How to be an Ethics Influencer

Content

One of the marks of a profession, such as accountancy, is that it serves public interest. On a day-to-day basis, you do this by using your professional judgement and skills in accordance with the AIA’s Code of Ethics. However, sometimes this can be challenging, as implicitly recognized in the conceptual framework in the Code, which requires you to address threats to compliance with the Code’s fundamental principles.

Some threats come about because of pressures in the workplace. If you could make the workplace a more congenial environment, that would reduce the general level of threat to carrying out your work according to the fundamental principles.

With that in mind, we will examine the practical actions that organizations can take to develop an ethics-based culture and explore the formal and informal ways in which you can influence this, whatever your level in the organization.

At the end of this session, you will:

• have refreshed your knowledge of the fundamental principles on which the Code of Ethics is based and of the conceptual framework for addressing threats to compliance with those principles;
• understand the requirement in the Code of Ethics regarding the encouragement and promotion of an ethics-based culture;
• have an overview of the key elements of an organizational ethics programme; and
• take away ideas about how to encourage and promote an ethics-based culture, whatever your level in the organization. 

Duration

1 hour (1 CPD Unit)

Speaker

Chris Cowton

Chris  is Emeritus Professor at the University of Huddersfield, where he served as Professor of Accounting (1996-2016), Dean of the Business School (2008-2016) and Professor of Financial Ethics (2016-2019). He previously lectured at Aberystwyth, Cardiff and Oxford universities. From 2019 to 2023 he was Associate Director of the Institute of Business Ethics, where he contributed to the leadership and delivery of its training, advisory services and applied research.

Based in London, he continues to speak and write regularly on business and financial ethics for academic and practitioner audiences. He was the architect and main writer of ICAEW’s recently launched ethics CPD course. Chris is a Chartered Governance Professional, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

He holds a BA in Accounting & Financial Management (First Class Honours) and a PhD from the University of Sheffield, an MScEcon from the University of Wales, an MA (by Special Resolution) from the University of Oxford, a DLitt (higher doctorate) for his contributions to business and financial ethics from the University of Huddersfield, and a Graduate Diploma in Philosophy from the University of York.