CFA Society Nigeria has held the final of 2021 Industry Practitioners’ Ethics Challenge (IPEC) on 25 September 2021 in Lagos.
It was a successful hybrid program that had some participants attend in person with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols, while other challengers, judges as well as online audiences dialed in via Zoom.
Team Unicorn emerged Champion, followed by Teams Win (1st Runner Up) and Mavericks (2nd Runner Up).
In the words of Ibukun Oyedeji, CFA, the Society President, “the Industry Practitioners Ethics Challenge was launched in the country by CFA Society Nigeria to actualize, in part, her mission of building financial markets integrity and promoting the highest standards of ethical conduct and professional excellence in the Investment Management in Nigeria for the ultimate benefit of the society.”
The Challenge is designed to imbue in the participants knowledge of the CFA Institute’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct which is central to the value system of the Institute as high ethical standards are fundamental to cultivating and maintaining the trust of the public in financial markets and in the investment profession.
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The final of the maiden edition was held in October 2020. Last year, a total of 68 applications were received and 25 participants that passed the prescreening test were shortlisted and randomly selected into 5 teams of 5 members each.
This year’s edition saw a 232 percent increase in the application which was a total of 226. 70 participants qualified to be randomly placed in 14 teams of 5 which competed in two semi-finals from which 6 teams each emerged for the finals.
The Challenge, which is open to all practitioners in Investment Management and other Financial Services industry in Nigeria, confronts participants with real-life ethical dilemmas conveyed through case studies on which each team makes presentations to a panel of judges.
To eliminate bias and ensure the integrity of the Challenge, Challengers participated in their individual capacities as against representing their firms. Additionally, one of the criteria for selecting the judges was that they did not work in any of the organisations that any of the challengers is employed.
The impact and benefits of the Industry Practitioners Ethics Challenge cannot be overemphasized. The participants were exposed to principles of ethical and professional conduct and expanded their network with other participants and team members.
Their firms would benefit from the knowledge acquired by the participants who have learnt to always place the interest of the client ahead of that of the firm which is also ahead of theirs. They would encourage their firms to institute processes and policies that support these ethical principles.
Financial market investors and consumers would also benefit from higher ethical conduct amongst firms and professionals as this would improve the trust quotient for the profession and ultimately benefit the entire society.
