Tone at the top

"Tone at the top" is a term that originated in the field of accounting and is used to describe an organization's general ethical climate, as established by its board of directors, audit committee, and senior management. Having a tone at the top is believed by business ethics experts to help prevent fraud and other unethical practices.

The concept of tone at the top originated in audit firms, where it referred fairly narrowly to the attitude of an organization's senior leadership towards internal financial controls. It was popularized following a series of major corporate accounting scandals such as those affecting Enron, Tyco International, Adelphia, Peregrine Systems and WorldCom, when the concept was strongly emphasized in the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 as important in the prevention and detection of fraud and other unethical financial practices. Today the term is applied very broadly, including in the fields of general management, information security, law and software development, and is often used to describe the general corporate culture established by an organization's leadership.

The tone at the top is often considered to permeate an entire organization, and good tone at the top is considered a prerequisite for solid corporate governance. It has been said that boards of directors have a dual role: creating codes of conduct, and living by them.

Good organizational tone is set through policies, codes of ethics, a commitment to hiring competent employees, and the development of reward structures that promote good internal controls and effective governance. In an analysis of ethical leadership, KPMG described ethical leaders as those who are receptive to employees' ethical concerns, value ethics and integrity over short-term business goals, and respond appropriately if they become aware of misconduct.

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