Do you think it is important to legalize the marketing audit?

I feel this is a bit of a different point you might not think of. Legalizing the Marketing Audit and Financial Audit. Let’s look into this carefully

The difference in legal status between financial audits and marketing audits comes down to their differing impacts on Public Interest and the Potential for Harm. Let’s have a look at both

Financial Audits

• Public Interest: Financial information holds immense public interest as it affects investors, creditors, and the overall financial system. Inaccuracies or fraud can cause even widespread national or global economic damage.
• Potential for Harm: Misrepresented financial information can lead to investors making bad decisions, businesses failing, and ultimately losses for stakeholders.

Marketing Audits

• Public Interest: While marketing affects consumer choices and societal attitudes, its impact is less direct and widespread compared to financial matters. However, socially rejected and harmful products such as tobacco and alcohol or any other businesses might damage the social values and systems which create a dangerous impact on the public.
• Potential for Harm: While misleading marketing can harm individual consumers, the potential for systemic economic damage or societal collapse is much lower. Visualizing unethical approaches that can harm social, and environmental sustainability and standards of living might create a serious impact on the national and international economy.

As such, whether we can legally mandate marketing audits in the same way as financial audits is a complex question with no simple answer. In my view, it depends on a variety of factors, including:

• Purpose and Impact
  • Financial audits: These are legally mandated because they ensure financial information is accurate, reliable, and free from fraud, protecting investors and stakeholders.
  • Marketing audits: Their primary purpose is to improve internal efficiency and effectiveness, often impacting branding, messaging, and resource allocation. While this can benefit consumers indirectly, their connection to public interest and potential for harm is less direct than financial audits.
• Feasibility and Enforcement
  • Financial audits: They have established standards, guidelines, and professional bodies like the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) to ensure consistency and adherence.
  • Marketing audits: Currently, there’s no universally accepted standard or regulatory body. Defining clear metrics and enforcing auditing standards in such a subjective field poses challenges.
• Cost and Benefit Ratio
  • Financial audits: The high cost of mandatory audits is generally justified by the significant public interest at stake and the potential for financial harm.
  • Marketing audits: The cost of mandatory audits for all businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, might outweigh the potential benefits, considering the subjective nature of marketing effectiveness.

Therefore, while legalizing marketing audits like financial audits is unlikely soon, the conversation and exploration of standards and best practices for marketing accountability is likely to continue.

Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to mandate marketing audits depends on a careful balancing act between the potential benefits for public interest and consumer protection, the feasibility and cost of implementation, and the respect for individual business autonomy.

Open for discussion