Organizational legitimacy, conflict, and hypocrisy: An alternative view of the role of internal auditing

This article provides a commentary on Everett and Tremblay\u27s (2014) analysis of ethics and internal audit by further exploring the role of the internal audit function within Nils Brunsson\u27s model of organized hypocrisy (Brunsson, 1986, 1993, 2002). Specifically, we extend Everett and Tremblay\u27s discussion of internal auditors as \u27moral\u27 actors and propose that the counter-coupling of an organization\u27s primary outputs-talk, decision and action-provides internal auditors with the necessary tools to carry out conflicting ethical roles within the organization. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved