Global Ethics Day is celebrated every year on 21 October by various professions all over the world to highlight the importance of ethics and integrity.

The webinar, which was convened by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, highlighted the importance of ethics across all fields of work and professions. 

During his speech, Saul stated that this is an important topic because adherence to ethical behaviour, which he said constitutes the core values of a profession, amongst others, is vital for the respect of the honour that the profession holds.

The premier also touched base on various scandals which occurred as a result of ethical failures. “Ethical failures by institutions or professions have far-reaching implications, they can easily move from scandals into global crises. It sounds perfectly obvious to say that accountants ought to behave in an ethical manner. But the failure of ethics by accountants laid at the core of the major scandals in the 21st century. I’m certain that many participants can remember the following ‘cooking of books scandals',” explains Saul.

In relation to accounting professionals, Saul further stated that he is of the view that ethical codes are essential principles that these professionals must adhere to. This is in order to enhance the stature and standing of their profession.

He explained that this will enable the maintenance of public trust in the work that they do “with honesty, fairness, independence and professional probity”.

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