THE HON. JOHN DALLI, MINISTER OF FINANCE, ADDRESSES THE CONFERENCE ?SHAPING OUR PROFESSION', ORGANISED BY THE MALTA INSTITUTE OF ACCOUNTANTS ON THE ACCOUNTANCY PROFESSION AND ETHICS TRAINING

Ladies and Gentleman, Honoured Guests, Fellow Members of the Institute, the conference that is currently taking place comes at an opportune time where we have to sit down and reflect on the position of the profession in society. Your Government in which I represent the profession as responsible Minister has been striving very hard to obtain maximum recognition internationally to our business laws and regulations. Our position with the OCED and similar organisations is well known.

Members of the Institute are bound to observe high standards of conduct even though these may sometimes be contrary to personal self-interest. An understanding of professional guidelines and requirements is a sine qua non of our professionalism. However we must realise that an understanding of the code of conduct does not necessarily improve ethical understanding or problem-solving abilities. Acting in our professional capacity just to remain within the code of conduct is a minimal approach to ethics.

In the first instance, the codes themselves are written in vague language and often fail to provide either general or specific guidance to the professional facing a difficult situation. The code offers no examples of how the broad principle of public interest is defined. Secondly the code ignores social history and role of professions and of professional codes. Professionals are not usually encouraged to question the function or the scope of professional codes. Emphasis on codes of conduct results in a failure to develop discretion and judgement.

Responses to such difficulties vary but I feel that what is most important is training in professional ethics. Such training should have the goals to:

• Relate accounting education to moral issues

• Recognise issues in accounting that have ethical implications

• Develop "a sense of moral obligation" or responsibility

• Develop the abilities needed to deal with ethical conflicts or dilemmas

• Learn to deal with the uncertainties of the accounting profession

• "Set the stage for" a change in ethical behaviour

• Appreciate and understand the history and composition of all aspects of accounting ethics and their relationship to the general field of ethics.

This ethical education should start with the students. A general effort to develop in students a concern for individual needs and for the advancement of society must be given more emphasis by our educators. It is clear that beyond compliance with basic accounting rules, society needs accounting professionals who accept a positive duty to perform good works i.e. actions having moral significance.

Actions that are neither duties nor obligations. Actions that do not conform to the rules.

This means that educators should stress the role of the profession in society. Students with a well-developed sense of personal responsibility fail to understand the broader societal implications of their profession. This leaves them unable to provide ethical leadership in public life. Our educators therefore have to enable students to make the connection between ethics instruction and their actions as future professionals.

As part of their ethics training students should be involved in some form of public service. This should develop a sense of civic responsibility. Public service provides an immediate, personal lesson in civic responsibility and demonstrates to students that the more everyday side of professional life is replete with significant moral concerns. This can take the form of working in government agencies helping small businesses, the self- employed and people who want to get started in business.

There are several benefits to teaching ethics in an active way. It helps us to develop a sense of civic responsibility. It gives us the ability to continue to learn from and reflect on our actions. We must be prepared to develop constructive solutions to problems rather then select the best of several pre-written options.

I started by stating that we must reflect on the role of the profession in society and I will conclude by stating that to abide by the professional code of conduct and attend only to individual obligations without examining the limits and the role of the profession is to frame the civic responsibility in a very narrow and constricted role. The opportunity to create a better understanding of our profession in society is available and it is up to us to exploit it. 

Thank you