In the wake of recent major corporate collapses, business ethics have gained popularity and new regulation has been enacted to restore trust, integrity, and a level playing field in the marketplace. There is so much buzz about ethics that we might take it for granted or greet the subject with cynicism.
In this course, we examine what it means to be a CGA professional dedicated to ethical decision making. Everyone is required to follow the law. That is the minimum standard of behaviour. However, the law does not cover all contingencies of life and some choose to go beyond compliance with the law and set a higher standard of performance in their activities. As we shall see, compliance with legal and professional standards may be a legally sound strategy but it may not be sufficient for acting professionally. Ethics deals with those many free zones of moral choice and judgment about what is “right” or “best” to do. As a result, ethics covers decision making where the law does not prescribe a minimum standard or where we seek to act in a manner that is above the minimum prescribed legal standard, such as in a Code of Ethics.
While most people naturally think of themselves as ethical and may consider this subject to be soft common sense, everyone, and every organization, will be tested by actual events. Professionalism, ethics policies, and Codes might not prevent certain losses, embarrassments, and other unfortunate incidents from occurring. However, they may reduce some problems and abate the severity of others. And, most of all, professionalism and ethics will provide a long-term management framework to help CGAs navigate in various contexts. The purpose of this course is to raise awareness that will best prepare you for the practical challenges of professionalism and ethical decision making on a daily basis as a CGA in a variety of roles in the private for-profit, public, and not-for-profit sectors.