Corporate culture, particularly diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), has been in the spotlight the last several years, with many organizations launching new initiatives to advance DEI. But more work must be done to ensure the long-term sustainability of these changes — and internal audit can help.

The Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors and AuditBoard surveyed 100+ internal audit leaders across the U.K. and Ireland to examine the profession’s role in providing assurance on culture. The results, published in a joint report titled Cultivating a healthy culture: Why internal audit and boards must take corporate culture more seriously in a post-Covid world, were illuminating:

• 60% said their audit plan included culture, with 37% stating culture was integrated into standard audits.
• 70.5% said the board had articulated the culture it wants for their organization.
• 52.4% had not been asked by the board or audit committee to provide reports on culture.

Download the full research report to benchmark your organization against the rest of the survey results and gain a deeper understanding of this issue, including:

• Board Perspectives on Organizational Culture: Find out board, audit committee, and internal audit expectations for corporate culture.
• Top Risks Impacting Corporate Culture: Business-critical risk areas to consider incorporating in an examination of organizational culture as part of an audit engagement.
• Culture Audits: The methods, skills, and cultural risk management frameworks teams use to audit behaviors and culture.
• Culture Questions for Internal Audit: Guidance for internal audit to take a proactive role at all stages of the corporate culture journey.
• Corporate Culture Case Studies: Read real-world examples from the London Business School Leadership Institute.