Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Description
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: No updates or changes were made to the 2026 version of this course. If you completed the course in 2025, please be advised the 2026 course material has not changed. If you have any questions, please contact pdevents@cpaontario.ca.
Key Takeaways
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.
Who Will Benefit
CPAs working in large organizations or for general interest.
Disclaimer
The views expressed in the course are non-authoritative and have not been formally endorsed by CPA Ontario and do not reflect the views of CPA Ontario. The information included in the course if for general information purposes only.
CPA Ontario, the presenters and the authors do not accept any responsibility or liability that might occur directly or indirectly as a consequence of the use or application of or reliance on this material.
How to Access the Course
This course is delivered as a live webinar. To receive verifiable CPD hours, you must attend the session live. We recommend joining at least 5 minutes before the scheduled start time. For the best interactive experience, please use a computer equipped with a camera and microphone.
A reminder email with the Zoom link and course details will be sent two business days before the session. If you do not receive it, please check your spam or junk folder.
The same information, including any available materials, will also be posted in advance on our Blackboard LMS.
Registration, cancellation, withdrawal and all other CPA Ontario PD policies can be found here.
Speaker(s)
Philip Maguire is a Chartered Professional Accountant and Chartered Accountant who received his designation while employed at Ernst & Young (formerly Clarkson Gordon) and a Certified Information Systems Auditor finalist. Philip is a principal in Glenidan Consultancy Ltd., an accounting practice that specializes in Compliance and Internal Audit. Philip has over 30 years of business experience in Canada, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Ireland and the United States. His organization has implemented a number of assignments across a variety of industries for companies with market capitalizations ranging from $50 million to $2 billion. Before he formed Glenidan Consultancy in 2005 Philip was a Vice-President of Finance at one of the country's largest financial institutions. Philip has spoken at a number of accounting conferences across Canada.