Chartered Accountants call for moral courage from the boardroom downwards
The latest report from Chartered Accountants Worldwide has called for business to instil 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.
Pat Costello, Chairman of Chartered Accountants Worldwide said: “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.”
Read the full report here.
