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A Review of Ethics Education in Financial Planning Courses in Australia

Michelle Cull

Michelle Cull

Western Sydney UniversitySydney, Australia
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Cull, Michelle
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Briana Melville

Briana Melville

Western Sydney UniversitySydney, Australia
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Melville, Briana
  
Mar 19, 2024
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Published Online: Mar 19, 2024
Page range: 11 - 32
Received: Aug 02, 2017
Accepted: Oct 31, 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fprj-2018-0001
Keywords
© 2018 Michelle Cull et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Figure 1:

Factors that contribute to producing an ethical financial planner.
Factors that contribute to producing an ethical financial planner.

Figure 2:

Bloom’s Taxonomy
Bloom’s Taxonomy

Figure 3:

Comparison of the presence of ethics in FPA accredited bachelor degrees (2016/17) Note: based on publicly available information
Comparison of the presence of ethics in FPA accredited bachelor degrees (2016/17) Note: based on publicly available information

Figure 4:

Comparison of the presence of ethics in FPA accredited postgraduate degrees (2016/17) Note: based on publicly available information
Comparison of the presence of ethics in FPA accredited postgraduate degrees (2016/17) Note: based on publicly available information

Figure 5:

Number of units within FPA approved bachelor degrees with ethics by stage. Note: Four units that were undefined were omitted from this graph. Postgraduate data excluded as data was unavailable.
Number of units within FPA approved bachelor degrees with ethics by stage. Note: Four units that were undefined were omitted from this graph. Postgraduate data excluded as data was unavailable.

Figure 6:

Bloom’s Taxonomy analysis for FPA approved degrees
Bloom’s Taxonomy analysis for FPA approved degrees

Approaches for implementation, challenges and opportunities in ethics education

Approach of implementation Examples Challenges or opportunities
Piggy backing

Inclusion of visiting lectures by leading business people about CSR

Curriculum content on Business Ethics devised by ethics specialists

Add subject-specific financial planning knowledge to an existing module

May be viewed as supplementary

Relatively seamless integration

Focus on teaching students ‘soft-skills’ (Truscheit and Otte, 2007)
Digging Deep

No change in the existing structure required

Use optional modules with a focus on financial planning

Unlikely to be selected (Baden, 2013)

May be perceived as an add-on (Holt, 2003)
Mainstreaming

Integrate financial planning into common core requirements

Offering students placements within social enterprises or charities

Approach should go along with emphasis on a broader cross-curricular perspective (‘soft skills’) (Godemann, Herzig and Moon, 2011, Stibbe, 2009)

Provides a capacity to act on this knowledge (Campbell and Zegawaard, 2012)
Focusing

Set up a new programme

New transdisciplinary module in all programmes

Can be included across the whole curriculum, adding interdisciplinary perspectives (Roome, 2005)

Business schools are too much focused on well-designed problems rather than ‘messy’ real-world problems (Schoemaker, 2008).

Internships would be beneficial to counter this
Stand alone

Unit solely focused on ethics education

Lack of time (Maxwell et al. 2016;)

Educators unsure of their own morals

Perceived completion of ethics education (McCarthy, 1997), cited in Slocum, Rohlfer and Gonzalez-Canton, (2014); Mcdonald and Donleavy, (1995), cited in Jonson, McGuire and O’Neill, (2015)

Jonson, McGuire and O’Neill (2014) showed that those completing a stand-alone course were more pragmatic and realistic than those undertaking integrated learning – attributed to its condensed nature

Results of perceived ‘institutional obstacles to implementation’ of ethics education

Obstacles Supporting scholars
Lack of time in program schedules Maxwell et al. (2016); Gandz and Hayes (1998); Golub (1993), cited in Moeller, (2005); Ketz (2006); Strong, Connelly and Forrow (1992); Diekema and Shugerman (1997)
Faculty members unavailable Maxwell et al. (2016)
Financial resources unavailable to hire qualified instructors Maxwell et al. (2016)
No established curriculum to follow Maxwell et al. (2016); Mintz (1990), cited in Baetz and Sharp, (2004)
No financial resources available to develop new courses or curriculum Maxwell et al. (2016)
Resistance from faculty Maxwell et al. (2016); Strong, Connelly and Forrow (1992); Diekema and Shugerman (1997)
Resistance from administration Maxwell et al. (2016)
Resistance from third-party trustee institutions (e.g. professional association) Maxwell et al. (2016)
Resistance from students Maxwell et al. (2016); Baden (2013), cited in Painter-Morland, (2016); Sims and Felton (2006)
Faculty members not qualified or confident in teaching ethics Baetz and Sharp (2004); Gandz and Hayes (1998); Langenderfer and Rockness (1989); Park (1998); Ketz (2006); Strong, Connelly and Forrow (1992); Diekema and Shugerman (1997)
Lack of educational material available to educators Baetz and Sharp (2004); Ketz (2006)

Learning outcomes from FPEC requirements of an accredited financial planning degree that involve ethics_

Learning outcomes
1 Describe the Australian legal framework within which financial planners operate and their legal, social and ethical responsibilities.
2 Undertake research, construct and present a limited scope Statement of Advice (SOA) to meet client requirements in an ethical and professional manner.
3 Identify and understand ethical considerations and professional conduct requirements in the giving of financial planning advice
4 Use sound judgment when engaging in ethical practice and display professional standards reflecting responsible and sustainable practices.
5 Act with integrity and ethical practice in communicating risk management strategies through the provision of comprehensive and appropriate advice to clients.
6 Apply the 6-step financial planning process in accordance with Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB) standards and ethical practices.
7 Develop strategies and provide recommendations to advise clients on investment planning, reflecting socially responsible and ethical practice.
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