PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY

Meaning of Professional and Integrity Professional means;  Who willingly adopts and consistently applies knowledge, skill and values of chosen profession Integrity means;  The quality of being honest and morally upright  State of being whole or unified  Is a personal choice, uncompromising and predictably commitment to honour moral, ethical, spiritual and artistic values and principles  Being staight-forward and honest in professional and business activities  Fair dealing and truthfulness

Related values of Integrity Five related values of integrity are;  Moral values, such as honesty  Motives, such as desires, interests and ideals  Commitment in thought, word and deed  Qualities, such as perseverance and courage  Standing fast, even in the face of opposition

Integrity Kinds in integrity:  Personal integrity  Professional integrity Professional integrity is the sub sect of personal integrity Personal integrity covers everything we do while professioal behavioural requirements are generally restricted to professional and business activities Personal behaviour may be so outrageous as to discredit the profession by association

Behaving with Integrity There is expectation from the stake holders that profession will expect or demand an ethics-based culture by its members around underlying values of integrity, transparency and expertise It is important for such behaviour to be adopted by those in the profession and other business activities, particularly throughout financial reporting chain

Behaving with Integrity Behavioural characteristics expected of someone behaving with integrity in professional context should be:  Straight forward, honest and truthful  Deal fairly  Comply with the spirit as well as the letter of laws and regulations  Take into consideration the public interest  Show consistency  Be open-minded and open to consider new information and ideas  Take corrective action

Professional Integrity -Meaning It is all about making right choices in regards to the good of the organisation and the people around The decision should not negatively affect anyone It involves being ethical, means acting in a manner that is fair and responsible Making decisions in the frame of mind as to what is right Dress is also a very important part of integrity

Personal Integrity Does not have organisation or client as main drive, instead it is more persons themselves More focused on values that the person holds that do not affect their work life 8

Professional Integrity Not easy to have, if we don’t have personal integrity It is an extension of personal integrity Inside the code there is the underlying theme of professional integrity Understanding the nature of a dilemma is extremely important in being able to act with professional integrity As a professional, it is your duty to be fair and unbiased 9

Integrity in Organisation Culture of the organisation has an impact on the way individuals behave within It is much easier to behave with integrity, if surrounded by framework that encourages such behaviour A code of conduct is aften a key component of such a frame work, if designed and applied properly Codes of conduct must be transformed into powers for good The codes must become active documents aiming to encourage the professional to accept that ‘not everything has a price’, that the professional’s actions should be founded on a strong premise

Factors affecting organisational integrity Leadership Strategy Policies Information Culture

Indicators to observe the success of ethical values Awareness Predictability Transparency Long term view People

Professional Integrity and Ethics It is crucial for personal credibility and professional success Personal credibility allow us to build effective relationship based on mutual respect and trust and helps in achieving results Individual’s value system provides a framework within which individual acts in ways which are consistent and expected Integrity is a state or condition of having such a frame work and acting congruently within the given framework One essential aspect of consistent framework is avoidance of any unwarranted exceptions for a particular person or group

Professional Integrity and Ethics In personal ethics, one should not act according to any rule that one would not wish to see universally followed The concept of integrity implies a wholeness, a comprehensive corpus of beliefs, often referred to as a worldview The concept of wholeness emphasizes honesty and authenticity According to Ayn Rand, integrity does not consist of loyalty to one‘s subjective whims, but of loyalty to national principles Popular psychology identifies personal integrity, professional integrity, artistic integrity and intellectual integrity

Intellectual Dishonesty

Intellectural Dishonestry - Definition Failure to point out the truth or intentional coloring or distorting the facts or failures to act in time, This is caused by vested interest or expectation of a future favour or fear or inability or sheer indifference

Basic types Distorting or hiding of facts:  not bringing out the absolute truth Act of omission which otherwise is a duty bound action

Motivation Vested interest or fear Inability or indifference

Corruption Vs intellectual dishonesty Corruption:  Abuse of public position for private benefit Corruption is a much larger and widespread evil. Intellectual dishonesty is more about acts of omission than about commission

Work environment that contributes to Corruption Regulation and authorisation Lack of transparency in dealings Maze of laws and procedures Absence of consequences to tasks Lack of informed public opinion Low morale and poor work ethics Discretion

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