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The Governance Institute’s annual Ethics Index shows one profession well ahead in public perception.
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Accountants outshine financial peers for ethics
21 November 2022
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Accountants have pulled ahead of their peers as the most ethical of the finance professions while fund managers, financial planners, and bank managers have lost ground in public perception, according to a survey by the Governance Institute.
The institute’s seventh annual Ethics Index placed accountants fourth in public regard for ethical behaviour, behind only doctors, pharmacists, and local hospitals.
The index score of 37 for accountants was a two-point improvement over their 2021 score against four-point declines for bank managers (16 in 2021 down to 12) and fund managers (11 down to 7), and financial planners (18 down to 16).
Even tax agents have fallen from 27 to a net score of 26 while mortgage agents were unchanged from last year with a net score of 9.
However, within the corporate sector chief financial officers bucked the trend and saw their score rise from 10 to 15.
The Ethics Index score is the net result of individuals who rate the occupation as somewhat ethical or very ethical, minus those who assess it as somewhat unethical or extremely unethical.
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Megan Motto, the chief executive officer of the Governance Institute, said that this year’s results showed that Australians had a low tolerance for organisations and individuals who behaved in ways that eroded ethical trust.
"A stabilisation in trust and ethics had been hoped for this year, but it was not to be. We are now seeing a distinct downward trend in trust and ethics," Ms Motto said.
"Given that strong ethics are an indicator of a strong, well-functioning society, this is a major concern, and this year’s results must serve as a red-flag reminder of the importance of trust and ethics at all levels of our society."
Despite the rise in standing for accountants, two of their professional bodies saw their scores go backwards.
CPA Australia dropped three points for a net ethical score of 46 while CA ANZ slipped five points to a net ethical score of 42.
The three occupations rated least ethical were real estate agents, federal politicians and state politicians.
The Governance Institute of Australia’s seventh annual ethics surveyed over 1,000 people across all sectors of society.
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