INTHEBLACK September 2024 special edition - Flipbook - Page 25
TED Talk, Michael Schur: How ethics can help you make better decisions
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self-study and referring to the Accounting
Professional and Ethical Standards Board (APESB)
guidelines and/or their firm’s internal policies.
Azoor Hughes advises employees to consult with
more senior colleagues or partners when they are
uncertain about situations that arise during their
professional work.
“Often, an uneasy feeling will be the first prompt
to an employee to examine and consult on an
issue of concern, to determine the course of action
needed,” she says.
Smith recommends employees adopt a threestage approach to staying on the right path:
• Prepare in advance for ethical challenges.
• Make good decisions in the moment.
• Reflect on and learn from successes
and failures.
To support this approach, employees can take
several steps to proactively prepare for ethical
challenges, rather than simply reacting when they
occur, Smith says.
These include identifying their personal values,
setting ethically relevant goals, engaging in
self-reflection and finding an ethics mentor or
seeking guidance and moral feedback from others.
It is also important for individuals to consult
organisational policies, clarify the expectations of
their job and find a job with the right moral “fit”,
where their own values align with the organisation,
he adds.
ORGANISATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY
When employees identify an opportunity to make
improvements, Zohrab-McConnell urges them to
share it with their employer.
She also believes employees should hold
their organisation accountable to the changing
expectations of stakeholders – what may have
been considered ethical 10 years ago may no
longer be seen in the same light.
“Quite apart from legislative and regulatory
changes over such a period, societal
expectations may have changed substantially,”
Zohrab-McConnell says.
“For the benefit of both internal and external
stakeholders, the standards to which an
organisation holds itself and its workforce
accountable must be reviewed regularly.” ●
ETHICS ESSENTIALS intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 25
