Ethics and

Professional
Skills Module
Syllabus
ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS MODULE
SYLLABUS STRUCTURE

Syllabus structure

UNIT 1: ETHICS AND PROFESSIONALISM

This unit of the module introduces the student to broad ethical and professional
values which underpin all the other professional skills and behaviours which are
explored in this module. Ethical and professional values should provide a framework
and a moral compass for the accountant to guide their behaviours in demonstrating
the more specific professional skills as covered in this module.

ETHICS AND PROFESSIONALISM Section 1: Ethics guide Section 4: Fundamental principles

Summative exercise – the learner • What is ethics • About ACCA’s fundamental
is faced with a situation where they • Perspective on ethics principles
are expected to identify ethical • Branches of ethics • ACCA’s five fundamental principles
dilemmas and take ethical decisions. • Ethics and gender test • Fundamental principles test
• Ethics and morality
• Ethics and religion Section 5: The framework
• Ethics and maturity • The framework
• Ethics and professions • The 4-step process
• Summary • An ethical dilemma
• Ethics guide test • Further considerations
• Framework flowchart
Section 2: Thinking about ethical • Code of ethics quiz
decisions
• Thinking about ethical decisions Section 6: Case study
• Accountant’s dilemma test • Introduction
• Moral reasoning theory • Overview of the case
• Academic references • Meet the team
• Iain’s story
Section 3: Rules v principles • Gail’s story
• Rules v principles
• Some differences between rules and Section 7: The personal ethics
principles diagnostic and reflective exercise
• Rules v principles test • Ethical perspective
• The personal ethics diagnostic and
reflective exercise test

Section 8: Applying what you have

learned
• Applying what you have learned

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 ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS MODULE
SYLLABUS STRUCTURE

UNIT 2: PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS

The personal effectiveness unit is about maximising the quantity and
quality of your work output and how you communicate and interact with
others as you do so making the most of the resources that are available to
you. The other key constraint that people face is the time that they have
available to work within. The resources available to you are the mainly your
own individual capacity to deliver your objectives at work and the amount
and type of human and IT resources that you can use. The unit also helps
PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS
you maintain professional competence and pursue life-long learning.
Summative assessment – the

learner is faced with a challenging
Section 1: Personal effectiveness Section 6: Big data analytics task or objective with insufficient
• Introduction • Why is big data important? resources and a tight deadline
• Data security and has to develop tactics and
Section 2: Prioritising, organising and • Physical security strategies to ensure that the
managing time effectively • Computer security task can be completed.
• Introduction • Cyber security
• Managing your time • What’s my role?
• Prioritising your time • Hidden object activity
• The urgent/important principle • Security test
• Ten ways to effectively manage your • Personal effectiveness test
time
Section 7: Maintaining professional
Section 3: Using technology competence and lifelong learning
effectively • Continuing professional
• Using appropriate technology and IT development
• Using email effectively • Personal development plan
• How to manage email • How to craft your CV for the job of
your dreams
Section 4: Organising meetings • Your personal advertising campaign
effectively • Key considerations in creating an
• Organising virtual meetings and effective CV
managing diaries using appropriate • Other top tips
software • Tips to prepare for an interview
• Arranging a meeting • Getting it wrong
• Organising meetings effectively test • Getting it right
• Unit action plan
Section 5: Using spreadsheets
effectively Section 8: April’s story
• Effective use of spreadsheets • April’s story
• Virtual software

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ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS MODULE
SYLLABUS STRUCTURE

UNIT 3: INNOVATION AND SCEPTICISM

This unit of the module is about encouraging open mindedness and innovative
thinking. You will be able to suggest imaginative solutions to problems to create
competitive advantage within the context of suitability, feasibility and acceptability,
recognising the limitations of solutions and any problems with their implementation.
The unit also introduces scepticism which is a personal quality required of
accountants and those who need to think creatively and review the status quo to
INNOVATION AND SCEPTICISM identify how things can be improved.
Summative assessment – where
the learner is presented with a Section 1: Innovation and Section 7: Promoting creativity in the
situation where there are clues or scepticism workplace
evidence of control weakness or • Innovation and scepticism • Introduction
other business risks such as potential • Workplace innovation activity
internet fraud or ‘cyber’ crime Section 2: Innovation • Momentum v inertia
where the learner has to identify • Innovation • Group think
what these are and offer innovative • How prepared are you to think
solutions to rectify the weakness Section 3: Linear v lateral thinking creatively and innovatively
or to help detect and prevent • Introduction • Some contemporary thoughts on
the situation being repeated. • Rules of thumb creativity and proactivity at work
• Systematic thinking
• Lateral thinking Section 8: Professional scepticism
• Summary and how to demonstrate it
• Do you think laterally? • What do we mean by scepticism?
• Numbers exercise • Email exercise

Section 4: The four P’s of Section 9: The importance of
innovation scepticism as an attitude
• The four P’s and the accountancy • Why is scepticism important
profession activity • Scepticism continuum
• Scepticism in practice
Section 5: Great innovators • Investment decision
• Great innovators • Last day of audit
• Skills relevant to scepticism
Section 6: Innovation and • Best practice
competitive advantage
• Competitive advantage Section 10: The innovation and
• Benefits of being a fast second scepticism ‘maze’
• Pre-requisites for being a fast second • The innovation and scepticism ‘maze’

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 ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS MODULE
SYLLABUS STRUCTURE

UNIT 4: COMMERCIAL AWARENESS

This unit of the module introduces the concept of commercial awareness as the
ability to view situations from a commercial or business perspective, considering
factors that influence the success of a business and an understanding the business
processes, relationships, risks and costs. Commercial awareness requires an ability
to analyse the business environment, externally and internally, to evaluate available
data and information from a variety of sources, some of which may not be relevant.
You then will be able to identify opportunities, problems and observe trends and COMMERCIAL AWARENESS,
make suitable recommendations based on these. ANALYSIS, EVALUATION
AND PROBLEM SOLVING
Section 1: Introduction Section 4: Professional self- Summative assessment – where
• Commercial awareness awareness the learner is presented with
• Introduction a large and diverse amount
Section 2: Commercial awareness and • SWOT analysis of data/information and must
business acumen • Deciding when to seek the help of decide which data to use,
• Introduction experts how to analyse and evaluate
• Commercial awareness • Professional self-awareness it to make a recommendation
• How to enhance your commercial • Unit action plan to senior management.
awareness
• PESTEL analysis Section 5: Data analysis and
• Business acumen test manipulation
• Introduction
Section 3: Planning ahead and future • The importance of data analysis
proofing • Your role in data analysis
• Introduction • Ratio analysis – test
• Importance of planning ahead for • Data analysis and manipulation – test
business
• Big business failures
• Future proofing an organisation
• Suitability, acceptability, feasibility
(SAF) model

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ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS MODULE
SYLLABUS STRUCTURE

UNIT 5: LEADERSHIP AND TEAM WORKING

This unit of the module introduces leadership and working in teams. The unit
explores different type of leadership approaches and traits which can be adopted or
adapted at any level of the organisation. This unit also demonstrates how effective
leadership involves inspiring, motivating and supporting teams to work effectively
and efficiently, making the most of the individuals within them.

LEADERSHIP AND Section 1: Introduction Section 7: Motivation
TEAM-WORKING • Leadership and working in teams • Introduction
Summative assessment – where • The nature of motivation
the learner is a leader who is Section 2: Leadership and • Motivation based on needs
trying to manage a diverse group management • Motivational forces
of individuals to achieve a task • Introduction • Motivators and dissatisfiers
within a team and the learner must • The nature of leadership • The expectancy approach to
identify the type of manager they • Situational leadership motivation
are and the style they are adopting • Leadership in action • Summary
and the potential issues with their
approach to achieving the task. Section 3: Leadership styles Section 8: Accountability,
The tasks will involve tracking the • Leadership styles responsibility and authority
progress of the leader in making • Blake and Mouton grid • What can go wrong?
and communicating decisions to the • What type of leader are you • Accountability, responsibility and
team and advising on whether the authority
decisions and behaviour adopted Section 4: Putting effective • What do these concepts mean?
were appropriate at each stage. leadership into practice • Delegation of authority
• Introduction
Section 9: End of unit assessment
Section 5: Examples of outstanding • Introduction
leaders • Question 1
• Outstanding leaders • Three years later
• Question 2
Section 6: Teams • Final accounts preparation
• Introduction • Question 3
• Team roles • Question 4
• Team development

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 ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS MODULE
SYLLABUS STRUCTURE

UNIT 6: COMMUNICATION AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

This unit is specifically about how we communicate effectively with others in a
business environment, including clients, customers, colleagues and external
authorities. This unit covers patterns and channels of communication and how
effective these are in different contexts and the associated methods and skills
involved in advising, supporting, motivating and influencing others.

Section 1: Introduction Section 8: Telephone COMMUNICATION AND

• Introduction • Introduction INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
• Making a call Summative assessment – where
Section 2: The communication • Receiving a call the learner has to coordinate a
process • Best practices in using a phone specific task with several colleagues
• Introduction with different skills, where there
• What can go wrong? Section 9: Presentations are resource and personality
• Observations • The basics of presentations issues and where potential
• Barriers and distortions to the • The presentation process conflicts exist. The team must be
communications process • Planning a presentation persuaded to achieve the objectives
• How good are you at • Presenting for the first time using a suitable approach, or
communicating? • The presentation in such a way as to motivate
• Formal and informal communication • Audio-visual aids the individuals to successfully
• Reviewing the presentation achieve the task collectively.
Section 3: Effective communication
• Introduction Section 10: Interpersonal skills
• Introduction
Section 4: Communicating in the • Interpersonal skills
workplace • Personal qualities
• Introduction • Verbal communication
• Errors • Non-verbal communication
• Solutions • Using interpersonal skills to the full

Section 5: Meetings Section 11: Networking

• The basic rules of meetings • Introduction
• Running a meeting • Networking
• Responsibilities of the chairman • Bonding and bridging
• Communication and interpersonal • Building networks effectively
skills • Tips for networking

Section 6: Emails Section 12: End of unit

• Introduction assessment
• Good practice with email • The story
• Do’s and don’ts of business emails • Part A
• Part B
Section 7: Report Writing • Part C
• Purpose of reports
• Best practices in report writing

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ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS MODULE
SYLLABUS STRUCTURE

Unit 7: End of unit assessment

In this unit, the professional skills developed in the previous six units will be
tested. You will be put in the position of a qualified accountant applying for a
role as the Head of Accounting at another organisation. That organisation faces
a range of new environmental threats, which you as Head of Accounting have
to analyse and evaluate. In the unit you will undertake a series of tasks including
analysing your workload to ensure you can achieve your objectives, you should
prepare calculations and a report to the board of directors outlining the financial
and business implications of the new situation that your business finds itself. You
also have to recommend how to reorganise your department to save costs and to
manage the people retained within the department in the most effective way. You
are also given the responsibility of chairing a strategy development sub-committee,
formed to evaluate possible strategies to take the business forward successfully.

Section 1: Introduction Section 6: Organisational restructure
• Introduction • Re-organisation of accounting
• Jamie Roberts department
• Telford Engineering • Meeting with the CFO to discuss
options
Section 2: Vacancy at Telford • Calculating the accountancy
Engineering department costs per year
• A vacancy arises • Creating the report
• Review LinkedIn advert
• Review your CV Section 7 – Human resource planning
• Assessment on improving CV • Redundancy planning
• Invitation for interview • Deciding on who to retain
• Redundancies within the
Section 3: Breaking news accountancy department
• Announcement of MEXIT
• Emergency board meeting Section 8: Strategic planning
• TV Interview • Formulation of the strategy
development sub-committee
Section 4: Meeting with CFO • Prepare presentation slides
• Impact of MEXIT • Analysing the strategic options
• Organising your tasks • Suitable strategic options

Section 5: Financial forecasting Section 9: How did you do?

• Financial information on Telford • My results
Engineering
• Creating the report

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