Auditing Organisational Behaviour & Culture

Course Introduction

This Auditing Organisational Behaviour & Culture training course equips internal audit and assurance professionals with the knowledge and practical approaches required to assess how organisational culture, leadership behaviour, incentives and workplace dynamics influence governance, risk and control effectiveness. Policies and formal controls may appear robust, yet their effectiveness ultimately depends on how people interpret, apply, challenge or circumvent them. Behavioural patterns can therefore provide important early warning signals of control weaknesses, excessive risk-taking and wider organisational problems.

The training course provides a structured approach to incorporating behavioural and cultural risk into internal audit activities. Participants will examine leadership conduct, incentives, speak-up arrangements, psychological safety and behavioural risk indicators before progressing to the practical design and execution of behavioural audits. Particular attention is given to evidence gathering through interviews, focus groups, surveys and organisational data, together with evidence triangulation and behavioural root-cause analysis. The training course concludes with approaches for developing defensible findings, reporting sensitive issues to boards and audit committees, evaluating remediation and monitoring whether behavioural change is sustained.

This Auditing Organisational Behaviour & Culture training course will highlight:

•  Identifying organisational culture and behavioural risks relevant to internal audit
• Assessing leadership conduct, incentives and behavioural pressures
• Evaluating speak-up culture, psychological safety and behavioural indicators
• Planning and performing evidence-based behavioural audit engagements
• Applying evidence triangulation and behavioural root-cause analysis
• Reporting systemic cultural issues and providing meaningful board-level assurance

Objectives

By the end of this training course, participants will be able to:

• Identify behavioural and cultural risks and incorporate them into internal audit planning.
• Evaluate how leadership, incentives and organisational pressures influence the control environment.
• Assess speak-up arrangements, psychological safety and behavioural risk indicators.
• Plan and perform behavioural audit engagements using appropriate evidence-gathering techniques.
• Develop evidence-based findings by triangulating qualitative and quantitative information.
• Report behavioural and cultural issues effectively and evaluate the sustainability of remediation.
  
  

Training Methodology

This training course combines expert-led presentations, facilitated discussions, behavioural risk scenarios, audit case studies, interview and evidence-assessment exercises, data interpretation and reporting applications. Participants will examine realistic organisational situations and apply structured internal audit approaches to behavioural risks, cultural indicators, evidence evaluation and sensitive audit findings.

Organisational Impact

Organisations will benefit from:

• Stronger internal audit coverage of organisational culture and behavioural risk.
• Earlier identification of behavioural patterns that may undermine governance and controls.
• Improved assurance over leadership conduct, incentives and speak-up arrangements.
• More effective use of behavioural indicators and organisational data.
• Stronger board and audit committee insight into systemic cultural risks.
• Improved monitoring of remediation and sustainable behavioural change.

Personal Impact

Participants will develop:

• Greater confidence in auditing organisational behaviour and culture.
• Stronger understanding of behavioural risk and its relationship with controls.
• Improved interviewing, evidence-gathering and analytical capabilities.
• Greater ability to interpret behavioural indicators and organisational data.
• Enhanced capability to develop defensible findings on sensitive issues.
• Stronger communication of behavioural assurance to senior management and boards.

Who Should Attend?

This training course is suitable for professionals responsible for evaluating governance, organisational culture, behavioural risk and control effectiveness, including:

• Chief Audit Executives
• Heads of Internal Audit
• Internal Audit Managers
• Senior Internal Auditors
• Internal Auditors
• Governance Professionals
• Risk Managers
• Compliance Professionals
• Internal Control Professionals
• Ethics and Conduct Professionals
• Human Resources Assurance Professionals
• Organisational Culture and Behaviour Professionals

Course Outline