Like most rational-thinking members of humankind, I have been shocked by the events in Ukraine and have felt a strong sense of helplessness.

A key question I have been asking myself is whether I can do anything to impact events or ensure something like this can never happen again. How can an internal auditor make an impact? How can our profession make an impact?

I have concluded that perhaps our profession needs to find its moral compass.

My own philosophy of what it means to be an internal auditor is now seriously under scrutiny. I used to think that the fundamental role of our profession was to challenge the design and operating effectiveness of control processes in the context of our employer’s risk appetite. Part of this challenge included providing assurance that our employer is a good law-abiding corporate citizen.

I even went as far as suggesting that internal auditors should become trusted advisors to the business when it came to these matters.

I now realise that the law does not provide a proxy for morality. Laws that are poorly designed (or enforced) to deter money laundering or imprison people who share factually correct information concerning war cannot possibility meet this test.

So if our profession cannot use the law as its moral compass what else can we can anchor our auditing objectives to?

I do not know the answer to this but I believe it is incumbent on our profession to find the answer and commit to playing my role in supporting this initiative.