A Message for All CAs - Living our Values

Pierre Brunet, FCA

On February 22, 2003, Pierre Brunet, FCA (Chair - The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants) gave a brief speech to new CA graduates at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario about Living Our Values as Chartered Accountants.

He noted that, “We are highly regarded as knowledgeable financial experts. And our standards – in disclosure and assurance, education, discipline, practice inspection, and professional conduct are recognized around the world. But it’s not only our standards that have won us the public’s trust. It’s the values we stand for. Honesty, integrity, objectivity, reliability. And in the future, these values will be even more important as the reliability of financial data becomes even more critical in our society.”

“Each of us in a position of trust, regardless of age or occupation, needs an ethical gyroscope. …The truth is, however, that rules and regulations have never been able to address the root of the problem … a problem that results from the obsession of certain individuals with accumulating power and wealth. This problem is at once timeless, universal, and all too human. And no matter how much we strengthen the system as a bulwark against abuse and greed, there will always be people who want to take advantage. This is why the efforts of individual CAs are perhaps even more important than actions we take as a profession. CAs such as yourselves, who work responsibly, every day, and live up to the values of our profession.”

“Most importantly, be proud to be a CA. Be proud not only of where we’ve been, but most of all of where we’re going. So put that CA on your business card. Because it stands not just for what we know. It stands for who we are. So, go forward with pride, and with the strength and sureness that only values will provide.”

Why do controllers compromise on their fiduciary duties?

A new research paper notes that, “Business controllers play a fiduciary role to ensure the integrity of financial reporting.” So, what makes these financial professionals bend or break the rules under pressure? It may result from being too sensitive to the feelings of others and mirroring their emotions. In other words, empathetic accountants may have a tendency to be less ethical.

The paper’s researchers found a correlation between the subjects’ emotional sensitivity and their willingness to flout the rules. The findings also suggest why the stereotypical reserved accountant remains controlled amidst an ocean of emotional pressures. For more information, read the research paper, Why Controllers Compromise on Their Fiduciary Duties: EEG Evidence on the Role of the Human Mirror Neuron System, to be published in the journal Accounting, Organizations and Society.