​Investment - Trust and Stakeholder Obligations

​Investment - Trust and Stakeholder Obligations
How Professions Establish Trust
For a profession to be credible, a fundamental goal is to develop confidence among clients and society in general. In doing so, professions have to perform some common duties that, when combined, considerably improve confidence and credibility in professionals and their organisations. The next sections go into further specifics concerning those requirements.

Professions Normalise Practitioner Behaviour

Professionalism is grounded by a code of ethics and standards of conduct created by professional bodies. Regulators often promote professional ethics and appreciate the foundation for ethics that professions can give. Many regulators throughout the world have engaged extensively with professional bodies to understand their codes of ethics (codes) and standards of conduct (standards) as well as how they are implemented.

" " Codes and standards produced by practitioners can be complementary to legislation, codifying many more individual practices than the high-level principles set by regulation. 

Many governments have acknowledged that a profession may establish a more sophisticated system of standards than a regulator can, via continual practitioner input and a strong mutual desire within the profession to preserve good standards and embrace best practices. Government backing of professions is related to the role of professions in serving the public and guaranteeing expert and principled performance of complicated services. 

Professions Provide a Service to Society 

" " There is an obligation for professionals to go beyond norms and standards. Professionals should fight for higher educational and ethical standards in their field – individually and through their associations. Professions can broaden access to services and enhance economic activity by increasing trust in the industries they serve. Professions have understood that obtaining community trust not only provides professional pride and acceptability, but also delivers business rewards.



A profession that earns confidence may ultimately have greater freedom and independence from government and regulators to run its own affairs, which permits members of the profession to establish service models that are both valuable to clients and beneficial to members. 

Professions Are Client Focussed

An vital component of a profession’s mission is to design and manage regulations, best practice guidelines, and standards that guide an industry. These norms, standards, and principles assist ensure that all professionals place the integrity of their profession and the interests of clients above their own personal interests.

" " At a minimum, professionals must act in the best interests of the client, exhibiting a reasonable level of care, skill, and effort. The commitment to deliver a high quality of care when acting for the benefit of another party is called fiduciary duty.

Other institutions, including employers, regulators, trade groups, and not-for-profit organisations, may also promote an industry but are not the same as professional bodies. Unlike professions, these other entities generally do not exist to develop and maintain professional standards. Most businesses urge staff to be members of relevant professional associations, and many financially support this membership to hopefully increase the quality of client service and promote ethical consciousness.

Professions Have High Entry Standards 

Membership in a profession is a statement to the market that the professional will produce high-quality service of a guaranteed standard, extending beyond academic and technical credentials. Professions establish courses that prepare prospective professionals to be competent, including in their knowledge, technical skills, and ethics.

Professions Possess a Body of Expert Knowledge

A repository of knowledge, generated by experienced and expert practitioners, is made available to all members of a profession. This knowledge helps members perform successfully and ethically and is based on best practice.

Professions Encourage and Facilitate Professional Development 


Entry into a profession does not, on its own, guarantee that an individual will maintain competency and continue to observe professional norms. After qualification and throughout the working life of a professional, there will be changes in knowledge and technical skills to perform certain jobs, in technology and standards of ethical behaviour, in services that can be offered, and in the legal and business environment in which professional services are delivered.  


These all demand the development of competency and ethical consciousness. Most professional bodies make it a condition of membership that a particular quantity of new learning is completed each year.

Typically, such requirements define a time commitment, which may be split into distinct competences and forms of learning activity. This is generally referred to as ongoing professional development (CPD) and is viewed as a crucial aspect of maintaining professional standards. The training and education that professionals undertake raise the value of human capital, which can contribute to economic growth and social mobility. 

Professions Monitor Professional Conduct

Members of a profession must be held accountable for their conduct to protect the integrity and reputation of an industry. Doing so frequently includes self-regulation by professional bodies through monitoring and application of punishments on members.

" " Professions Are Collegial

" " Professionals should be respectful to one other, even while they are competing. At the very least, they must respect the rights, dignity, and autonomy of others, especially among co-workers.