A new approach to ethics education: Giving voice to values.

AuthorNelien, Annette

Ethical conduct is critical to the accounting profession. The commitment to ethics education shows the profession takes the obligation to train its members in this area seriously. Most states require CPAs to complete continuing education related to ethics and professional standards to earn and renew their licenses. A few states (e.g., California, Illinois, Maryland, Texas, and West Virginia) require candidates to complete college coursework in ethics before taking the Uniform CPA Examination. Clearly, accountants invest substantial time and effort to understand ethical behavior and comply with professional standards. This column provides a fresh perspective on an approach to ethics education.

New approach

Mary Gentile details this method of training in her book Giving Voice to Values: How to Speak Your Mind When You Know What's Right (Yale University Press 2010). The Giving Voice to Values (GW) approach differs from traditional ethics training in important ways. First, GW emphasizes action over awareness and analysis. A significant amount of education in ethics presents students with a difficult dilemma and asks them to identify the issues and then use traditional philosophical approaches to analyze those issues. The goal of this exercise is to identify ideal solutions to the dilemmas. As important as identifying or knowing what the ideal solution is, knowing does not necessarily lead to doing or acting on one's values.

In contrast, GW presents students with ethical dilemmas commonly faced in business, but assumes that in many cases they know what is right or ethical. Given this knowledge, students can then practice building the skills and confidence needed to act on their values.

GVV focuses on a learnable skill by helping students answer these questions: "If I were going to act on my values, what would I say? To whom? How would I act? How could I be more effective?" Certainly, this emphasis on action does not diminish the need for professionals who can identify and analyze ethical dilemmas. Instead, it adds a much-needed complement that is essential to promote more ethical work environments.

GVV recognizes that being able to speak up for one's values is the final step that must occur. The curriculum allows students to practice this through written responses as well as role-playing. The practice leads to preparedness that enables them as professionals to remain calm and competent. By normalizing the action of speaking up in difficult...

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