Which of the following actions would be most effective to help an internal auditor determine how successful the organization has been in communicating the existence of its ethics hotline?

Question

Options

• AReviewing the number of anonymous hotline allegations against employee complaints.
• BSurveying employees to determine whether they are aware of the hotline.
• CBenchmarking the average time to investigate hotline complaints.
• DTracking the number of hotline allegations per total number of employees.

• A
  4% (2)
• B
  70% (40)
• C
  9% (5)
• D
  18% (10)

Explanation

Surveying employees directly measures whether the communication of the hotline's existence has been effective - if employees don't know the hotline exists, they can't use it, so awareness is the clearest indicator of communication success.

Why the distractors fail:

• A compares anonymous hotline reports to employee complaints, which measures reporting behavior or channel preference - not awareness of the hotline.
• C tracks investigation efficiency (speed), which is an operational metric, not a communication metric.
• D tracks usage rate per employee, which reflects utilization - but low usage could mean a safe workplace rather than poor communication, so it doesn't isolate awareness.

Memory tip: The question asks about communicating the existence of the hotline - so the correct measure must directly assess whether employees know it exists. Only a survey answers that directly. Anytime an audit objective mentions communication effectiveness, think: "Did the message reach the audience?" - which requires asking the audience.

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