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2008 was remarkable for the best and worst reasons, but CIMA members are best placed to lead organisations in 2009.

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
PositionIn business - Chartered Institute of Management Accountants

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There is no doubt that 2008 will go down in history as a tumultuous year. Records being broken at the Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing, Barack Obama's US election victory and the recognition of the urgent need to shape a global response to climate change are a few of the top stories of the past 12 months, but all are dwarfed by the scale and impact of the global financial crisis.

Politicians, business leaders and commentators are speculating about the effects of the G20 summit on financial reform that took place in Washington in November. Some saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to remake the global financial architecture and usher in an era of "regulated capitalism". What is certain is that accounting and standard-setting were firmly on the agenda. In particular, some European heads of state and corporate leaders in the US demanded that stability should be written into the remit of the International Accounting Standards Board--a measure that the IASB saw as conflicting with its central role of promoting transparency and comparability.

Whatever the long-term outcome, it appears inevitable that a new paradigm is emerging, based on less risk and more regulation and state control.

The downturn gives organisations an opportunity to embed ethics and a responsible attitude to risk into their strategy. Bolting ethics on to existing behaviour is no more effective than a tick-box compliance culture. Regulation is suddenly fashionable again, so organisations that cut back on their ethical performance will be out of step and, potentially, exposed to hefty fines.

Corporate ethics should never be a casualty of a financial downturn if you care about professionalism, your workforce, or the future of the planet. And there are pragmatic, self-interested reasons for good ethical behaviour as well: research by the Institute of Business Ethics shows that firms which take ethics seriously prosper. That was also the message to the...

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