Preamble

An Independent Private Sector Inspector General (IPSIG) is an independent, private sector firm with legal, auditing, investigative, management and loss prevention skills, employed by an organization (voluntarily or by compulsory process) to ensure compliance with relevant law and regulations, and to deter, prevent, uncover and report unethical and illegal conduct by, within and against the organization.

The "independence" of IPSIGs is their hallmark: they must report any unethical and illegal conduct they uncover both to the organization and, independently of the organization, to a reporting entity. The reporting entity may, or may not, be an agency of government. If the reporting entity is not an agency of government, it must, in both appearance and fact, be independent of the host organization, and have a fiduciary responsibility, or otherwise be legally accountable, for ensuring that the mandate of the IPSIG, as defined by the agreement between the IPSIG and the host organization and as set forth herein, is appropriately effectuated. In addition, the reporting entity must ensure that the host organization, after becoming aware of an offense, reports that offense to appropriate governmental officials without unreasonable delay and in a manner that is satisfactory to the IPSIG. Endowed with this position of trust and public responsibility, IPSIGs must be strongly committed to ethical standards, in particular the values of diligence and impartiality.

Members of the International Association of IPSIGs (IAIPSIG) believe that adherence by individual IPSIGs to the values of integrity, honesty, impartiality and professionalism are fundamental to the effectiveness and credibility, and hence the prosperity, of the IPSIG profession. IAIPSIG members believe that the IPSIG profession will stand on its dedication to ethical principles and standards of conduct.

The purpose of this Code is to provide a set of ethical guidelines for members in their conduct of work as IPSIGs. Each ethical canon is followed by explanatory notes and examples of conduct that would constitute a violation of the provisions of the Code. These examples are intended to be illustrative rather than exhaustive.

The Code sets the standards for membership of the IAIPSIG to the extent that a proven violation would be grounds for the removal of a member from the IAIPSIG. However, the Code is not intended to give rise to any legal obligations or to provide a basis for disciplinary action by the IAIPSIG or any other professional association in the event of its violation.

This is a living document. Members of the IAIPSIG are encouraged to contribute to the evolution of this Code by drawing on their experience and their inspiration.