Culture is the leading risk factor for compromising integrity and compliance in companies today. Yet many organizations are unable to implement a truly effective ethics and compliance program because they lack sufficient knowledge of how their culture can create vulnerabilities and risks. And without that knowledge, companies cannot measure progress towards meeting ethics and integrity goals.

Moreover, many companies only focus their ethics program assessment and measurement on elements that do not directly determine the outcomes they need. Ethics officers need to be certain that the data they obtain, such as code certifications and compliance course completion, correlates to the compliance behavior and the ethical culture they are seeking.

An ethical culture is a reflection of the collective ethical values and behaviors of all employees, managers and leaders. A Culture Risk Assessment is a useful tool, providing a measurable overview that can direct an organization to specific behavioral problem areas that increase the likelihood of both unethical conduct taking place, and if it does take place, of not being reported. Culture is the leading risk factor for compromising integrity and compliance in companies today.

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DAVID GEBLER is the President of Working Values, Ltd., a Boston-based business ethics consulting and training development firm. More articles by David Gebler

WORKING VALUES LTD. is a business ethics and training company. Through a variety of products and services, including Web-based compliance and ethics programs, on-site training, video and award-winning ethics games for employees, Working Values aims to align employee behavior with company values. For more information as to how Working Values can narrow your company's Behavior-Standards Gap, visit www.workingvalues.com or contact cgebler@workingvalues.com. For news on ethics in the workplace, visit SmartPros Ethics & Compliance.