Home

Features of EthicsAssurance

EthicsAssurance is calibrated to address laws and regulations in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. It focuses upon seeking and benchmarking opinions about values, integrity and actual performance from staff throughout the organization, rather than just engaging senior officers. As such, it is the first integrated, e-based product of its type.

  • EthicsAssurance is an on-line, e-based instrument or tool completed by employees and other stakeholders. The tool elicits reports and produces evaluations and confidential comparative diagnostic reports about an organization. CEOs and Board directors can use it to (a) empower employees to learn about best practices while they participate in a meaningful audit of the organization''s performance; (b) appreciate the organization’s strengths and weaknesses in absolute and comparative terms across a variety of economic, social, and environmental criteria compared to other companies or organizations in their activity sector; and (c) act proactively to address weaknesses and non-compliance as well as enhance the organization’s management, sustainability and governance strengths.
    • This EthicsAssurance self-audit software instrument has several elements:
      • It serves as a whistle-blower and diagnostic tool that simultaneously advises of vulnerabilities while protecting employees who raise concerns in good conscience
      • It is a divisional or business unit self-audit integrity tool that educates participants (primarily employees, but also suppliers, clients and others) in best practices as they complete answers to questions on-line
        • EthicsAssurance allows companies to assess their performance against anonymous companies from their same business or activity sector
        • It addresses not only governance and ethics, but also corporate responsibility, sustainability, corporate citizenship and other CSR themes
        • EthicsAssurance incorporates (and measures performance using) standards from England, the United States and Canada
        • A decision has been made to offer the product on-line, rather than by CD. Like tax preparation software, this licensed software product is continually updated, requires internal documentation, and can be accessed through a licensed software agreement. Like a whistle blower program, it operates independently, reports on perceptions of organizational strengths, weaknesses or perceived malfeasance, and passes results directly to senior executives.
          • Responsibility to do the right thing needs to be given to and reinforced for all. The EthicsAssurance tool and program allows managers and individuals to be rigorously questioned without undermining their authority and self confidence. It can be used:
            • When senior management wants to monitor practices in certain parts of the business
            • When an employee of conscience needs to report a concern or suspicious occurrence
            • When internal audit or a chief ethics officer needs to benchmark practices
            • To demonstrate to employees that the principles and expectations of best practices are valued as well as measured
            • As a learning tool to indicate to a local manager how performance could be enhanced
            • When directors decide that they need a source of independent verification about the existence of a problem that may not be reported by management
            • EthicsAssurance is cost effective especially for multi-national enterprises because
              • It saves corporate costs of asking external consultants to conduct customized scans, ethics and social audits
              • It finds and fixes wrongdoing earlier
              • It identifies problems even if they aren’t generated as an employee complaint
              • It incorporates new reporting, disclosure and ISO 26000 standards
              • It gives the Board an immediate, independent insight into weaknesses and vulnerabilities
              • It makes recommendations within the context of best practices and best international standards, not just company expectations
              • It identifies and assesses employees’ thoughts on performance aspirations in the future as well as present practices