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Integrity - what is it really?

A distinguishing mark of the accountancy profession is its acceptance of the responsibility to act in the public interest. Many people believe that it is professional accountants’ adherence to the principle of integrity that allows the public to derive their trust in the accountancy profession. But what is in the minds of the public when they think of integrity and what does the accountancy profession believe integrity is?

What the public understand
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines integrity in three different but related ways:
1. Firm adherence to a Code of especially moral or artistic values: INCORRUPTIBILITY
2. An unimpaired condition: SOUNDNESS
3. The quality or state of being complete or undivided: COMPLETENESS

So, it is probable that the public think of attributes such as incorruptibility, soundness and completeness of character and skill when thinking of integrity.

What theorists believe
Integrity is a characteristic that belongs to people who are self-actualised i.e. whole, complete, unbroken and undivided. According to Abraham Maslow, integrity is very hard to obtain, and it is at the top of Maslow’s pyramid, i.e. before reaching self-actualisation and having integrity, you first have to have needs like food and water, love and care from friends and family, and especially self-confidence!

Integrity is the basing of one’s actions on an internally consistent framework of principles. In other words, one is said to have integrity to the extent that everything you do and believe is based on the same core set of values. Therefore, persons of integrity could act immorally, though they would usually not know that they are acting immorally!

The accounting profession
A professional accountant should be straightforward and honest in all professional and business relationships. Integrity also implies fair dealing and truthfulness. A professional accountant should not be associated with reports, returns, communications or other information where they believe that the information contains a materially false or misleading statement, contains statements or information furnished recklessly, or obscures information required to be included where such omission or obscurity would be misleading. However, this is not applicable to modified reports.

Professional accountants are expected to identify threats to compliance with the fundamental principle of inter alia integrity, to evaluate their significance and, if such threats are other than clearly insignificant, to apply safeguards to eliminate or reduce them to an acceptable level such that compliance with the fundamental principles is not compromised.

IPFA’s Code of Conduct
IPFA’s Code of Conduct identifies integrity as one of the fundamental principles that need to be observed by its members if the Institute is to achieve its objectives. The Code describes integrity as “essentially an attitude of mind. Adherence to certain standards of conduct and moral behaviour consistently practised will ensure integrity. Members should be straight forward and honest in performing their services”. The Code further places a duty on all members to “maintain the highest standards of technical competence and integrity”.

South African public sector employees
One of the ideals expressed by the Constitution is the rendering of an accountable, transparent and development-oriented public administration. This is further expressed in the Batho Pele principles of providing information as well as openness and transparency. The Public Servants Code provides detailed guidance to public employees about the kind of behaviour expected of them.

Conclusion
There can be no doubt that public finance employees have a duty placed on them by many stakeholders to act with integrity. It is up to each individual to identify the threats to their integrity and to take the necessary steps to eliminate / reduce those threats.

An ethical dilemma

What is the ethical thing to do in the following situation? Email us your well-motivated response of no more than 1 page before 20 November 2007 and stand a chance to win one of 3 IPFA prizes. The best 3 submissions will be published on the IPFA website. Submissions will be evaluated based on the way they are motivated and their references to the ethical frameworks in which public finance officials operate.

"You are driving through a rural area of the country on your way to an important meeting where you have been asked to make a presentation. Since your presentation is important to both your organisation and to your own career, you made sure that you will arrive in time for the meeting at the venue. Everything goes according to plan until you are stopped at a roadblock in the countryside. After inspecting your car the traffic officer tells you that he has reason to suspect that you are driving a stolen vehicle. He indicates that unless you provide him with the original registration papers of the vehicle, the vehicle will have to go to the vehicle test station in the town that you passed through about an hour ago to verify ownership of the vehicle. Unable to produce the registration papers as you keep them locked up in a safe at home, you explain to him that you would be late for an important meeting if you take the car back to the test station. In response he asks "how much is it worth for you to be in time for your meeting?" When you look in despair at your cell phone you notice that there is no cell phone coverage."

What action would you take in this situation, bearing in mind that you are a member of the public finance profession?

Source:
Fasset’s Ethics in Business and the Professions Workbook – September 2007