Professional Ethics Report: Barclays Plc's Ethical Framework Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of professional ethics within the financial sector, using Barclays Plc as a case study. It begins with an introduction to the fundamental principles of ethical behavior, including integrity, objectivity, and confidentiality. The report then explores the legal, regulatory, and ethical requirements affecting the financial and accounting sectors, highlighting the roles of professional bodies like the AAT, ICAEW, and IFAC. It emphasizes the need for individuals and organizations to operate within codes of conduct and practice, outlining the risks of improper practice, such as money laundering and terrorist financing, and the importance of vigilance. The report also examines opportunities for maintaining up-to-date knowledge of changes in regulations. Task 2 focuses on ethical working practices with clients, colleagues, and suppliers, emphasizing the importance of objectivity and adhering to organizational values and regulations. It also covers the handling of confidential information and the limits of professional expertise. Task 3 discusses reporting unethical behavior, handling requests beyond competence, identifying inappropriate client behavior, and internal and external reporting procedures. It also explores strategies to prevent ethical conflicts. Finally, Task 4 addresses the importance of an ethical approach to sustainability and the responsibilities of finance professionals in upholding these principles. The report concludes with a summary of the key findings and recommendations, providing a valuable resource for students studying professional ethics in finance.

PROFESSIONAL
ETHICS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
1.1. Explanation of fundamental principles of ethical behaviour...............................................4
1.2. Legal, regulatory and ethical requirements affecting financial and accounting sector........5
1.3. Role of professional bodies in accounting and financial sector...........................................5
1.4. Need for individuals, organisations or industrial sectors to operate within codes of
conduct and practice....................................................................................................................6
1.5. Risks of improper practice to an organisation and importance of vigilance........................6
1.6. Opportunities for maintaining an up-to-date knowledge of changes to codes of practice,
regulation and legislation affecting the accounting and finance sector......................................7
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
2.1. Ethical working with clients, colleagues, suppliers and others............................................7
2.2. Importance of objectivity and professional distance between professional duties and
personal life.................................................................................................................................8
2.3. Importance of adhering to organisational and professional values, codes of practice and
regulations...................................................................................................................................8
2.4. Importance of adhering to organisational policies for handling clients’ monies.................8
2.5. Circumstances when confidential information should be disclosed and who is entitled to
the information............................................................................................................................9
2.6. Importance of working within the limits and confines of one’s own professional
experience, knowledge and expertise..........................................................................................9
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................10
3.1. Relevant authorities and internal departments to which unethical behaviour, breaches of
confidentiality, suspected illegal acts or other malpractice should be reported........................10
3.2. Appropriate action to take in instances when requests for work are beyond the employee’s
competence................................................................................................................................10
3.3. Identification of inappropriate client behaviour and how to report it................................10
3.4. Internal and external reporting procedures to be followed if employer, colleague or client
has committed, or may commit, an unethical act......................................................................11

3.5. Strategies that could be used to prevent ethical conflict....................................................11
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................12
4.1. Explain the importance of an ethical approach to sustainability........................................12
4.2. Responsibilities of finance professionals in upholding the principles of sustainability....12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Professional Ethics are a specific set of principles which includes the individual as well
as well as organisational standards of behaviours and values expected by employees working in
an organisation. These encompass the rules and regulations of ways in which an individual must
act in various situations as well as with other individuals present in the organisations. It is of
vital importance that employees in the organisation follow these principles and encourage ethical
practices within the firm. The following report is based Barclays Plc, one of the largest financial
services firm in the UK and covers the principles of ethical behaviour and its role while working
with internal and external customers (Sadowski and Thomas, 2012). It also covers appropriate
actions to be taken at times of breaches in ethical codes and ethical responsibility of finance
professional in promoting sustainability.
TASK 1
1.1. Explanation of fundamental principles of ethical behaviour
It is imperative for professionals in any organisation to work in ethical manner and
encourage ethical practices within their respective organisations. However, there are certain
fundamental principles of ethical behaviour which must be understood by individuals working in
professional organisations. These principles are as follows: Integrity: It is necessary for professionals to follow and promotes transparency, honesty
and straightforwardness. This requires professionals to follow these aspects with all
their business and professional relationships throughout their professional lives. Objectivity: Professionals in organisations are required to pass certain judgements
throughout their career. It expects these professionals to take their decisions without
having conflicts of interest, without being under external influence as well as without
being biased. Professional and technical competence and due care: These professionals are expected
to possess and retail certain skills and professional knowledge to provide the most
appropriate type of professional services to employers or business clients. Confidentiality: This principle induces respect and protection of confidential
information which is acquired by the professionals through business and professional
relationships(Stappenbelt, 2013).

 Professional Behaviour: It facilitates the concept of compliance with all the rules and
regulations that are necessary and credits the profession they are working for,
1.2. Legal, regulatory and ethical requirements affecting financial and accounting sector
The accounting and financial sector of the UK is considered to be two of the most rigid
sectors when it comes to compliance with legal, regulatory and ethical requirements. These
requirements affect the overall structure as well as functions of the operations in these sectors.
These aspects are described below: Civil Law: This law undertakes the property and rights of individuals as well as
organisation into consideration. It aims at settling disputes between parties which usually
results in granting of compensation. In financial sector, this law helps in settling disputes
between financial institutions and their clients. Criminal Law: This law undertakes the breaches and offences by individuals or
organisations which affects the society in a negative manner. State steps in and the party
is subjected to criminal prosecution. In case any unethical activity is performed by an
individual of accounting and financial sector, this law comes into force for these
professionals or organisations (Shani, Belhassen and Soskolne, 2013).
 Compliance: It is important for organisation of these sectors to comply with the set of
rules drafted for their operations. They must adhere to the codes of practice to ensure a
consistent and smooth running of their business operations.
1.3. Role of professional bodies in accounting and financial sector
In the UK, there are various professional bodies that that govern the functioning of
accounting and financial sector of the country. They have a prominent role in setting up the
operations of these sectors. Various professional bodies and their roles are described below: Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT): This professional body offers technician
level qualifications and higher apprenticeships for individuals who undertook
examinations and possess relevant work experience for accounting technician. The
sponsoring bodies of AAT until 2017 were, ICAEW, CIMA, ICAS and CIPFA. Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW): This professional
body works towards enhancing the practice by encouraging compliance with the Code of
Ethics along with professional conduct (Harfield, 2012).

 International Federation of Accountants (IFAC): This organisation professional body
aims at strengthening the accounting profession and encouraging adherence to set
professional standards . Within the UK, this body is responsible for developing reports,
comment letters and position papers that are relevant to accounting sector.
1.4. Need for individuals, organisations or industrial sectors to operate within codes of conduct
and practice
Code of conduct refers to the specific set of norms, rules and regulations that are required
to be followed by individuals, organisations and industries. The reasons they are expected to
operate within codes of conduct and practice are described below: Individuals: Professionals working in the organisations are expected to work within a
specific code of conduct as it promotes honesty, growth and satisfaction in their personal
careers. They are expected to work in such manner as it enhances their self growth and
their importance within their respective companies and peer groups (Hannafey and
Vitulano, 2013). Organisations: The ethical codes of organisations include impartiality, public
accountability and prevention of corruption. These codes enable the firms to fulfil their
duties towards employees, their customers as well as government.
 Industries: The most important codes of conduct and practice requires industries to work
ethically in a manner which keeps their workers safe as well as protect the environment.
Another reason of their working in ethical ways is that these allow them to foster the
growth of their country.
1.5. Risks of improper practice to an organisation and importance of vigilance
In any organisation, risk refers to happening of an uncertain events that leaves a negative
impact on the company. For an organisation like Barclays Plc, there are huge risks associated
with improper practice. Some of these practices are described below: Money Laundering: This process refers to concealment of transformation of money that
is illegally acquired into lawful assets. In case Barclays Plc indulge in money laundering,
the firm would be subjected to gaining a criminal status. Moreover, with corruption and
illegitimate handling of finance, the firm would lose its status, integrity and customers
(Shahriari and Baloochestani, 2014).

 Terrorist Financing: This activity means providing financial support for terrorist
activities. Barclays Plc, if indulged in terrorist financing would be exposing itself, as well
as the people of the UK to various risks like safety of their health and infrastructure. It
would endanger the employees, their peer groups and the whole nation which would
result in the firm getting a terrorist status itself as well as disbarring and loss of license.
 Due Diligence: In accounting and financial activities, vigilance is necessary as it keeps a
track on the activities of this department in the firm. Due diligence is an activity that
could help Barclays Plc keep a track of their investigation and could manage their
financial resources in ethical and appropriate manner (Han, Park and Jeong, 2013).
1.6. Opportunities for maintaining an up-to-date knowledge of changes to codes of practice,
regulation and legislation affecting the accounting and finance sector
It is essential for managers of accounting as well as financial sector to have up-to-date
knowledge as it would help them in giving a better service to their customers as well as
employer. Accountants and financial managers must have up-to-date knowledge about the
changed ethical codes, auditing and reporting standards, legislations, etc. managers of these
departments could enhance their knowledge through professional journals, enrolling themselves
in updated courses, ensuring compliance with Continuous Professional Development (CPD) and
so forth.. These sources could be opportunities for these managers to enhance their knowledge.
TASK 2
2.1. Ethical working with clients, colleagues, suppliers and others
Ethical working refers to working in ways that are appropriate for organisations. Ethical
behaviour is necessary to be adopted by professionals to sustain long-term relationships with
other stakeholders of the firm (Prakasha and Jayamma, 2012). While working with clients,
colleagues and suppliers, it is imperative that ethical principles such as honesty, integrity, loyalty
and professionalism are well practices by the employees. For instance, it is ethical for
professionals of Barclays Plc to be honest with their clients regarding the investment decisions
the firm is taking with their money. There are certain threats to these principles like self-interest,
self-review, advocacy, etc. that influence decision-making of individuals. Professionals must
safeguard these principles and ethically operate in order to promote these high standards while
working with others.

2.2. Importance of objectivity and professional distance between professional duties and personal
life
Professionals working in organisations must be free from any kind of favouritism. The
principle of objectivity states that the information of financial and accounting of an organisation
must be independent as well as non-bias (Hinshelwood, 2018). Concrete evidences must be
present while producing these information. In case the employees and managers of these
departments lack in maintaining the professional distance, then senior managers must take
charge to ensure the authenticity of the information. In any circumstance, the professional duties
of the managers must be rightfully achieved. Conflicts of interest in these departments must be
dealt effectively by organisations by imposing policies and regulations regarding these threats to
ethical principles and ensure a significant distance between their personal and professional lives
of employees.
2.3. Importance of adhering to organisational and professional values, codes of practice and
regulations
Barclays Plc is a world renowned banking and financial sector company which has
certain professional values, codes of practice and regulation that defend its purpose and working.
Ethical codes are required to be set in an organisation in order to ensure protection of interest of
customers, reputation of the organisation as well as enhancement in the professional behaviour of
employees.
The values of the firm are Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship. It is
imperative for its employees to adhere to these values while providing their services to
customers. They must be transparent, regularly report their financial and accounting information
while ensuring authenticity and also paying fair and appropriate price to suppliers. In case
employees fail to comply with these codes and values, they would be subjected to penalties and
fines which would affect their career negatively (Parker, 2013).
2.4. Importance of adhering to organisational policies for handling clients’ monies
There are certain policies in Barclays Plc that safeguard the financial resources of their
clients in the UK and beyond. These policies are described below: Anti-money Laundering and Counter-terrorist Financing: The firm is strictly against
laundering money and terrorist financing. It is set in order to fulfil the obligations of the
firm towards the legislation of the UK.

 Data Protection: This policy safeguards the financial and personal information of their
clients. They intend to promote accountability and confidentiality towards their clients.
 Bribery and Corruption: The firm has a rigid policy against corruption and bribery
practices that could endanger money of financial resources of clients.
It is required for the employees within to adhere to these policies in utmost faith in order
to grow within the organisation and and fulfil the organisational values perfectly. Strict actions
such as suspensions, demotions, etc. are taken by the firm in case professionals show in-
adherence towards these policies (Robison, Pritchard and Ellin, 2012).
2.5. Circumstances when confidential information should be disclosed and who is entitled to the
information
Confidentiality in organisational context refers to the keeping certain information under
utmost secrecy and its non-disclosure without the consent of the client. However, there are
certain circumstances under which these information will be disclosed, these are as follows:
 In case of any legal intervention, information would be shared with government agencies
 In case of death, This information would be disclosed with the guarantees of the
deceased client.
 In case the court orders disclosure of the private information of clients, these information
are disclosed to the lawyers pertaining the court orders.
2.6. Importance of working within the limits and confines of one’s own professional experience,
knowledge and expertise
It is necessary for professionals to work within limits of their experience, expertise and
knowledge as it ensures clear pathway to success for these professionals. It is imperative to set
the boundaries of one's roles and responsibilities and work according to those boundaries. In
case the professional fails to work within the set limits, for instance, breach of contracts or trust,
or fraud and so forth, the consequences would be grieving for their professional career. It is of
vital importance for them to work in appropriate ways as it promotes client engagement and their
long-term satisfaction with the firm (Nucci, Krettenauer and Narváez, 2014). For instance, if
clients give wrongful information to clients about a third party without prior knowledge, its
consequence would have a very negative impact on their professional integrity and expertise.
Thus, it is required for employees to work in a set frame for achievements of personal and
professional goals.

TASK 3
3.1. Relevant authorities and internal departments to which unethical behaviour, breaches of
confidentiality, suspected illegal acts or other malpractice should be reported
There are various authorities which undertakes actions against unethical behaviour in
organisations. They must be rightfully reported in case there is any witness of wrongful deeds
within the organisation (Baase, 2012). These authorities and departments are mentioned below:
 Regarding any money-laundering activity or terrorist financing, National Crime Agency
(NCA) as well as Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) must be reported.
 These departments along with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) must be
reported during any wrongful tax-related activity or similar errors.
 In case of breach in codes of practice or conduct in a firm like Barclays Plc, Money
laundering officer and fraud officers must be accurately reported of the incident.
3.2. Appropriate action to take in instances when requests for work are beyond the employee’s
competence
There are certain scenarios in professional career of an individual where they are asked to
work beyond their limits as well as competence. It creates a lot of pressure on employees if they
do not possess necessary time, training, support or expertise while performing a task beyond
their limits. In case a professional faces this situation, they must immediately inform their
superiors regarding the shortcomings they would face while accomplishing the task (Januszewski
and Molenda, 2013). They must ask for support, training as well as adequate time to successfully
complete the activity they are required to perform. In case organisation fail to provide support,
external professionals must be approached by the firm to help the employee to successfully
complete the activity assigned.
3.3. Identification of inappropriate client behaviour and how to report it
There are time when professional faces certain clients who are inappropriate and might
have a negative impact on the operations of the companies. These clients might be frauds,
criminals or even terrorists. To adequately identify their inappropriate behaviour, professionals
must focus on few aspects: Client's body language: Nervous mechanisms usually denote an intention of unethical
activity.

 Illegitimate Demands: These refer to the illegal demands the clients have for their
clients.
 Resistance: Professionals must denote the resistance of clients while denial of approval
to conduct a wrongful activity. The clients might force or use coercion to make the
professionals agree with their demands (MacKinnon, 2017).
In case the professionals of Barclays Plc encounter such inappropriate clients, they must
immediately report their superiors and external authorities like the police and government
agencies who could closely examine the situation and take appropriate actions. These actions
must be taken without any delay in order to ensure rightful actions within due time.
3.4. Internal and external reporting procedures to be followed if employer, colleague or client has
committed, or may commit, an unethical act
During their whole career, it is one of the prime responsibilities of the professionals to
report unethical activities taking place within the organisation. This concept is formerly known
as whistle-blowing. Professionals must concern reporting these act at the first opportunity they
get.
 In case employees suspect any unlawful activity by the clients, they must report the same
to the managers as well as the employer of the organisation.
 When professional suspects occurrence of any unlawful activity of the employer, they
must internally inform it through a detailed report and evidence to the Board of Directors.
 Lastly, the professional must approach government agencies and police in case they
suspect unethical acts within the operations of the company approved by the board of
directors.
3.5. Strategies that could be used to prevent ethical conflict
Ethical conflicts could be constructively resolved by professionals in their workplace by
applying various strategies. These are as follows: Knowledge: Professionals must gain effective knowledge about the code of conducts and
practices of the firm and must encourage fellow colleagues to gain the same. This would
require them to widen their scope towards the ethical practices that are required to be
followed within the organisation (Dent and Whitehead, 2013). Training: In an organisation like Barclays Plc, focus of management must be on
providing effective training and development programmes to train their employees

regarding the ethical banking and financial procedures and must effectively monitor their
performances to ensure the rightful following of these methods (Banks, 2012).
 Foundation: The firm must create a strong foundation and must develop concrete
policies regarding ethical manner and process within the company. They must also ensure
that employees breaching the policy must be rightfully punished and fined which could
set an example for other employees.
TASK 4
4.1. Explain the importance of an ethical approach to sustainability
Barclays Plc is highly respected and valued in the UK market and along with this, many
additional financial institutions follow the framework while working in the accounting and
finance sector. Ethical approach in operations would ensure long-term sustainability of the firm
as its operations would be approved by the government, auditors as well as it would ensure
attraction of more clients from the country as well as all over the world. Ethical approach would
help the firm in managing resources of countless employees appropriately and thus, would
sustain in the market with such high competition.
4.2. Responsibilities of finance professionals in upholding the principles of sustainability
In Barclays Plc, it is the responsibility of finance professionals to uphold the principles
which ensure long-term sustainability of the firm. They must promote a culture based on ethics
and must focus on eradicating the unethical processes like money laundering. They also must
ensure the rightful following of principle of objectivity and integrity while performing their
duties for the firm (Knapp and VandeCreek, 2012). The emphasis of these professionals in
Barclays Plc must be on evaluation of their practices and assurance of accomplishment of
rightful and ethical practices within the firm. They must also take environmental, social and
financial factors into consideration to fulfil their responsibilities as a finance professionals of
Barclays Plc.
CONCLUSION
Thus, it is concluded that it is imperative that professional ethics be followed by the
company's employees and professionals which is important for its existing and sustainability.
One must understand the fundamental principles of ethical behaviours and relevant requirements
that affect financial and accounting sector. It is also necessary to ethically work with clients,