Articles & Dilemmas
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What would you do? Your weekly ethical dilemma challenge

18 Jul 19
Victor is an up-and-coming manager at ABC Bank, a large retail bank. Victor reports directly to Robert, the regional manager, who also happens to be a close friend from uni. Robert has been at the bank longer than Victor, but there is some talk within the organisation that his numbers have been falling behind.

What would you do? Your weekly ethical dilemma challenge

09 Jul 19
by Anthony Asher
A company is going through the interview process in order to hire a chief financial officer. In the last interview session, each of three finalists is given the company's financial data and asked by the CEO, ‘What are the net earnings?’

To the young people of banking and finance: please seize the opportunity and break the shackles of conformity

04 Jul 19
by Dr Simon Longstaff
By Dr Simon Longstaff

To my mind, Kenneth Hayne was to the banking and finance industry what a building surveyor is to a rickety house. He ripped off the gleaming cladding to reveal cracked foundations, some rotten beams and a few broken tiles that let in the rain.

Connecting like-minded individuals

27 Jun 19
by Max Zielenski
The Banking and Financial Services Oath prides itself on being able to connect like-minded individuals who share a common purpose. Our Young Ambassador Program is a great example of one way we do this - connecting young people to each other, and to others in the industry. Max Zielenski is a signatory based in Brisbane who has been supporting our Young Ambassador from the Bank of Queensland, and wanted to share his experience.

What would you do? Your weekly ethical dilemma challenge

18 Jun 19
by Jodi O'Callaghan
The Marketing Manager in a small privately-held wealth advisory firm has her bonus tied directly to annual sales. The higher the sales, the bigger the bonus.

What would you do? Your weekly ethical dilemma challenge

25 May 19
by Jodi O'Callaghan
This week's ethical dilemma challenge is a little different. We want to take you beyond just the week, and introduce you to the new education portal on our website.

What would you do? Your weekly ethical dilemma challenge

16 May 19
by John Jeffery
You are trading on behalf of a client in fairly large nominals of US bonds. The counterparties in these trades are often people just like you. There’s a commission associated with a client’s trade and there’s also the opportunity, when it arises, to make some extra money from imperfections in the market.

Governance Institute of Australia Interview with Dr John Laker AO rebuilding trust

30 Apr 19
by Dr John Laker AO
The fundamental challenge in rebuilding the public’s trust in the financial services industry is putting the best interests of customers at the centre of organisational culture, decisionmaking and remuneration arrangements.

What would you do? Your weekly ethical dilemma challenge

13 Apr 19
by Jodi O'Callaghan
Your company has moved some of its agri-business activity off-shore (Country X). The principal attraction is a low-wage environment and a relaxed regulatory regime. Profits have increased since the decision was made...

What would you do? Your weekly ethical dilemma challenge

06 Apr 19
by Jodi O'Callaghan
In recent months you have been working very long hours and spending a considerable amount of time away from your family.

What would you do? Your weekly ethical dilemma challenge

28 Mar 19
by Jodi O'Callaghan
You are a qualified accountant. You have been asked, by your line manager, to complete a costing exercise with a very short deadline and limited resources.

"I am a trusted advisor"

19 Mar 19
by Cris Parker
Trust is the talk of the town at the moment. Rebuilding, regaining, retaining. But as much as you think you deserve to be considered trustworthy, it is not something that can be self-nominated. Cris Parker, a Director with The BFSO, explains why.

Positive challenges for the outsourcing and advisory industry in a post Royal Commission era

14 Mar 19
by Boris Bieler
Boris Bieler CFA, FCPA (Australia) is a signatory to The Banking and Financial Services Oath and raises awareness of the Oath in his role as guest lecturer at Macquarie University and UTS when lecturing on topics around auditing, risk management, corporate governance and ethics in banking. We invited Boris to provide his insights on what he thinks some of the positive challenges might be for the outsourcing and advisory industry, post Royal Commission.

What comes after the question of 'Should We'?

14 Mar 19
by Pauline Vamos
Pauline Vamos, a director with The Banking and Financial Services Oath and the new Chairman of Freedom Insurance gives her take on how the financial services industry can recover and move forward following the Hayne Royal Commission.

What would you do? Your weekly ethical dilemma challenge

13 Mar 19
by Jodi O'Callaghan
A colleague has recently prepared a new spreadsheet which is used to produce a weekly report for the bank’s liquidity committee. You are responsible for updating the underlying data which feeds into the spreadsheet to produce the report...

The BFSO releases discussion paper following unique cross-industry event

18 Feb 19
by The Banking and Financial Services Oath
As an independent organisation, The BFSO is in a unique position to facilitate cross-industry discussions. Following our Chatham House event in August we have released the discussion paper that captures the key themes and topics covered on the night.

There is hope in a long-term commitment to culture change

17 Feb 19
by Jodi O'Callaghan
By Jodi O'Callaghan, Executive Officer, The BFSO.
As the financial services industry braces for the release of the Final Report from the Hayne Royal Commission, one thing is certain: the financial services industry in Australia will never be the same.

Shifting industry norms and culture: individuals can also make a difference

14 Dec 18
by Tamara Scicluna
Rhizome Advisory Group's Tamara Scicluna spent 15 years at the prudential regulator, APRA, in roles that spanned supervision, policy and risk advisory across banking, insurance and superannuation. So who better to take a closer look at some of the issues we're seeing at the Royal Commission, and the role individuals can play in shifting culture.

The BFSO Submission: Royal Commission into Misconduct the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry

21 Nov 18

In its Interim Report, the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry noted that the explanation for the poor conduct identified was “too often…the pursuit of short-term profit at the expense of basic standards of honesty” (p xix). One initiative already underway to raise standards of honesty and integrity in Australia’s financial services industry is The Banking and Financial Services Oath (The BFSO). This submission outlines the background and purpose of The BFSO and the role it has been playing in rebuilding community trust in this crucial industry.

Swearing to be Virtuous: The Prospects of a Banker's Oath By John R. Boatright

06 Nov 18
by John R. Boatright, Loyola University Chicago , Chicago , IL , USA
Abstract
In an effort to restore trust in the banking sector, the Advisory Committee on the Future of Banks in the Netherlands made a recommendation, which has since been adopted, that bank executives be required to swear an oath akin to the physician's Hippocratic Oath. This examination of the prospects of the Dutch banker's oath addresses two broad issues. One issue is the efficacy of oaths themselves as instruments for achieving the desired end. A second issue concerns the extent to which this particular oath is a useful guide to ethical banking practice.

The BFSO's Cris Parker takes her idea to the House

05 Oct 18
by Cris Parker
The BFSO’s Cris Parker took her idea of 'It’s time to start believing in the inherent good of our financial services sector' to the TedXSydney stage at the Opera House recently, when she was selected out of 180 submissions to be one of 20 finalists to pitch her idea ahead of the 2019 event.

Would having all financial professionals take the Banking and Financial Services Oath be an antidote to the ethical problems uncovered in the Banking Royal Commission?

05 Oct 18
by Simon Russell
In this article, Simon Russell of Behavioural Finance Australia looks at ways individuals can translate The Banking and Financial Services Oath in to practical terms for themselves, and their teams.

Commissioner Hayne releases Interim Report

29 Sep 18
by The Banking and Financial Services Oath
In the end, rules, systems, processes and practices are necessary, but having the right culture and performance depends, in the Commissioner's words, "Upon people applying the right standards and doing their job properly".

Photo courtesy of ABC

The ethics of...well everything.

24 Jun 18
by Dr Bob Murray is an expert in strategy influencing, human motivation and behavioural change.
Almost all scholars agree that we have ethical rules and standards for one essential reason—to enable collaboration among relatively small groups of people. Why small groups? Because modern humans—and their immediate (and unfortunately extinct) cousins (Neanderthals, Denisovans and so forth)—and their distant ancestors (from the common ancestor of us and chimps to Homo erectus) all lived in small groups, so specialising in relating to a small group of individuals became hardwired into our DNA.

Why Heartland Joined The Banking and Financial Services Oath

18 Dec 17
by Sharon Yardley, Manager – Marketing & Compliance, Heartland Seniors Finance
Although the Oath is taken by the individual, there are occasions where an organisation will ask all employees to consider taking the Oath, thus becoming 100% committed. This process provides an opportunity for the entire organisation to consider the alignment between their own values and those of the organisation. It provides a common ethical framework with which they can hold each other to account. Heartland Senior Finance made this commitment and it allowed for self-reflection on what a 'sustainable future' means to them.

A New Age of Purpose Led Finance

09 Dec 17
by Pablo Berutti, Chairman RIAA
The growth and adoption of responsible investment is a global phenomenon. Time and again over the last few years we have heard that a tipping point has been reached.

That responsible investing is mainstream.

Hope Springs Eternal - The Jouney of Professionalism in Financial Planning

09 Dec 17
by Robert M. C. Brown AM,
It’s often claimed that the discipline of financial planning has made considerable progress since its inception some fifty years ago. That may well be true, depending on your definition of the word ‘progress’.

Good copyright governance in banking and finance

14 Jul 17
by Lisa Hill, Senior Licensing Consultant, Copyright Agency
Copies of newspaper articles, magazine articles, journal articles, reports, books and graphs directly benefit thousands of organisations in Australia, who use them to influence, be strategic in decision-making and achieve corporate objectives. Good Copyright Governance is ensuring that the creators of these pieces are being recognised and compensated fairly for their work.

The Business Case: The long road to proving ethics pays

17 May 17
by Clare Payne, Director The Banking and Financial Services Oath
A business case that ignores social issues is no case at all. The business case has not traditionally included the ethical rationale or the moral justification. Fortunately, making the business case for ethics is getting easier.

The Ethical Beginnings of Compliance

17 May 17
by Naomi Burley, Managing Director, GRCI
Factors such as complexity and sophistication of products and services, distribution channels, customer demands and unprecedented advances in technology have resulted in increased political and regulatory intervention into business. GRC professionals are at the forefront of these changes and can contribute as a culture change agent.

Naomi Burley, MD GRC Institute has a look at how compliance and an Oath can go hand in hand.
Total 215 articles in this section.
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The Oath

  • Trust is the foundation of my profession.
  • I will serve all interests in good faith.
  • I will compete with honour.
  • I will pursue my ends with ethical restraint.
  • I will help create a sustainable future.
  • I will help create a more just society.
  • I will speak out against wrongdoing and support others who do the same.
  • I will accept responsibility for my actions.
  • In these and all other matters;
    My word is my bond.