The Importance of Multiculturalism on Auditing¹

1. This article was first published in an abridged format titled “Multiculturalism in the world of professional auditing” in the July 2003 issue of Bottom Line, a monthly accounting journal of Lexis-Nexis Canada and complete in five parts in the Guyana Chronicle (November 10–14, 2003). Also, delivered as a speech on April 8, 2003 at the Sears Canada Auditorium in Toronto during the late Bill Bishop's (past IIA president) visit to Toronto and as a seminar presentation at the North-eastern IIA North American Regional Conference on September 26, 2006 in Ottawa.

Abstract

Today's workplace is multicultural and global. A culture that begins and ends in the West no longer holds true in this environment. Such auditing characteristics as licensing, independence, ethics, reporting relationships, fieldwork, and communicating results require consideration of other cultural interpretation of such practices. An effective auditor in today's global environment has to re‐align his or her thinking. He or she must be able to communicate and negotiate with people across cultures. The goal of understanding multiculturalism is not to eliminate differences but rather to capitalize on diversity by using such differences to enhance understanding and improve the audit effort.

Notes

1. This article was first published in an abridged format titled “Multiculturalism in the world of professional auditing” in the July 2003 issue of Bottom Line, a monthly accounting journal of Lexis-Nexis Canada and complete in five parts in the Guyana Chronicle (November 10–14, 2003). Also, delivered as a speech on April 8, 2003 at the Sears Canada Auditorium in Toronto during the late Bill Bishop's (past IIA president) visit to Toronto and as a seminar presentation at the North-eastern IIA North American Regional Conference on September 26, 2006 in Ottawa.