In the Game of Thrones, Doing the Right Thing Isn't Always Simple

What can the battles for power, loyalty, and survival in Westeros teach us about ethics?

Quite a lot, actually.

Was Ned Stark right to stand by his principles, even when doing so endangered himself and his family? When does loyalty become a liability? And was Jon Snow justified in betraying someone he loved to protect the greater good?

That's where ethics gets interesting.

In Ethics for Internal Auditors: Game of Thrones Edition, we move beyond simply reviewing professional standards and explore difficult ethical decisions through the characters and stories of Game of Thrones.

Through familiar stories, competing ethical philosophies, and thought-provoking dilemmas, you'll learn to examine ethical challenges from different perspectives and make better-informed decisions.

Because knowing the rules and making ethical decisions aren't always the same thing—even in Westeros.

What You'll Explore

Ethics, Morals, and Rules

Discover why ethics isn't always about choosing between right and wrong—and why following the rules doesn't automatically resolve every ethical dilemma.

Ethics & Professionalism for Internal Auditors

Review the five principles of Domain II of The IIA's Global Internal Audit Standards: Integrity, Objectivity, Competency, Due Professional Care, and Confidentiality.

Different Ways of Deciding What's Right

Explore ethical philosophies including consequentialism, deontology, virtue ethics, the Golden Rule, and hedonism. See how different approaches can lead to very different conclusions.

When Right Conflicts With Right

Examine four classic ethical dilemmas: Truth vs. Loyalty, Individual vs. Community, Short-Term vs. Long-Term, and Justice vs. Mercy.

Ethical Dilemmas from Westeros

Explore the choices of Ned Stark, Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, and other characters as they wrestle with truth, loyalty, duty, power, sacrifice, and the greater good. Discover how these same ethical challenges apply to internal auditors.

Making Better Ethical Decisions

Learn practical approaches for considering your intentions, evaluating consequences, recognizing competing values, challenging assumptions, and making decisions you can stand behind.

What You'll Be Able to Do

After completing this course, you'll be able to:

• Explain the five ethics and professionalism principles in the Global Internal Audit Standards.
• Distinguish between ethics, morals, rules, and professional codes.
• Compare major ethical philosophies and how they influence decision-making.
• Recognize competing values in right-versus-right ethical dilemmas.
• Evaluate ethical situations from multiple perspectives.
• Apply practical decision-making tools to challenging internal audit situations.

Who Should Take This Course?

This course is designed for internal auditors, audit managers, Chief Audit Executives, and other governance, risk, and compliance professionals who want to strengthen their ethical judgment while earning ethics CPE.

It's especially useful for professionals who enjoy Game of Thrones and want something more engaging than another presentation that simply walks through the Standards.

You don't need to be an expert on Westeros to benefit from the course.

Ethics Training That Makes You Think

You won't spend this course listening to someone read the Standards.

Instead, you'll explore ethical dilemmas through memorable characters and stories, consider what you would do in their situations, and discover why reasonable people might reach very different conclusions.

And you'll see how decisions made in Westeros aren't always that different from the ethical challenges internal auditors face every day.

You have to take ethics CPE. You don't have to be bored doing it.