and optimism to perform their duties effectively and fight against fraud, illegal acts and unethical behaviors.…”

“…Concerning auditing context, academicians and professionals have recognized that internal auditors need to develop the moral courage to take action despite fear and behave ethically (Everett and Tremblay, 2014;Khelil et al, 2016Khelil et al, , 2018a; Karssing et al, 2017;Khelil and Khlif, 2022). Building on Thorne's (1998) integrated model of ethical decisionmaking, Khelil et al (2016Khelil et al ( , 2018b identify courage as an instrumental virtue that plays a significant role in enhancing the ethical behavior of internal auditors. Khelil et al (2018b) explain that because manager generally makes personal decisions regarding internal auditors, they must risk their careers when reporting sensitive information.…”

“…Building on Thorne's (1998) integrated model of ethical decisionmaking, Khelil et al (2016Khelil et al ( , 2018b identify courage as an instrumental virtue that plays a significant role in enhancing the ethical behavior of internal auditors. Khelil et al (2018b) explain that because manager generally makes personal decisions regarding internal auditors, they must risk their careers when reporting sensitive information. Accordingly, the different threats and pressure from management can give them good reasons to remain silent (Khelil et al, 2018b;Khelil and Hussainey, 2022).…”