ACCA AFM Syllabus A. Role Of The Senior Financial Adviser - Ethical issues in financial management - Notes ^{2 / 6}

These are:

1. Step 1 - establishing the issues

   A business needs to be aware of the ethical issues that it faces.

2. Step 2 - are there threats to compliance with fundamental principles?

   A company’s fundamental ethical principles need to be clearly understood.

3. Step 3 - are the threats significant?

   If an employee is unsure about this, they should use the mirror test. 

   If felt to be significant, it needs to be reported to the ethics department to deal with it.

4. Step 4 - are there safeguards to reduce threats to an acceptable level?

   Safeguards in place in the work environment such as policies and procedures to monitor the quality of work, or to encourage communication of ethical concerns.

5. Step 5 – can you face yourself in the mirror?

   Sometimes called the mirror test. 

   Whether or not you choose to perform the action, it's useful to look in the mirror and ask yourself:

   Is it legal?

   What will others think? – How would you feel explaining what you did to a friend, a parent, a spouse, a child, a manager, or the media?

   Is it right? – What does your conscience or your instinct tell you?