Questioning the ethical in social and ethical auditing

The organisational practice of social and ethical auditing is commonly seen as an advancement towards ethical business in that it enhances the moral treatment of organisational stakeholders. In effect, social and ethical auditing is the practice of measuring and reporting social performance through engagement with stakeholders. The AA1000 framework provides an internationally recognised standard for social and ethical auditing. However, despite the positive assumption that social and ethical auditing is ethical, questions exist. Both the practice of social and ethical auditing and the gestalt of social and ethical auditing are ripe for ethical exploration. This paper seeks to raise some concerns regarding social and ethical auditing and in doing so open these issues to further research scrutiny.