Ethics has been at the heart of the accountancy profession, and the training of its students, since its earliest days. “It’s your north star,” says David Gomez, ICAEW’s Senior Lead, Ethics. “It’s a professional competence, and something you have to do. Ethics is essentially a framework for decision-making. In your daily professional life, you’re going to come across challenges, and you need a framework. That framework is provided by the ICAEW Code of Ethics, and its five fundamental principles.”
While ethics has always been key, the landscape has changed over time, explains Gareth Brett, ICAEW’s Interim Director of Trust and Ethics. “It’s always been important, but certain things like the global financial crisis bring it to the fore,” he says. Following high-profile failure-of-trust scandals, public tolerance is low and expectation high – making it more important than ever that financial institutions have trusted professionals behind them. Everyone – from the student on day one of their training to the most senior professional – has their own ethical responsibility. “If anything, this new generation is more aware of the ethical challenges, and can be at the forefront,” adds Gareth.
Ethics is one of the three central themes of the Next Generation ACA, and its prominence within the qualification will be higher than ever, according to Caroline Fox. As ICAEW’s ethics moderator, her role is to review how ethics is accessed in the ACA exams and ensure they’re fit for purpose, as well as input into strategy and content to help raise the bar. Until now, foundation learning in students’ first year of training has been centred around the Ethics Learning Programme, a six-module self-study course that introduces the Code of Ethics alongside other key aspects such as public trust, stakeholders and culture, and ethics in a transforming world. “The Ethics Learning Programme has worked very well in terms of its content, its breadth and the way it can trigger thoughts,” Caroline explains. “The impetus for change on that has very much come from employers, who wanted more of that content in the early exams. So we’ve listened to our stakeholders.”
The result is a new Sustainability and Ethics core module at Certificate Level, which will introduce that fundamental content – and test it under exam conditions. At Professional and Advanced Levels, ethics will continue to be embedded throughout every exam. “As I always say to the examiners, we both test ethics and we profile it,” Caroline says. “We want it wrapped around everything.” In some areas, the mark allocation is being increased, emphasising the importance for students to demonstrate their ethical understanding and skills alongside their technical knowledge.
Another evolution in the Next Generation ACA is a greater role for case studies, both within exhibits and in three new case study exams, one at Professional Level and two at Advanced Level. “Over the past few years, we’ve been able to have slightly more real-world situations,” Caroline explains, bringing publicly known cases into the scenarios, and even examples from calls to ICAEW’s Ethics Advisory Service helpline. Real-life events are hugely powerful when it comes to learning, agrees David. “Case studies are absolutely the most effective way of teaching. You can talk about principles, but what you want are situations that are clear and simple but have gone spectacularly wrong. That’s the best way for you to learn,” he says.
Discussions of ethical scenarios within students’ six-monthly reviews have been another important part of their learning – and these will continue going forward. “We’ve had a very good response from the Ethics in Practice scenarios,” Caroline says. “Employers find it useful to have something concrete there, and the students I talk to always find it helpful too. It often triggers conversations about their own experiences in the workplace.” Students will also encounter ethics throughout the new Specialised Learning and Development framework, flexible, engaging content designed to support their career development.
One area of focus is the interrelationship between ethics and the other central themes of sustainability and technology. “We’ve got some areas we’re working on, and a lot of that is in the overlap between ethics, sustainability and technology,” Caroline says. Another is responsibility to stakeholders, something that has been gaining prominence over the past four or five years. “Public interest is something we’ve always shouted about, but it’s not enough just to think about your company or even your customers; it’s that responsibility through the supply chain.” The emphasis throughout is on proactivity rather than reactivity, and the ethical duty of every student and member. “Where we’ve pushed the bar on ethics is very much that responsibility to question more and be proactive. The Next Generation ACA is designed to bring everyone to the same point, and there are frameworks and rules, but it’s also about holding on to your own moral compass. Does it feel right?”
The ACA is the start of lifelong practice in ethics. “It’s like a muscle – you have to exercise it,” says David. “Everyone, no matter how senior or junior, has a role in promoting an ethical culture as part of the Code of Conduct. It’s not a ‘nice to have’. It’s part of your makeup of being a trusted professional.” The importance of continuous learning is reflected in the introduction of mandatory CPD – and it’s often those further on in their careers who need that ‘re-grounding’, he points out. Thanks to the knowledge, skills and practical application gained through the Next Generation ACA, young people starting out in the profession will be armed with the confidence to face challenges, make decisions and positively influence culture from the bottom up.