Chief ethics and compliance officers should ideally report directly to their company’s chief executive officer and have unfettered access to their company’s board of directors, according to a new Conference Board report released today.

“Access to the board of directors is essential to mitigate any real or perceived undermining of the ethics and compliance officer’s independence and objectivity,” said Zachariah Ezekiel, senior research associate.

“The Evolving Role of the Ethics and Compliance Officer” discusses the ethics and compliance function in North American companies. This role has emerged as a result of corporate scandals, but in many cases, individuals were thrust into the position with little preparation or training.

In ideal circumstances, the individual selected to lead an integrity program is a seasoned executive with significant and varied experience within the organization and industry. If, however, an organization has recently faced a legal, reputation-related or ethical issue-or if employees’ trust of management is low-companies may wish to look for an external candidate.

“Whoever is chosen to assume the role, this person must have credibility with senior management and the board, and must simultaneously be seen as approachable, accessible and trusted by more junior staff,” said Ezekiel.

The report is available for download at www.e-library.ca.