Purpose: To gain an understanding of how ethics policies can be adequate substitutes for governmental regulation.
Instructions:
Financial institutions do not like governmental regulation; but, they are often remiss in adopting and enforcing their own ethics policies that might curb some of the fraud discussed in this week's lessons. For this written assignment prepare five substantive provisions for an anti-fraud ethics policy to be used in a commercial bank, investment bank, or S & L. Label your ethics policy appropriately, e.g., "Ethics Policy for (you name the type of financial institution)." Your provisions might be directed at the institution, managers, employees, or others. You decide.
Your provisions should relate to preventing some of the criminal and unethical activities discussed in this week's lessons and the attempt by the Dodd-Frank Act to regulate such activities. A good starting place may be to return to the ACFE website and look for articles pertaining to preventative measures. You might also peruse ACFE's 2014 Global Fraud Study to gain some ideas for your policy. Starting at page 76 is a Fraud Prevention Checklist. There is no required length for your ethics policy; but, these provisions should be substantive and demonstrate your understanding of fiduciary fraud. Your provisions should provide a legitimate substitute for governmental regulation.