Ernst and Young being fined $100M for cheating on the Ethics portion of their CPA exams!

 Hi Team,

I posted this on Linked In as well but thought you might like to know about this latest "Character Skill" story from one of the most powerful Accounting firms in the world:  Ernst and Young.

Here is the article on NPR website:  https://www.npr.org/2022/06/28/1108044858/accounting-giant-ernst-young-admits-its-employees-cheated-on-ethics-exams. (Links to an external site.)

Let's think about the impact of what EY did!

The SEC said, "... that a "significant number" of Ernst & Young audit professionals specifically cheated on the ethics component of the CPA exams that were required for their accounting jobs."

Why do you think they specifically cheated on the ethics component of the CPA exam?  How did they cheat?  What effect may that have communicated to the rest of the EY business culture? What may have been the impact of the cheating?  Certainly, team members knew that cheating was happening, don't you think?

The answers to those questions may just "mirror" what may also have been happening in tandem with our entire culture over the past several decades with our families, schools, politics, and pretty much most business cultures that I have observed over the last 33 years in business.

This did not happen overnight....it may be an example of ETHICAL FADING as Simon Sinek puts it in his book "The Infinite Game."

Here is a YouTube video of Simon explaining ETHICAL FADING:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ztNE1CvnV4 (Links to an external site.)

Again, may I ask you, "Any ideas on why EY employees specifically cheated on the ETHICS portion of the exam?"

More importantly, do you think there was a cybertechnology ethical dilemma associated with this story?  If so, what might that have been?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Let's start the dialogue to get Character Skills back into our everyday lives and put an end to Ethical Fading.

Remember to Lead with Character First...because we CARE.  

Character Skill development in personal and professional growth are not a nicety, they are a necessity!

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Trike On! 

Coach Dane

#thetricycleeffect #leadership #leadership development #character development