The Financial Planning profession was subject to significant criticism during and following the Financial Services Royal Commission, particularly with respect to public trust and confidence. In particular, the Interim Report of the Royal Commission characterised a financial services sector with a range of problems and suggested:
“Why did it happen?
Too often, the answer seems to be greed – the pursuit of short term profit at the expense of basic standards of honesty”
(Financial Services Royal Commission, Interim Report, 2018, p. 1)
TASK:
Critically evaluate FASEA’s code of ethics in relation to the substantive criticisms of the Financial Planning profession. In your answer, reflect on any of the materials, theories, concepts and resources we have studied this semester to develop your response.
Resources for this task are as below and are attached:
1) FASEA Code of ethics
2) Royal Commission Interim report
Theories and concepts used during the course are:
1) Consequentialism (utilitarianism, hedonism, egoism)
2) Non – consequentialism (deontology and agent’s virtue);
3) Social & Environmental Accounting (SEA) – (Corporate Social Responsibility; Sustainable reporting and Triple Bottom Line)
