Ethics: Avoiding the Slippery Slope of Ethical Pressures

Overview

Maintaining an ethical climate (bold)

Being on prime-time news might seem exciting, but not when the story is an ethics breach you committed. You may say, “that will never happen to me”. And those were the words spoken by Wells Fargo, United Airlines, Senator Al Franken, and Steve Wynn.

A claim of an ethical failure can stay in the news for almost five years. That’s long enough to damage your reputation and lower your profitability. Upholding high ethical standards for yourself and your team requires constant care and feeding.

Highlights

Benefits of ethical behavior

Six steps to creating and maintaining an ethical culture

Example of unethical behavior in ethical companies

Prerequisites

None

Designed For

CPAs in public and private practice

Objectives

Recognize the benefits of being ethical
Recognize ways we all behave unethically (and still think we are ethical)
Identify ethical difficulties including right vs right dilemmas and external pressures
Identify six easily implementable steps to create and maintain an ethical culture

Credits

Level

Code

Vendor

Fields of Study

Leader(s):

Jennifer Elder, Business Learning Institute

Leader Bios

Jennifer Elder, Business Learning Institute

Jennifer Elder, CPA, CMA, CIA, CFF, CGMA is an executive coach who helps smart professionals transform from technically talented to strategically savvy. As a keynote speaker and trainer, she has presented her engaging and highly interactive sessions to over 15,000 people in all 50 states and 12 countries. Her clients include Home Depot, Campari, Experian, HP, Capgemini, and Oracle. She started her career in public accounting at a regional firm. She chaired the accounting department at a New Hampshire college and spent 15 years as a CFO in a variety of industries including homebuilding, technology, and insurance. In 2022, she received the Women Who Count award in education by the Accounting and Financial Women’s Alliance (AFWA). In 2018, Jennifer earned the designation of Certified Speaking Professional (CSP). Making her one of only 15 people worldwide who hold both the CPA and CSP designations. CPA Practice Advisor named her one of the Top 25 Women in Accounting in 2018. She received her BA from the University of Massachusetts and an MS in Organizational Management from Antioch University New England. She has been published by the Journal of Accountancy, FM Magazine, the National Association of Home Builders, Triple Pundit, and the Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance.

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