Released today by the Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by the CFA Institute, A Crisis of Culture: Valuing Ethics and Knowledge in Financial Services found that although financial services executives overwhelmingly recognise the importance of ethical behaviour in the industry, there is still a significant gap between beliefs and industry practices.
While 91 per cent of survey respondents placed equal importance on ethical behaviour and financial success, 53 per cent think career progression at their firm would be difficult without being “flexible” on ethical standards, and just 37 per cent believe that their firm’s financials would improve if the ethical conduct of employees improved, the study found.
“The results show that the industry has further to go on its journey to drive up ethical standards and embrace professional education,” CFA Institute Asia Pacific managing director Paul Smith said.
“It also shows signs of a shift in culture by recognising the benefits of global ethical standards and industry knowledge, and addressing agency issues,” he said.
The study also looked at financial knowledge, finding 62 per cent of financial executives don’t know what is going on outside their department, while just 12 per cent say they are confident in their knowledge of the global regulatory environment.
Sixty-one per cent view this lack of knowledge as a significant risk to their firm and 59 per cent agree improving industry knowledge would bolster the firm’s resilience.
“If we are to move the industry forward it is incumbent upon everyone within the industry to align their personal and organisational values with those that serve client, shareholder and societal needs,” Mr Smith said.
“Aspiring to adopt these values will create more resilient firms and a stronger future for finance,” he said.
The study is based on a September survey of 382 senior managers across Europe (42 per cent), Asia Pacific (34 per cent) and North America (20 per cent).
