ICAEW students and provisional members, along with members, affiliates and firms, must demonstrate the highest standards of professional conduct and abide by ICAEW’s regulations, codes and other policies.
These requirements are no different when it comes to exams and assessments; students must act professionally at all times and show integrity and honesty, as well as comply with the requirements laid down for specific assessments.
“Students have to adhere to our Code of Ethics,” explains Lisa McCarthy, Investigations Officer in ICAEW’s Conduct Department. “So, in terms of exam conduct, we’ll be looking at whether there’s a breach of the Code of Ethics, and this generally means we’re looking at students’ integrity and professional behaviour. Integrity requires you to be straightforward and honest. And professional behaviour means avoiding any conduct that might discredit the profession.
“Where students don’t follow the Code or break specific assessment rules, they could be referred to us,” she explains. “Their employers may also discipline them, potentially putting their careers at risk.”
A growing problem
“Since 2023, reports of misconduct during exams and assessments have been increasing,” says Laura Olsson, Senior Manager in ICAEW’s Conduct Department. “We’re getting more and more cases referred to us, and it’s a variety of misconduct in exams and assessments.” Cases range from cheating in exams and assessments, to colluding with other candidates to gain an advantage, to plagiarising the work of others.
“We urge firms of all sizes to be alert to these issues and to communicate expected standards and behaviours to their trainees,” Laura says. “If a firm finds examples of misconduct, they are obliged to report it to ICAEW.”
The Conduct Department also receives reports directly from ICAEW’s Education and Training Department. “If the software they use identifies plagiarism, including suspicious use of artificial intelligence (AI), for example, then they’d report that to us internally,” explains Laura.
Sharing and plagiarism
Although the types of poor conduct being reported vary, they are often related to how students are approaching internal or external assessments.
“One of the issues we’re seeing is students cheating in assessments within their firm,” says Laura. “These are not ICAEW exams; they're internal assessments that students do at the larger firms as part of their training. We’ve had reports, for example, where people were sharing answers to those assessments.
“These assessments are not always done under typical exam conditions, but it doesn't mean that the individuals taking the assessments should disregard the need for their answers to be their own,” she explains. “Students can do the internal assessments when they wish, and what’s happening is that they are having group chats with their peers and sharing screenshots of the answers, so technology's certainly having a role in cases of plagiarism and sharing answers.”
“There are similar problems with Project Reports,” adds Lisa. The Project Report is part of the Level 7 apprenticeship and assesses evidence of a student’s competence in the skills and behaviours required to become a Level 7 Accountancy Professional. It’s a compulsory assessment for anyone studying for ICAEW membership under the apprenticeship route.
“Some students don't seem to understand there's a problem with sharing,” she explains. “A Project Report must describe an individual’s own experiences and be written by them in their own words.
“It should be about individual experiences,” stresses Lisa. “But, using plagiarism software, our Education and Training team has picked up that the wording across multiple scripts is the same.”
Other issues have been arising with firms’ recruitment assessments. “When firms are recruiting for the next batch of students, they often require the potential employees to sit assessments,” explains Laura. “And there have been some assessments that are being completed far too quickly, where it’s not physically possible that students could have completed the assessments in the time taken.”
Pass on the message
“Every student and firm should remind themselves of the Code of Ethics and also make sure they read the relevant ACA and ICAEW policies and regulations,” says Laura.
“We appreciate there are lots of different types of assessments,” adds Lisa. “But they all come with guidance. Be sure to check that guidance before you undertake the assessment, so you know the rules you should be complying with.”
For example, paragraph 57 (of the ACA Assessment Regulations) defines exam misconduct and sets out activities that are considered misconduct. These include cheating, colluding, fabricating, impersonating (acting, appearing, or producing work on behalf of another candidate to deceive the examiners, or soliciting someone else to do so on your behalf) and plagiarising.
“We also want firms to ensure they’re passing the key messages down to their trainees,” says Laura. They need to be making it clear that:
- the work students submit should be all their own work;
- they mustn’t share answers; and
- they mustn’t copy answers from other people.
“Firms are getting better at communicating these messages,” she adds. “For example, some larger firms now send out an email making it clear that everything submitted has to be the student’s own work. And, if it's an internal assessment, firms often include an agreement for students to read, and then tick to confirm they understand the requirement before accessing the assessment.”
What are the consequences?
Whenever the Conduct Department receives a report of exam or assessment misconduct, it will thoroughly investigate the case. “And, if we have the evidence and believe there is a case to be answered, we will refer it to the Conduct Committee,” explains Laura.
“The Conduct Committee has the power to impose financial penalties as well as a sanction such as a reprimand. Details of its decision will remain on a student’s ICAEW record and will be publicly available. In some circumstances, cases may be referred on to the Tribunals Committee which has the power to exclude students from ICAEW membership,” adds Lisa.
To see the kinds of cases that are resulting in disciplinary action, individuals and firms can check ICAEW’s disciplinary and regulatory records. The Professional Standards Department also publishes regular disciplinary updates in Regulatory and Conduct news.
In a recent batch of cases where students had shared answers in their firm’s internal assessments, they were given severe reprimands and a fine. “We’ve also had Project Report plagiarism cases that have been to the Conduct Committee,” adds Lisa. “These individuals received severe reprimands and fines too, with one going to the Tribunals Committee, which ended in a similar sanction and a requirement to complete ethics training.”
The consequences of poor exam conduct extend beyond the immediate sanction and could have long-lasting effects. “Cases are published, and they stay on record,” emphasises Laura. “Most firms would probably ask a question about that if they were interviewing someone. So, it could impact your future career. We’ve also seen employers dismissing staff for these kinds of breaches.
“It might seem common sense that students should understand they should never cheat in exams,” concludes Laura. “But the reality is that we are seeing a growing number of cases of misconduct of this kind.”
“As a rule of thumb, if you think it's wrong, it probably is,” stresses Lisa. “But if you have any doubts, be sure to check our resources to remind yourself of your obligations.”
Resources
Editor’s note
This article is part of a three-part series of articles on conduct and PSD’s commitment, under oversight by the ICAEW Regulatory Board and our regulators, to provide guidance on the standards expected to strengthen trust in the profession. As the articles publish, we’ll add references to them below.
