This course focuses on developing awareness of the ethical dimensions and questions embedded in situations faced by accountants in the current business context. Exploration of these ethical dimensions will include insights from moral philosophy, moral / behavioural psychology and analysis of a relevant case studies. This course will benefit anyone seeking an understanding of ethical behaviour within large corporations/firms, or who wishes to enhance their personal ethical awareness as a CPA.

The course will explore key moral questions in professional accounting and applied business ethics at an introductory level, including:

• What are the ethical issues involved in “whistleblowing”?
• How do we make ethical decisions and how does corporate culture influence our decisions?
• What are some of the ethical issues involved with corporate social responsibility and environment, social and governance (ESG) reporting?

Topics Include:

• Psychological influences of individual ethical decision making.
• Sociological and cultural influences on decision making.
• Various theories and ethical issues concerning stakeholder management,  corporate social responsibility, and ESG reporting.
• Business ethics case studies, including the collapse of Wirecard.

NOTE: This course description has been revised and reflects updates for 2025. If you have any questions, please contact pdevents@cpaontario.ca.

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By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Analyze issues to consider in “whistleblowing”.
• Describe basic approaches to moral philosophy, theories of business purpose and the responsibilities of business management.
• Describe the ethical dimensions of “corporate social responsibility”.
• Describe the psychological process for individual moral decision making and some of the cultural factors which influence individual moral decisions.
• Describe some psychological and organizational influences that negatively impact professional objectivity.
• Reflect on how psychological and cultural factors influence ethical behaviour.