ACCA Foundations in Professionalism module 概念综述.docx

ACCA Foundations in Professionalism module 概念综述.docx

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ACCAFoundationsinProfessionalismmodule概念综述

Asaprofessionalaccountancybody,itisimportanttoACCAtoensureallourstudents–irrespectiveofwhichqualificationtheyarestudyingforandtowhichleveltheywishtotaketheircareerinaccountancyandfinance – understandwhatitmeanstoworkandactprofessionallyandethicallyintheworkplace.

ThatiswhyallourstudentsarerequiredtocompleteFoundationsinProfessionalismwhichisanonline,interactivemoduledesignedtohelpyoudevelopandunderstandwhatitmeanstoactprofessionallyandethicallyintheworkyoucarryout.

YoucancompleteFoundationsinProfessionalismbeforeoraftercompletingyourexamsandyouonlyneedtosuccessfullycompletethemoduleonce,evenifyoudecidetocompleteoneormoreofourqualifications.However,pleasenoteyouwillalsoberequiredtocompleteourProfessionalEthicsmoduleifyoudecidetocontinueyourstudiesontheACCAQualification.

ThereisnosettimeallocatedtocompletingFoundationsinProfessionalism.Weencourageyoutocompletethemoduleatyourownpacetoallowyoutoreflectonwhatyouhavelearnt.

STRUCTUREOFTHEMODULE

Thismoduleisstructuredinaparticularwaytohelpyouinyourjourneytowardsprofessionalstatus.

Section2ofthismoduledefinesprofessionalism,distinguishingaprofessionfromotheroccupations,andexplainswhatprofessionalismmeansatwork.

Section2alsobrieflyexplainstheoriginanddevelopmentofaccountingasaprofession;itidentifiestheprofessionalandregulatorybodiesrelevanttoaccountancyandtheirpurposes;anditexplainstheprincipleof‘actinginthepublicinterest’.

Therestofthemodulecontainsthefollowingfourbroadthemes:

∙Lawandregulation（Section3）

∙Professionalethics（Section4）

∙Personaleffectiveness（Section5）

∙Personalvalues（Section6）

THEPROFESSIONALANDETHICALBEHAVIOURDECISIONFILTER

Thefirstlevelofthefilterisaboutunderstandinghowtocomplywiththelawinallareaswheretheaccountantworks.Thismeansensuringthatnothingisdonethatisillegalorcontravenesanyregulations,andmakingsurethatalllegalrequirementsarecompliedwith.Legalobligationsincludepreventingtheft,fraud,bribery,corruptionandmoneylaundering.Theyalsoinvolvecomplyingwithdataprotection,security,healthandsafety,recordkeeping,financialreporting,auditandfilingrequirements.

Asaprofessionalitisnotenoughtobehaveinaccordancewithlawalone.Manyofthedecisionsthatmustbemademaynotbeaffectedbythelaworregulation,sohowshouldtheaccountantactinthesesituations?

Ifthelaworaccountingregulationissilentorunclear,thebehaviouroftheaccountantshouldbeguidedbyaprofessionalcodeofconduct.Therelevantcodeofconductwillbebasedoncompliancewiththefollowingfundamentalethicalprinciples:

∙Integrity

∙Objectivity

∙Professionalcompetenceandduecare

∙Confidentiality

∙Professionalbehaviour

ThesefundamentalprinciplesareembeddedintotheACCACodeofEthicsandConduct,andshouldactasaframeworktoguideyouractionsanddecisionsatwork.

Actingwithinthelaw, andbehavinginaccordancewiththesefundamentalprofessionalethics,youmayencountersituationswhenafurtherchoiceexists.

Figure1:

Professionalbehaviourdecisionfilter

Oncebehaviourcompliesfullywiththelawandisconsistentwithfundamentalprinciplesofprofessionalbehaviour,furtherchoicesarestillavailable,butthescopebecomesmuchnarrower.Forexampletheremaybeachoicetodosomethinginonewayoranother,suchashowtocommunicatewithsomeone,orwhethertoactimmediatelyordelayadecision.Thechoicesthatyoumakeatthislevelofthefilterrequireyoutoconsideryourpersonalvaluesanduseyourownindividualjudgement.

Thisiswhereyourpersonalethicalvaluescomein.

Thefigureopposite canalsobepresentedasasimpleflowcharttoguideyourdecision-making.

Thedecisionflowchartbelowisasystematicwayofthinkingabouthowyouactandbehaveatworkandthesequenceinwhichyou,asaprofessional,shouldnormallyfilteryourdecisions.

Figure2:

Flowchartoftheprofessionalandethicaldecision-makingprocess

TheFoundationsinProfessionalismmodulewillhelpyouputthisdecision-makingfilterintopractice.Nowcompletethisquickquiztotestyourcurrentunderstanding.

2.1 WHATISAPROFESSIONAL?

Therearemanydifferentdefinitionsofa‘professional’.Relevantfactorsincludeacademicqualifications,specialistknowledge,heightenedethicalstandards,andothers.However,aprofessionalissomeonewhohasknowledgeandexpertisewhicharerecognisedandvaluedbysociety.Doctors,lawyersandaccountantsarecommonlythoughtofasprofessionals.

Theyhavetrainedintheirfieldstodevelopthehighestlevelsofspecialistskillsandknowledge.Theyare trustedandrespectedbythepublicandtheirpeers.Professionalsareexpectedtobehaveatworkinaccordancewithminimumstandards,oftensetoutinprofessionalandethicalcodesofconduct.

Aprofessionalhasadutytotheiremployer,clients,colleaguesandthemselves,butshouldalwaysputthepublicinterestaboveall,inguidingtheirbehaviouranddecision-makingatwork.

Becomingaprofessionalinvolvespassingexaminations,gainingrelevantexperienceandupdatingknowledgeperiodically.Italsoinvolvesdevelopingtheattitudesofaprofessionalandbehavinginawaythattheirprofessiondemandsandsocietyexpects.

Professionalsarerequiredtoknowwhattheycanandcannotdo,theymustdecideontherightcourseofactionandtheymustcarryouttheirworktothebestoftheirability.

Theconceptofprofessionalismissummarisedbythefollowingunattributedquote,

‘It’snotthejobyoudo–it’showyoudothejob’

Professionalismconcernshowyouconductyourself,behave,areperceivedbyothers,andwhetheryouaretechnicallycompetentatwork.

Thekeyattributeofaprofessionalistoexhibitasenseoftrustworthiness.Thisprovidestheclientoremployerandthepublicwiththeassurancethattheprofessionalwillalwaysperformtoaconsistentlyhighstandard,anddowhatisexpectedofthem.

2.2 CHARACTERISTICSOFAPROFESSION

Theoreticalknowledge:

 Professionalsareassumedtohaveextensivetheoreticalknowledgeandskills,andtheabilitytoapplytheseinpractice.

Professionalassociation:

 Professionalbodiesareintendedtoenhancethestatusoftheirmembers.Theyhavecarefullycontrolledentrancerequirements,includingwork-basedpracticalexperience,andbeingabletodemonstrate‘goodcharacter’.

Extensiveperiodofeducation:

 Passinganumberofexaminationsanddemonstratingatechnicalknowledgeoftheirsubject.

Continuingprofessionaldevelopment（CPD）:

 Theupdatinganddevelopmentofknowledgeandskillsisessential.

Licensedpractitioners:

 Professionsseektoestablisharegisterofmembership.Thisprovidesrecognitionfortheprofessional,butalsohelpstoprotectthepublic.

Workautonomy:

 Professionalsshouldretaincontroloftheirperformanceatworkthroughtheskillstheypossess,whichmaybeuniquewithintheorganisation.

Codeofprofessionalconductorethics:

 Professionalbodiesusuallyhavecodesofconductorethicsfortheirmembers,anddisciplinaryproceduresforthosewhoinfringetheethicalcode.

Self-regulation:

 Professionalbodiesusuallybenefitfromameasureofself-regulationandindependencefromgovernmentalthoughthismayvary.

Highstatusandrewards:

 Successfulprofessionsachievehighstatus,publicprestigeandrewardsfortheirmembers.

Mobility:

 Theskills,knowledgeandauthorityofaprofessionalbelongtotheprofessional,andnottheorganisationforwhichtheywork.Professionalsarethereforeoccupationallymobile.

2.3 PROFESSIONALISMANDYOUASATRAINEEACCOUNTANT

Asatraineeworkingwithinaprofession,youwillnotbeabletodisplayallofthe badges ofaprofessional.However,inordertobeacceptedintoaprofessionalbody,youwillneedtobeabletodemonstrate professionalism,aswellasgaintheoreticalknowledgeandpracticalexperience.

Professionalisminvolvesthefollowing:

∙Carryingoutyourresponsibilitiestothebestofyourability

∙Keepingyourskillsandknowledgeuptodate

∙Thinkingabouttheimpactofwhatyoudo,orfailtodo

∙Behavinghonestlyandwithintegrity

∙Meetingyourdeadlines

∙Treatingclients,managers,colleaguesandotheremployeeswithrespect

Toachievethesethingsyoushould:

∙Studyeffectivelyandrevisethoroughlyforyourexaminations

∙Practisewhatyoulearnatwork

∙Takeprideinyourworkandenjoydoingsomethingwell

∙Learnfromyourmistakesandcontinuouslyimprove

∙Knowyourlimitationsandactaccordingly

∙Recognisethatthereisalwaysmoretolearnthanyoualreadyknow

∙2.5THEACCOUNTANCYPROFESSIONTODAY

∙Globallytheaccountancyprofessioncontinuestoflourishwithmorepeopletrainingtobecomeaccountants.

∙Thedevelopmentandgrowthinpopularityofaccountingasaprofessioncontinuestoday,despiteitsreputationbeingdamagedbythecorporatescandalsoftheearlypartofthe21stcentury.WiththedemiseofcompanieslikeEnron,Worldcom,ParmalatandmorerecentlyLehmanBrothers,theroleofaccountantsinprovidinga'trueandfair'viewoftheperformanceandpositionofthesecompanieshasoftenbeenbroughtintoquestion.

∙Theprofessionhashadtobecomeevenmorevigilantandresponsibleforthebehaviourandreputationofitsmembers.Throughitseducationandtrainingprogrammes,ithashadtoensurethatprofessionalaccountantsdevelopagreaterethicalandresponsibleattitudetotheirwork.ACCAandotherprofessionalbodiesrecognisetheirmembers'dutytoactinthepublicinterest,aswellastheinter