Corruption: don’t talk, train

Certified Ethics Officers can prevent further increase in unethical conduct

“Talking about fraud and corruption isn’t going to prevent it from happening,” says Professor Deon Rossouw, CEO of the Ethics Institute of South Africa (EthicsSA). “We need to train people in preventing unethical conduct.”

Certified Ethics Officers are qualified to develop codes of ethics and to assist organisations in ensuring that all their stakeholders are familiar with, and adhere to their codes of ethics.

“An ethics officer acts as a signal that an organisation is serious about maintaining a high ethical standard,” says Rossouw. “He or she can help to prevent fraud, corruption and other malpractices from occurring by actively managing corporate ethics and building an ethical culture.”

Ethical conduct revolves around actions that balance self-interests, the interests of others, and the greater good.

“Navigating tricky ethical issues is something that requires professional expertise—common sense on its own is no longer a reliable guide,” warns Rossouw. “Training and certification are absolutely essential to ensure that an ethics officer is empowered and can deliver the maximum business value.”

“Qualified ethics officers will know how to act as helpline for employees on all ethical issues,” says Rossouw. “With appropriate training, they can also analyse an organisation’s whistle-blowing data to look for trends and implement preventative measures against unethical conduct.”

EthicsSA is currently the only organisation that offers certified Ethics Officer training in South Africa and in Africa. A list of Certified Ethics Officers is available from http://bit.ly/ethics-officers

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Juanita Vorster, 079 523 8374, [email protected], www.atthatpoint.co.za 

For more information on EthicsSA please visit:
Website: www.ethicssa.org 
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