Can mandating the study of ethics lead to an improvement of culture and behaviour across an entire profession?
There is an experiment running in Australia that hopes to prove that this is possible. From 1 January 2020 there will be a new enforceable Code of Ethics that financial planners must adhere to, and over the next 5 years all financial planners need to study ethics if they wish to continue in this role.
There is an experiment running in Australia that hopes to prove that this is possible. From 1 January 2020 there will be a new enforceable Code of Ethics that financial planners must adhere to, and over the next 5 years all financial planners need to study ethics if they wish to continue in this role.
My immediate reaction to this was quite negative.
I think I’m an honest and ethical person and forcing me to do a course in ethics seemed to imply that I wasn’t. More than that though, I’d studied philosophy at university and thought that this combined with the benefits of a Catholic School education (where corporal punishment was a motivating factor in doing the right thing) was a more than sufficient grounding.
Ultimately though I’m practical enough that rather than fighting I decided simply that it was just another box I had to tick to keep doing the work I love - so I might as well just get on with it.
What surprised me though was how much I learned - about ethical theory and decision making processes, but also about myself.
Looking at this through my older (and hopefully wiser) eyes than when I first did as a shiny faced, naïve 18 year old was a different, much richer experience. The course forced me to consider a number of my long held frameworks and beliefs, to look behind them to see what they were based on, and to make a decision as to whether they were the best for the future.
I think I’m an honest and ethical person and forcing me to do a course in ethics seemed to imply that I wasn’t. More than that though, I’d studied philosophy at university and thought that this combined with the benefits of a Catholic School education (where corporal punishment was a motivating factor in doing the right thing) was a more than sufficient grounding.
Ultimately though I’m practical enough that rather than fighting I decided simply that it was just another box I had to tick to keep doing the work I love - so I might as well just get on with it.
What surprised me though was how much I learned - about ethical theory and decision making processes, but also about myself.
Looking at this through my older (and hopefully wiser) eyes than when I first did as a shiny faced, naïve 18 year old was a different, much richer experience. The course forced me to consider a number of my long held frameworks and beliefs, to look behind them to see what they were based on, and to make a decision as to whether they were the best for the future.
My hope is that all planners will approach this course with an open mind. If they do, I think they will experience something similar and it will definitely lead to an improved profession.
Ultimately you, our current and future clients will benefit from this, and as a result, so will we.
Ultimately you, our current and future clients will benefit from this, and as a result, so will we.
