ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), the British Deputy High Commission Karachi, Pakistan Business Council’s Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business (CERB) and CFA Society Pakistan have joined forces to shine a light on ethics on Global Ethics Day on October 16, 2019.
As a result of this partnership, ACCA is also organising a number of events across Pakistan to celebrate global ethics day to provide opportunity to policy makers and corporate leaders to explore ethics in light of new ethical complexities to the ever changing business world that businesses must identify and manage to survive. Finance professionals are the backbone of business and ethics plays a crucial role in everything they do, so the industry has a particular responsibility to uphold and lead on ethical issues.
This year Global Ethics Day also falls within ACCA’s three-month focus ‘power of ethics, trust and sustainability’ exploring the critical relationship between professional ethics and sustained business success. This global theme will showcase how digital advances, tightening regulation and changing consumer behaviour have introduced new ethical complexities to the ever-changing business world. As a result, the need for the ethical leadership that professional accountants are best placed to deliver has never been greater.
Sajjeed Aslam, head of ACCA Pakistan, says ‘I’m delighted to say that this is now the third year in a row that ACCA is supporting Global Ethics Day. ACCA is committed to developing an ethical accountancy profession in Pakistan, and all around the world. Our aim is to help countries to grow and prosper in a sustainable way. That’s why we believe that finance professionals are crucial to upholding ethical behaviour, and so the industry has a particular responsibility to lead on ethical issues. After all, good ethics makes good business sense.’
British Deputy High Commissioner and Trade Director to Pakistan, Mike Nithavrianakis, says ‘The UK has been working closely with the government and private sector to improve the ease of doing business in Pakistan. Our main focus has been on building integrity and ethics in conducting business. The shared objective is to continue aligning UK companies operating in Pakistan with local business, organisations and governing bodies to showcase the fundamental importance of ethics. We are delighted that these shared business practices are helping Pakistan’s private sector to flourish.’
Ehsan Malik, CEO, Pakistan Business Council, shares ‘Celebrating Global Ethics Day 2019 is in alignment with The Pakistan Business Council’s Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business (CERB) strategic objectives. It is therefore an appropriate time for us to highlight the potential benefits of following ethical practices as part of the business model for long-term sustainable value creation and we are privileged to continue our partnership with ACCA Global. We have earlier carried out jointly with ACCA Global a number of research-based activities with a view to encouraging the business sector to maintain the highest possible standards of Ethics and Integrity. I am delighted that the celebrations are being held in multiple cities as most of the members of The Pakistan Business Council are engaged in nationwide operations and this adds considerable value to our own evidence-based research and business policy advocacy activities.’
Mohammad Shoaib, Board member and Advocacy Chair, CFA Society Pakistan, comments: ‘The cornerstone of CFA programme is its focus on ethical behaviour by its members and all members are required to abide by CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. Further they are required to sign off on an annual basis to abide by those ethical standards. CFA Society Pakistan is therefore partnering with other likeminded institutions to promote Ethics Day and ethical behaviour in financial markets.’
Global Ethics Day is an annual, international day dedicated to exploring the role of ethics in today’s world. Founded by the Carnegie Council, organisations are encouraged to hold programmes focusing on ethics, such as lectures, film screenings, debates, panel discussions, or activities to protect the environment.
For a long time, ACCA has placed ethics and professionalism central to its qualification. They have an ethics and professional skills module, introduced in 2007 and updated in 2017, which students have to take in order to become an ACCA member.