Updated July 2011

Note: CGA-BC Members must report all activities completed through PD Net by using the CGA-BC online CPD reporting system. PD Net offerings are not entered for you. CGA-BC staff can only record attendance at CGA-BC seminars on your behalf. CGA-BC requires a copy of the Certificate of Completion for this online course. If you have any questions, please contact Irene Tomyn at CGA-BC by e-mail: itomyn@cga-bc.org.

Knowing and adhering to a code of ethics is a key aspect of being a professional. The Certified General Accountants Association and its members and students share responsibilities related to the Code of Ethical Principles and Rules of Conduct (CEPROC). Through reviewing the Ethical Principles and Rules of Conduct, this course explores how these responsibilities can be applied in your day-to-day professional activities. This course contains materials that members of the profession are required to know.

Topics and concepts covered include

• how your behaviour demonstrates your ethical commitment
• how the accounting profession, and the CGA designation in particular, has responded to concerns of the public
• CEPROC and its linkage with other standards for CGAs
• tools for resolving challenges in making ethical decisions
• who you can contact for help and support
• Continuing Professional Development as an ethical expectation

The course relies on examples from CGA-BC’s documents and systems as learning references, to provide a common base of facilitation for all participants. These include, for example, the CGA-BC Code of Ethical Principles and Rules of Conduct (CEPROC), administrative processes, and legislative examples. Participants from other jurisdictions should note that these documents and processes, though specific to BC, still provide the fundamental concepts and ideas that are in place throughout all regions. Participants should ensure that they have access to the equivalent materials from their own region (for example, CEPROC) in order to familiarize themselves with any specific differences from BC’s implementation.

The course modules are meant to be covered in approximately seven hours (although you may take more or less time, depending on your learning style and comprehension). Two of the six modules conclude with a short quiz to test your knowledge of the material.

The course includes interactive components — Multimedia Learning Objects (MLOs). In each module, you will be asked to click on MLO links. The links will open an interactive text box in another window that includes a statement or question, and you will be asked to type in a response. You can then click on the “Guidance” button to reveal some additional points for your consideration. The contents of each text box will be saved only if you copy/paste the information into a separate document before closing out of the MLO. (You will be prompted each time.)

Important information

This material is provided for educational purposes only. It cannot provide you with answers for every situation that arises; however, knowing the Ethical Principles provides you with a touchstone against which you must assess situations to ensure that you actually put the Ethical Principles into practice. Though the materials have been prepared with care, errors or mistakes may have inadvertently occurred. If the publisher, CGA-Canada, is advised efforts will be made to correct the material.

Module 2: Obligations and ethical governance in the CGA Association

Module 3: CEPROC Part I — Ethical theories, the Preamble, and the Ethical Principles

Quiz 1

Module 4: CEPROC Part II — Review of the Rules of Conduct

Module 5: Converting expectations into actions

Module 6: Your commitment to professional (and ethical) development

Quiz 2

Summary

Nick Shepherd, FCMC, FCGA, has more than 40 years of business experience and since 1989 has been running his own management consulting and professional development company, EduVision Inc., providing services to public and private-sector organizations.

Nick is a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Ontario (FCMC-Honour Roll), Past President of the Institute, and Past Chair of the National Certification Committee for all Institutes of Management Consulting across Canada. He is Past Chair of the Professional Standards Committee of the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI) and is currently one of ICMCI’s three Canadian trustees. A CGA for more than 25 years, Nick is also a Fellow of both the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (FCGA) and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA UK), a senior member of the American Society for Quality, Past Chair of the Quality Costs Committee of the Management Quality Division, and a member of Mensa.

Nick is a well-known professional development facilitator across Canada and internationally. In 2006 Nick received the President’s Award for Education from CGA‑BC. He is the author of several articles and books including Governance, Accountability and Sustainable Development: A New Agenda for the 21st Century, published by Thomson Carswell.

Brian Friedrich, MEd, FCGA, and Laura Friedrich, MSc, FCGA, are the principals of friedrich & friedrich corporation, an accounting research, standards, and education firm. The firm provides policy, procedure, and governance guidance; develops courses, examinations, and other assessments; and supports the development of regional public accounting standards in Canada and internationally. Brian and Laura have served as authors, curriculum developers, lecturers, exam developers, and markers for numerous CGA and university courses in Canada, China, and the Caribbean and have also presented at conferences in Ecuador. Their involvement with the Association has earned them CGA‑BC’s inaugural Ambassador of Distinction Award (2004), the JM Macbeth Award for service at the chapter level (Brian in 2006 and Laura in 2007), and CGA‑BC’s President’s Award for Education (2010). Brian and Laura are also Fellows of the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (FCGA) and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA UK).