Governance, Ethics, and Sustainability

This report discusses the code of conduct for National Australia Bank, focusing on governance, ethics, and sustainability. It covers topics such as discrimination, exploitation, corruption, dishonesty, fraudulent behavior, whistleblower protections, and enforcement.

Running Head: Governance, Ethics, and Sustainability 0
National Australia Bank
Governance, Ethics, and Sustainability
4/12/2019

Governance, Ethics, and Sustainability 1
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Code of Conduct for National Australia Bank................................................................................3
Discrimination..............................................................................................................................3
Exploitation..................................................................................................................................4
Corruption....................................................................................................................................5
Dishonest......................................................................................................................................6
Fraudulent Behavior.....................................................................................................................7
Whistleblower Protections...........................................................................................................8
Enforcement.................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................10
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................11

Governance, Ethics, and Sustainability 2
Introduction
National Australia Bank is the fourth largest financial institution in Australia, which was founded
in 1982 and has the headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. The Australian bank has a large
number of the earnings, capitalization and the customers so they also earn higher revenue. The
bank has committed that they will make the environment-economic, social and ethical so that the
consistency can be maintained in the company. They believe in the certain principles of the code
of the conduct such as integrity, honesty, respects, and fairness. In this report, the certain code of
the conduct will be explained which helps in performing the functions of the company
smoothly1.
Code of the conduct is the reference or the guide for the employees or the clients of the
Australian banks, which will help them in taking the appropriate decisions. Code of conduct
clarifies the standards, values, and principles to develop and maintain the customers, employees
and the vendors of the company. Code of conduct act with the honesty, diligence, proper
standards, manages the conflicts of the interest and helps in meeting the legal and regulatory
obligations.
1 M.A. Adnan, et. al., A panel data analysis on the relationship between corporate governance and bank
efficiency. Journal of Accounting, 2011 1(1)

Governance, Ethics, and Sustainability 3
Code of Conduct for National Australia Bank
National Australian Bank is suffering from many problems such as; the online infrastructure has
suffered from unexpected wobble, which causes the problem in the data center of the company.
Another issue caused an outage with the Mobile App, as it was not correctly displaying balances
accords internet banking.
This problem also affected the debit and credit cards and some other accounts of the customers.
National Australian Bank also decided to convert into the technology which the customers can
more reliable and efficient for them. The major role of the transformation is cloud technology.
The online banking was falling and customers were complaining and reporting. Therefore, for
this purpose, the proper code of conduct is required in the company so that the proper
functioning of the banking can be done. Code of conduct helps in maintaining the integrity,
honesty, and fairness and manages the conflicts of interest2.
Discrimination
Discrimination takes place in the company when the person treats the other person based on the
characteristics, attributes such as gender, marital status, parental status, sexuality, etc. Code of
conduct defines that there should be no discrimination in the working environment which is
based on handicap, religion, gender, etc. In the working environment of the company, there
should be no offensive material should be used. Each customer, members, and colleagues are
treated with the same dignity, respect, and fairness. There is no discrimination and any person
has made biases.
NAB has to comply with the policies and procedures, which are favoring the working
environment. The employee David breached the policy of the Discrimination and the Harassment
and the Priya raised the complaint3. The employment of David was terminated; as such, unethical
22 C. Wright, and A. Rwabizambuga, Institutional pressures, corporate reputation, and voluntary codes of
conduct: An examination of the equator principles. Business and Society Review, 2006, 111(1), pp.89-
117.
3 G. Wood and M. Callaghan, Communicating the ethos of codes of ethics in corporate Australia, 1995–
2001: whose rights, whose responsibilities?. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 2003 15(4),
pp.209-221.

Governance, Ethics, and Sustainability 4
behavior is not acceptable by the employee. He consumed a lot of alcohol and try to sexually
harass the Priya, which was against the law, and strictly, actions are taken against him.
If there is the breach of an employee makes the guidelines and it affects the working,
organization of the company than it constitutes the breach of the Anti-Discrimination laws4. The
working environment should be safe and secure and if there is the allegation of the breach than
strictly actions are taken for disciplinary actions including the termination of the employment.
Exploitation
When any work or the action is done in treating someone unfairly so that the benefit of his or her
own work can be done. Exploitation of the employees or the customers in the act of treating
one’s worker unfairly for the own benefit is unethical and it is not supposed to do by any
organization. National Australian Bank is not supposed to exploit their employees and maintain
the ethical working organization in the workplace5.
There should be no exploitation of the debt and credit card by the employees. The services
provided by the bank should not be exploited for their own personal gain. The money provided
by the customers to the bank should not be used for any unethical purpose such as the money
laundering. The NAB Company should acknowledge the code of conduct so that valuable role
can be played by the organization.
There is much confidential information, which is provided by the customers to the company so it
should not be exploited to any other person6. The information should be confidential and should
be disclosed without the prior permission of the respective authority. Banks exploit the
4 P. Oliver and J. Lusted, Discrimination cases in grass-roots sport: comparing Australian and English
experiences. Sport in Society, 2015, 18(5), pp.529-542.
5 C., Joseph, et. al., A comparative study of anti-corruption practice disclosure among Malaysian and
Indonesian Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) best practice companies. Journal of cleaner
production, 2016, 112, pp.2896-2906.
6 G. Beyea, Morrison v. National Australia Bank and the future of extraterritorial application of the US
securities laws. Ohio St. LJ, 2011 72, p.537. Accessed on: 4 April 2019. Available at:
https://www.cii.org/files/publications/white_papers/02_02_12_morrison_v_national_australia_bank.pdf

Governance, Ethics, and Sustainability 5
customers in the abusing language, which is also against the code of conduct, and strictly, actions
are taken to improve the working organization.
Corruption
Any work which is done fraudulent and with the dishonesty is considered as the criminal
activity. Banks are involved in the bribery, which is the biggest corrupted crime. Code of
conduct states that any activities or transactions, which are happening in the organization should
be free from the corruption and the fraud content. The fraudulent and corrupted activities are
involved in dishonest actions and results in causing the potential financial loss7.
There are many corrupted activities are including in the banks such as the acts of the bribery,
theft of the data, money or property, concealing and destroying the documents, etc. If any
persons are found doing such kind of the illegal, acts that they may be suspected from the
company and strictly, obligations are taken against them.
For the safety of the customers, the policy is set of Anti- Bribery, and Corruption which is
complying with the legal and the regulatory requirements in relation to the corruption and
bribery so that risk to the consumers and the NAB can be minimized8. The correct procedures
should be following so that the employees remain alert to the unusual customer’s activities and
maintain a good working environment.
Dishonest
Code of conducts is very crucial and is ethical as it ensures an honest and positive working
environment. There should be no - dishonest work operated in the company as it is against the
law and policies. Honesty means the positive attributes which involve the trust, fairness,
7 J. Green. Australia. In Angels without Borders: Trends and Policies Shaping Angel Investment
Worldwide 2016 pp. 163-175. Available at: http://wbaforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/03-BLUE-PP-
%E2%80%93-WBAF-BROCHURE-POWER-POINT_PDF.pdf
8 M. Palmer, Records management and accountability versus corruption, fraud and
maladministration. Records Management Journal, 2006, 10(2), pp.61-72.

Governance, Ethics, and Sustainability 6
sincerity, etc. dishonest work in the organization includes the absence of presence, lying to the
organization, cheating, theft, etc.9.
The employer Jason breaches NAB’S Code of Conduct as he told a lie to the organization. He
provided the medical certificate for his absence and when his leader clarifies that with the doctor,
he was unable to confirm the dates. He gave the falsifying medical certificates, which are the
dishonest act, and his employment was terminated10.
Any dishonest action or the act causes loss to the company and it creates the reason for
suspicions. Code of conduct states that any act done by the Australian bank is done in a
professional manner and they act with the honesty, integrity, and fairness. The company acts
honestly in dealing with the customers and access the information, money, goods, and documents
with proper integrity. If there will be honesty in the organization than there will be the proper
internal control and the prevention of the fraud activities can also be done.
Fraudulent Behavior
Any fraudulent behavior is against the code of conduct and business ethics. Code of conduct is
required in the Australian Bank so that employees can align with good behavior and make a good
working environment. Any unethical behavior and the fraudulent act in the working organization
is not acceptable. If any act is done fraudulently than it is the illegal or criminal activity and it
should be reported otherwise it will cause a huge loss to the company11.
If any person in the organization detects the fraudulent activity than it should inform to the
respected leader or the authority otherwise fail to report the fraud is also considered as the fraud
and it is highly punishable. As financial crimes are in caressing in the bank so policy is created
of Anti- Fraud Policy, which helps in preventing the fraud activities12.
9 W. Australia, and State Supply Commission. Code of conduct. (Oxford University Press, 2000)
10 C. Wright and A. Rwabizambuga, Institutional pressures, corporate reputation, and voluntary codes of
conduct: An examination of the equator principles. Business and Society Review, 2006, 111(1), pp.89-
117.
11 D. Thomson and A. Jain, Corporate governance failure and its impact on National Australia Bank's
performance. Journal of business case studies. 2006 2(1).
12 I. McAllister, Keeping them honest: public and elite perceptions of ethical conduct among Australian
legislators. Political Studies, 2000, 48(1), pp.22-37.

Governance, Ethics, and Sustainability 7
Many employees in the bank's fraud use and obtains the money, asset, and the other property
which is illegal so by establishing the code of conduct banks aims to the voluntary adoption
against the misusing of the banking system. The fraud is also done in the online transaction,
which was the major issue so the activities related to the fraud is established.
Whistleblower Protections
It is the act, which protects the federal employees from disclosing the waste, corruption, and
fraud or nay government illegality. This act was enacted in 1989 to expose any kind of
information, which is deemed illegal. According to the code of conduct if there are any activities,
which is not compliance with the legal and ethical things than it should be reported to the Group
Whistleblower Program via the Fair Call Service13.
Any employees who report concerns to the program are reported for the Whistleblower program.
Any employees who are known for the misconduct or suspected in the organization is not
tolerated by the NAB. The person should be immediately reported so that the strict actions can
be taken against the person and bank can perform his functions smoothly and delicately14.
If any personal information is misused by the employees than it should be reported to the higher
authority so that the protection can be taken. By introducing this code of conduct, the employees
in the banks can comply with the privacy and data protection obligations. It is the policy, which
governs the business policies, rules, regulations, and the laws so that the wrongdoing in the
organization can be reduced.
Enforcement
Code of conduct derives the activities and the authorities, which play the critical, and the vibrant
part in the commitment to the company’s employees. The law enforcement authorities are
13 W. Vandekerckhove and D. Lewis, Whistleblowing and democratic values. THE INTERNATIONAL
WHISTLEBLOWING RESEARCH NETWORK, W. Vanderckhove & D. Lewis, eds., International
Whistleblowing Research Network., 2011
14 P.A. Komesaroff, and I.H. Kerridge, The Australian Medical Council draft code of professional conduct:
good practice or creeping authoritarianism?. Medical Journal of Australia, 2009, 190(4), pp.204-205.

Governance, Ethics, and Sustainability 8
required in the National Australian Bank so that the confirmation and the consent can be done
that all the rules and regulations made by the company duly comply15.
In this code of conduct, the primary responsibility is of the police officer, which is the official
representative of the government. The officer’s powers and duties are trusted with the law and
are conferred by the statute. According to the AFMA Code of ethics and conduct, these policies
are required for the proper functioning and regulation of financial activities. It also identifies the
conduct, which may have a problem in the pats and regulates the authorities so that effective
behavior can be maintained in the working environment.
15 L.F. Vosko, and M. Thomas Confronting the employment standards enforcement gap: Exploring the
potential for union engagement with employment law in Ontario, Canada. Journal of Industrial
Relations, 2016, 56(5), pp.631-652.

Governance, Ethics, and Sustainability 9
Conclusion
From the above report, it is concluded that the code of ethics is very important in the
organization as it maintains the enthusiasm and good working environment, which are important
for the proper functioning. In this report, the code of ethics is explained in relations to the
National Australian Bank, which is the fourth highest, banks dealing in the financial things. The
company has gone through with many changes and faces the major issues and problems, which is
discussed in this report. Therefore, to solve those problems and issues the certain principles or
acts are developed so that the ethics and standards can be maintained in the organization.
Code of conduct clarifies the standards, values, and principles to develop and maintain the
customers, employees and the vendors of the company. Code of conduct act with the honesty,
diligence, proper standards, manages the conflicts of the interest and helps in meeting the legal
and regulatory obligations. Code of conduct is necessary for the NAB as it is ensuring that
information should be kept confidential, fairness will be maintained in the conduct of ethics and
there is the prevention from the fraud, corruption and the other unethical activities16.
16

Governance, Ethics, and Sustainability 10
Bibliography
Adnan, M.A., Htay, S.N.N., Rashid, H.M.A. and Meera, A.K.M. A panel data analysis on the
relationship between corporate governance and bank efficiency. Journal of Accounting,
2011 1(1)
Australia, W. and State Supply Commission. Code of conduct. (Oxford University Press, 2000)
Beyea, G. Morrison v. National Australia Bank and the future of extraterritorial application of
the US securities laws. Ohio St. LJ, 2011 72, p.537. Accessed on: 4 April 2019. Available at:
https://www.cii.org/files/publications/white_papers/02_02_12_morrison_v_national_australia_ba
nk.pdf
Fung, B., Molico, M. and Stuber, G., Electronic money and payments: Recent developments and
issues (No. 2014-2). Bank of Canada Discussion Paper. 2014.
Green, J. Australia. In Angels without Borders: Trends and Policies Shaping Angel Investment
Worldwide 2016 pp. 163-175. Available at:
http://wbaforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/03-BLUE-PP-%E2%80%93-WBAF-
BROCHURE-POWER-POINT_PDF.pdf
Joseph, C., Gunawan, J., Sawani, Y., Rahmat, M., Noyem, J.A. and Darus, F. A comparative
study of anti-corruption practice disclosure among Malaysian and Indonesian Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) best practice companies. Journal of cleaner production, 2016, 112,
pp.2896-2906.
Komesaroff, P.A. and Kerridge, I.H. The Australian Medical Council draft code of professional
conduct: good practice or creeping authoritarianism?. Medical Journal of Australia,
2009, 190(4), pp.204-205.
McAllister, I. Keeping them honest: public and elite perceptions of ethical conduct among
Australian legislators. Political Studies, 2000, 48(1), pp.22-37.
Oliver, P. and Lusted, J. Discrimination cases in grass-roots sport: comparing Australian and
English experiences. Sport in Society, 2015, 18(5), pp.529-542.
Palmer, M. Records management and accountability versus corruption, fraud and
maladministration. Records Management Journal, 2006, 10(2), pp.61-72.

Governance, Ethics, and Sustainability 11
Thomson, D. and Jain, A. Corporate governance failure and its impact on National Australia
Bank's performance. Journal of business case studies. 2006 2(1).
Vandekerckhove, W. and Lewis, D.. Whistleblowing and democratic values. THE
INTERNATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWING RESEARCH NETWORK, W. Vanderckhove & D.
Lewis, eds., International Whistleblowing Research Network., 2011
Vosko, L.F. and Thomas, M. Confronting the employment standards enforcement gap: Exploring
the potential for union engagement with employment law in Ontario, Canada. Journal of
Industrial Relations, 2016, 56(5), pp.631-652.
Wood, G. and Callaghan, M. Communicating the ethos of codes of ethics in corporate Australia,
1995–2001: whose rights, whose responsibilities?. Employee Responsibilities and Rights
Journal, 2003 15(4), pp.209-221.
Wright, C. and Rwabizambuga, A. Institutional pressures, corporate reputation, and voluntary
codes of conduct: An examination of the equator principles. Business and Society Review, 2006,
111(1), pp.89-117.
Wright, C. and Rwabizambuga, A. Institutional pressures, corporate reputation, and voluntary
codes of conduct: An examination of the equator principles. Business and Society Review, 2006,
111(1), pp.89-117.