There is no short cut for a company to build up its reputation but maintaining a high ethical standard with the help of professionals is your first step in the right direction. To this end, accountants are the gatekeepers and guardians.
Accounting is not only about numbers. In the process of discharging their duties, accountants may uncover suspicious transactions and statements or come across incidents of suspected corruption and other irregularities. They may also face different ethical challenges. Therefore it is all the more important for the guardians to remain guarded and vigilant.
The ICAC’s Hong Kong Business Ethics Development Centre (HKBEDC) has been rendering assistance to these professionals in Hong Kong since 1995, helping them remain vigilant against graft and malpractices. The Centre regularly organises seminars and workshops for accounting practitioners on professional ethics and ethical decision making, as well as common pitfalls relating to conflict of interest. Over the past two years, about 30 seminars and workshops were conducted, reaching over 1,500 local accounting practitioners.
Alone we can do little. Hence, the Centre has also partnered with other professional bodies of the accountancy sector, such as the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA), Accounting Development Foundation, Certified Practising Accountant Australia, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Hong Kong as well as the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Hong Kong Chapter. Since 2002, an ICAC representative has sat on in the HKICPA’s Ethics Committee as a regular member to provide professional advice for accountants on professional ethics issues.
Recently, a series of feature articles for accounting professionals were launched in consultation with HKICPA to highlight common ethical risks faced by accountants and auditors, as well as the legal obligations and professional principles to which they should pay heed in tackling these challenges.
To safeguard a clean and level-playing business environment in Hong Kong, the HKBEDC also strives to enhance future accountants’ awareness of ethical practices. Through the HKICPA’s annual Business Case Competition, each year the HKBEDC briefed over 1,000 accounting students from local and Mainland tertiary institutions on the importance of business ethics and skills in resolving ethical dilemmas.
To find out more about HKBEDC’s services and resources on ethical management, please contact the HKBEDC at 2826-3288 or hkbedc@crd.icac.org.hk.
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