With effect from 1 January 2019, all SAICA trainees with a contract end date after 31 March 2019 will be required to attend a compulsory ethics training course, of between 6 and 8 hours, at least once during their training contract term.

SAICA has prescribed that certain aspects relating to ethics need to be understood and it is important to recognise that these requirements extend far further than simply working through the Code of Professional Conduct with trainees.  This course will run independently of the compulsory induction programme that SAICA already prescribes and will focus on the bigger picture of ethics.

NSOA will be developing a standalone 1 day course to address this requirement which will be available from 1 January 2019 at the latest.  The Ethics course will form part of our public offering of training courses but can also be delivered on an “in-house” basis should training offices prefer this.

The course will cover the following SAICA-prescribed content:

1. What ethics are
2. Why ethics are important
3. How to build reputation and trust through ethics in one’s career and business
4. The consequences of ethical failure
5. What drives ethical choices
6. Different values and how they underpin behaviour in the workplace
7. How to integrate ethical principles and apply them to scenarios that typically arise in the accounting industry
8. Practical tools to help improve ethical behaviour
9. How to make ethical decisions in complex situations
10. The role of the chartered accountant in ensuring ethical and effective governance in organisations and his/her responsibilities in this regard
11. The role of the manager/employee in building an ethical culture in organisations and his/her responsibilities in this regard.

It will feature a full set of notes and will incorporate a number of practical case studies and / or role-plays to make the learning as practical and relevant as possible.