The latest report from Chartered Accountants Worldwide has
called for business to instill a culture of ‘moral courage’ from the boardroom
downwards. In Critical Success Factors for Tomorrow’s
Business Leaders: Perspectives from the UK, the international body
states that social media and the 24-hr scrutiny of the digital age mean that
there is a direct link between ethics and value creation that business needs to
acknowledge.
The report follows the latest Chartered Accountants
Worldwide Critical Success Factors Summit in London. The summits gather senior
CEOs, CFOs and executives, together with the heads of global Chartered Accountancy
bodies, to discuss key issues facing future finance professionals. The report
covers issues ranging from geopolitical tensions to the need for tax
simplification and also draws on research surveying chartered accountants
leading UK businesses.
According to Pat Costello, Chairman of Chartered Accountants
Worldwide: “The digital age means that everyone is under scrutiny, all of the
time, and issues can escalate through social media like wildfire. The right
decisions need to be taken in real time – it’s no longer enough to rely on the
traditional hierarchies. This means we need to foster a culture where people
are trained to know what the right thing to do is when a challenge presents
itself. A culture of ethics certainly starts in the boardroom, but it can’t
stop there.”
