Building trust in a connected cfe world prof. godwin oyedokun 2020
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This document discusses the importance of trust and ethics for Certified Fraud Examiners. It defines trust and ethics, outlines some common ethical issues facing CFEs, and recommends ways for CFEs to build trust, such as being honest, consistent, and accountable in order to maintain integrity and avoid conflicts of interest.
Building trust in a connected cfe world prof. godwin oyedokun 2020
- 1. WELCOME Prof. Godwin Emmanuel, Oyedokun HND (Acct.), BSc. (Acct. Ed), BSc (Acc & Fin), MBA (Acct. & Fin.), MSc. (Acct.), MSc. (Bus & Econs.), MTP (SA), PhD (Fin), PhD (Acct), FCA, FCTI, ACIB, ACS, MNIM, CNA, FCFIP, FCE, FERP, CICA, CFA, CFE, CIPFA, CPFA, ABR, CertIFR, FFAR godwinoye@yahoo.com +2348033737184, +2348055863944 & +2348095491026 Managing Partner/Chief Executive OGE Professional Services (Chartered Accountants, Tax Practitioners & Forensic Auditor)
- 2. BUILDING TRUST IN A CONNECTED CERTIFIED FRAUD EXAMINERS’ WORLD: RESOLVING ETHICAL ISSUE Being Lecture delivered at the 2020 ACFE Lagos CPE Training: Virtual Edition held on 9-12 October 2020
- 3. PRESENTATION OUTLINE ü Introduction ü The Concept of Trust ü Concept of Ethics ü Ethical Issues facing Certified Fraud Examiners ü CFE’s and Trust Building ü Conclusion and Recommendation
- 4. INTRODUCTION Ø Overtime, professional codes have been put forward by so many professional associations, including ACFE. Ø This is to prevent professionals from derailing due to misconduct, mistrusts and violation of corporate governance. Ø It is imperative to note that the society can only thrive when there is high level of trust among various parties to a transaction, respect to rule of law and simple agreement. Ø Trust is one of the component and easy of doing business around the world.
- 5. INTRODUCTION (CONT) Ø Business promoters, investors and professionals value trust and place it as one of the most important asset for any business to grow. It is important that building trust amongst parties, towns/communities, cities and nations is the only way to guarantee peace and showing development. Ø Certified Fraud Examiners are expected to show positive attitude in developing trust among themselves, with other professionals and other stakeholders which is similar to our tenet Integrity. Ø The crux of this presentation therefore is, an organization/professional body may tend to collapse lose its worth due to mistrusts, hence, the call for trust building.
- 6. THE CONCEPT OF TRUST What is Trust? Ø Trust is the foundation of any healthy relationship. Ø Trust is when one party relies on another to behave in a certain way.
- 7. THE CONCEPT OF TRUST ELEMENT OF TRUST INTERDEPENDENCE A reliance on the other party to fulfill their part of the arrangement. RISK This is based on uncertainty about how the other party will behave. (CONT)
- 8. THE CONCEPT OF TRUST BENEFIT OF TRUST T • Trusted organizations have lower employee turnover and higher revenue. R • Trust result in lower costs of doing business. U • Fosters cooperation among professional colleagues and increases commitment to the organization. S • Higher profitability and shareholder returns. T • Higher levels of trust improve social capital (CONT)
- 9. THE CONCEPT OF TRUST Keys to gaining Trust ? The two keys mean that fraud examiners need to clearly communicate their values and commitment to honesty and integrity to their members and prospective members. ü Honesty ü Ethical Behavior (CONT)
- 10. THE CONCEPT OF TRUST NATURE OF TRUST Competency The believe that the other party has the skills and experience to fulfill their part of the contract. Integrity The Believe that the other party is honest. Goodwill When one party has confidence that the other party will look after their interests. BUILDING BLOCKS (CONT)
- 11. THE CONCEPT OF TRUST Industrial change Tech- Change Data & Information FACTORS THAT DETERMINE TRUST (CONT)
- 12. THE CONCEPT OF ETHICS Ethics as one of the keys of gaining “trust” is a core attribute for a Certified Fraud Examiner. It is at the heart of the idea of professionalism and it is no coincidence that Fraud Examiners are mostly called upon to act as the ethical conscience of their organizations.
- 13. THE CONCEPT OF ETHICS MEANING OF ETHICS Ø Ethics are principles by which we live good lives as individuals and as a group. Ø Ethics encompass work, play, family, education, community, politics, war and worship. (CONT)
- 14. THE CONCEPT OF ETHICS What purposes should we pursue? What rules should we uphold? What choices should we make? What actions should we take? What should our characters be? What sort of culture should we shape? Ethical Conduct of a CFE answer vital questions. (CONT)
- 15. THE CONCEPT OF ETHICS Types of Professional Ethics (CONT)
- 16. THE CONCEPT OF ETHICS NormativeEthics DescriptiveEthics MetaEthics It is concerned with arriving at set of moral conduct r u l e s a g a i n s t w h i c h behavior are judged. It also deals with what habits we need to develop, w h a t d u t i e s a n d responsibilities we should f o l l o w , a n d t h e consequences of our behavior and its effect on others It refers to the study of moral beliefs of the people and principles. It is a field of empirical research into what people or societies consider right or wrong. This considers where one’s ethical principles come from, and what they mean. It addresses questions and focuses on issues of universal truths, role of reason in ethical judgments, and the meaning of ethical terms themselves. Types of Professional Ethics (CONT)
- 17. THE CONCEPT OF ETHICS CODE OF ETHICS Ø Certified Fraud Examiners are guided by a code of ethics. Ø Practicing Certified Fraud Examiners must become aware of their ethical responsibility towards the client as well as being on the lookout for possible areas where ethical concerns could arise. Ø This invariably determines trust intensity with client. (CONT)
- 18. THE CONCEPT OF ETHICS ACFE CODE OF ETHICS Ø A Certified Fraud Examiner shall at all times demonstrate a commitment professionalism and diligence in the performance of his or her duties. Ø A Certified Fraud Examiner shall not engage in any illegal or unethical conduct, or any activity which would constitute a conflict of interest Ø A Certified Fraud Examiner will comply with lawful orders of the court, and will testify to matters truthfully and without bias or prejudice (CONT)
- 19. THE CONCEPT OF ETHICS ACFE CODE OF ETHICS Ø A Certified Fraud Examiner shall not reveal any confidential information obtained during a professional engagement without proper authorization Ø A Certified Fraud Examiner shall not reveal material matters discovered during the course of an examination, which, if omitted, could cause a distortion of the facts Ø A Certified Fraud Examiner shall continually strive to increase the competence and effectiveness of professional services performed under his or her direction. (CONT)
- 20. ETHICAL ISSUES FACING CFE’S Fraud examiners are expected to exhibit the highest level of integrity in the performance of their professional assignment and never sacrificing their integrity to serve a client, an employer, or the public interest. Public trust is founded on integrity. Integrity can be viewed as the opposite of hypocrisy and includes Trustwo rthiness Congrue ncy (CONT)
- 21. ETHICAL ISSUES FACING CFE’S Ø The ethical issues that fraud examiners face have to do with technical practice, but many others have to do with broader considerations of business conduct. CONFLICT OF INTEREST BRIBERY AND KICKBACKS RELATIONSHIPS WITH CLIENTS LEGAL COMPLIANCE BY CLIENTS (CONT)
- 22. CFE’S AND TRUST BUILDING Ø Fraud Examiners are expected to display respect for others in all their professional engagements thus establishing trust and eliminating any form of ethical issue. Ø They must also demonstrate concern for others’ well-being through contributing to the welfare of others and not putting them in harm’s way. This also leads to trust in being placed in the fraud examiner as he/she is seen been concerned for the well- being of others. HOW?
- 23. CFE’S AND TRUST BUILDING (CONT) Trust can be built by Ø Recognizing that trust building takes hard work Trust must be earned. It comes from conscious effort to walk your talk, keep your promises and align your behavior with your values. Building trust is worth the effort because once trust is lost, it can be very difficult to recover. Ø Being honest Even when it’s difficult, tell the truth and not just what you think people want to hear. Ø Being consistent Consistently doing what you say you’ll do builds trust over time – it can’t be something you do only occasionally. Ø Building in accountability You can encourage honest dialogue and foster accountability by building in processes that become part of the culture.
- 24. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION Ø Trust is the foundation of any healthy relationship, it must be embraced to be the guide of day to day operational activities of an organization so as to avoid incidence of imminent collapse. Ø Just as public trust is founded on integrity, Fraud examiners are expected to exhibit the highest level of integrity in the performance of their professional assignments without sacrificing their integrity to serve a client, an employer, or the public interest. Ø Certified Fraud Examiners are responsible for exposing the biggest corporate scandals in history such as Cynthia Cooper, the whistleblower of the WorldCom scandal, it is hereby recommended that all Certified Fraud Examiners should be well equipped with trustworthiness and ensure compliance of ethical conduct during practice of the profession.