This episode of the FM podcast is the continuation of an occasional series on the show called Beyond the Code.
That means taking a detailed look at part of the CIMA Code of Ethics.
Xose Lumor, manager–Advocacy and Professional Ethics, discusses legal challenges finance and accounting professionals can face when using social media with Jenny Higgins, a legal director for London firm Kingsley Napley.
Related resources for this conversation include:
- The CIMA Code of Ethics home page
- Kingsley Napley’s regulatory-focused Linkedin page
What you’ll learn from this episode:
- Why it can be beneficial but not foolproof to keep separate personal and professional social media accounts.
- How supposedly “private” online activity can have an effect on a finance professional’s reputation and the profession.
- What regulators consider when deciding whether online comments bring a profession into disrepute.
- Why social media posts can carry serious consequences — including disciplinary action — for professionals.
- Why Higgins said a discussion about social media and its potential is not all “doom and gloom”.
Play the episode below or read the edited transcript:
— To comment on this episode or to suggest an idea for another episode, contact Neil Amato at Neil.Amato@aicpa-cima.com.
Transcript
Neil Amato: Welcome back to another episode of the FM podcast. This is Neil Amato. Today’s episode is a conversation that continues an occasional series on the show, Beyond the Code. The focus of that series is the CIMA Code of Ethics.
The discussion in this episode is hosted by Xose Lumor, manager–Advocacy and Professional Ethics at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. He’s speaking with Jenny Higgins, a legal director at the London firm Kingsley Napley.
On the FM page for this episode, we will include resources with more information. Thanks again for listening. Here’s Xose Lumor to introduce the topic and the speaker.
Xose Lumor: Hi, there. My name is Xose Lumor, and I’m here with a new episode of Beyond the Code. In this series, we look to explore issues of ethics and professional conduct in relation to the accounting profession.
The goal here is to explore some of the nuances surrounding important discussions such as, what is the impact of trust on the perception of the profession? Or, what is misconduct? We’ll be exploring a range of issues with the aim of helping CIMA members unpack complex ethical issues to better help them navigate the day-to-day challenges of the profession.
In this episode, I’ll be speaking with Jenny Higgins of Kingsley Napley law firm. She’s a legal director in Kingsley’s regulatory team. She specialises in actuarial, accountancy, and financial services regulation and is experienced in advising regulated individuals and firms as well as acting on behalf of professional regulatory bodies.
We’ll be speaking with Jenny about the intersection between ethics, professionalism, and the appropriate or inappropriate use of social media. Without any further delay, let’s have a listen and head Beyond the Code.
Hi there, Jenny. Thank you very much for joining me. First things first, please tell our audience a bit about yourself and what you do.
Jenny Higgins: Thank you, Xose, and thank you for inviting me to join this episode. I’m Jenny Higgins. I’m a lawyer specialising in professional regulation. I have experience across a broad range of sectors, including accountancy, actuarial science, law, and healthcare.
As you’ve mentioned, I’ve acted on behalf of regulators, I’ve developed regulatory frameworks and guidance, and I’ve advised them on disciplinary investigations. I’ve also advised professionals and regulated firms in relation to the regulatory responsibility as well as in relation to disciplinary complaints.
Lumor: I don’t think it will be controversial to say it would seem that social media has become a very normal part of our day-to-day lives, both personally and professionally to varying degrees. But has the use of social media become a complex ethical challenge for professionals today, and if so, why?
Higgins: I think, of the many challenges that professionals face, social media is probably one of the more tricky areas to navigate. It’s impossible to escape social media, it’s all around us, and many professionals are actively encouraged to use it to grow their network.
Others use it to gather or share knowledge and connect with like-minded individuals, and while others use it to keep up to date with friends and colleagues, it’s this wide-ranging use of social media that causes the blurring between boundaries. It’s a really valuable resource, especially when we’re spread around the globe or working from home more, it lets us connect with a wide range of people, and it can often feel like you’re chatting to friends or colleagues, and it’s easy to forget that what you’re posting can be read by millions.
Even on LinkedIn, the platform that’s traditionally used for professional connections, people are creating posts which are more personal in nature in order to connect with their audience. It’s that blurring of boundaries plus the ubiquitous nature of social media that can create ethical challenges for professionals.
Lumor: You’ve spoken there about the blurring of boundaries, and there are a lot of people that might view their varying social media accounts and online presence as somewhat private in nature. Do you think it’s ever really possible for professionals to ever truly separate their personal and professional online identity?
Higgins: The short answer is probably not. It is really difficult. As a professional, you have responsibilities outside of the workplace to act ethically and responsibly. Given that social media is such a public platform, it’s possible for your actions online to reflect upon you, your employer, and your profession.
Many professionals include a disclaimer in their biography, which states that their views are their own personal views. And while there’s no harm in doing so, unfortunately, it doesn’t give you free reign as a professional to post whatever you want.
There are, however, some practical steps you can take to help distinguish between your personal and professional online identities. Firstly, you should consider whether you are easily identifiable as a member of a profession on your social media account. For example, if you have referred to yourself as an accountant, a CIMA member, or if you include your employment details in your biography or in your posts, it’s more likely that your actions could be considered to reflect upon the profession.
However, even if you haven’t mentioned your profession, your name could still be identified on the CIMA membership database, and your followers could still be aware that you are an accountant, so your personal comments can still be linked to your professional reputation. You may wish to think carefully about the name you use or the handle on your account and whether you can be easily identified from that.
Some professionals find it helpful to have separate professional and personal social media accounts, and this can help to create a clear distinction between work and personal life and can help you to control who can see your posts in different contexts.
If, for example, you have a private personal account which can only be accessed by a limited number of individuals, then it’s less likely that your posts on that account could be considered to reflect upon the profession. However, as I always say, it will depend entirely on the circumstances of the posts as to whether they will be considered to bring the profession into disrepute.
Lumor: That’s brilliant, particularly because you’ve just touched on something there about bringing the profession into disrepute. Now, we often hear discussions about freedom of expression being a human right, and there are some who feel as though there’s a possibility that the responsibility of professional life can inhibit that freedom.
Can you talk to us a bit about the balancing act professionals have to navigate between expressing personal views and maintaining their professional responsibilities?
Higgins: That’s a really good question. We all have the right to freedom of expression, and that includes the right to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference from a public authority. But it is a qualified right and that means that the freedom of expression right can be restricted where certain conditions are met.
For example, courts will sometimes ban reporting on certain matters to ensure a fair trial, and there are also criminal laws in place that prevent things like hate speech.
Looking at this from a professional regulation point of view, professionals hold a privileged role in society. They are trusted to act in the best interests of their clients, and they’re trusted with sensitive and confidential information.
Professionals are therefore held to a higher standard than other members of the public, and it’s this need to maintain public trust and confidence in the profession which brings actions in a professional’s private life within the regulatory remit.
Regulatory bodies generally don’t want to impinge upon their members’ rights to hold opinions or to discuss those online or in-person, and they will therefore only intervene when the expression of those opinions is so offensive or inappropriate such as to affect the reputation of the profession.
Professionals are free to hold whatever views they want. However, they do need to take care on how they express those views and the language that they use. For example, professionals can enter into a respectful debate on sensitive or contentious issues without crossing the line into regulatory action. However, if that language or the imagery used is insulting, derogatory, discriminatory, or seriously offensive, then it is likely to bring the profession into disrepute. So it’s not about trying to control professionals views. However, professionals are asked to think carefully about how they are expressing those views.
Lumor: That’s fantastic. Now, here at CIMA, the CIMA Code of Ethics sets out a range of fundamental principles by which our members are expected to abide. One of those fundamental principles is the fundamental principle of professional behaviour.
I’m paraphrasing, but the principle, in part, requires that CIMA members and students must avoid any conduct that they know or should know might discredit the profession. They must not knowingly engage in any activity that impairs or might impair the good reputation of the profession, and you’ve just spoken a bit about that.
Can you tell us a little bit, from your perspective, how these principles apply in the context of social media use?
Higgins: When you think about impairing the good reputation of the profession or discrediting the profession in a social media context, this can often involve posting comments or images online which are offensive, discriminatory, degrading, or racist.
If a member posts comments online which are racist or offensive, then members of the public may feel that they would not be treated fairly and with respect by that individual. The reputation of that individual and the wider profession is therefore affected.
The good reputation of the profession can also be affected if a member is deliberately spreading misinformation online. Such behaviour has the potential to damage the trust the public places in professionals and thereby impacts upon the reputation of the profession.
CIMA provides some helpful guidance to its members on what is expected from them in relation to social media usage. It’s important that members read this and understand the guidance as, if your social media usage is ever complained about or called into question, a committee will consider your conduct in light of this guidance.
Some of the conduct highlighted in that guidance includes things like posting offensive comments, sharing confidential information, and that includes employment-related information, but also examination information, harassing or victimising someone, but also posting content which is intentionally meant to harm someone’s reputation.
Lumor: Thank you very much. We touched on this a little bit, but it might be useful to delve into it precisely. Inevitably, there are those who would argue that, an individual, what they post online in their personal time outside of work is none of their employer or the profession’s business. How would you respond to that argument from an ethical and/or regulatory standpoint?
Higgins: As I’ve mentioned, professionals hold a trusted role in society. Trust and public confidence in the profession is fundamental, and without it, there simply wouldn’t be a profession. The reputation of the profession is considered to be more important than the fortunes of any individual member.
With that privileged position comes a responsibility to act in a way that upholds public confidence in the profession. While professionals are not expected to be paragons of virtue, they are expected to act in a way which does not discredit the profession. When a professional’s behaviour crosses that line and has a reputational impact, their conduct does become relevant to their employer and their regulator.
Lumor: Building on that, can you, I suppose, summarise for us just why do regulators and professional bodies care so much about what members do online, even outside of work hours, if they do at all?
Higgins: I think a lot of it comes down to the fact that online content has such a wide reach. It can be viewed globally. Once posted, it has the potential to last forever, and it can be really difficult to maintain control of it once it’s out there.
Comments can be reposted and shared across various platforms, and posts can go viral very quickly and be picked up by mass media across the world. Online posts can, therefore, have a huge reputational impact on the individual who created the post.
If that individual is a professional, that reputational impact could extend to their employer and to their profession, and therefore, whether the comment is posted during working hours or outside work is largely irrelevant. The reputational impact is the same.
Lumor: Could you possibly share an example where a professional’s activity might be seen or has been seen as compromising their professional obligations?
Higgins: It will be no surprise that there have been a lot of disciplinary cases relating to social media usage, and many of the high-profile cases are more in relation to the legal and healthcare sectors.
One case in particular related to a barrister who was sanctioned for posting a racially and sexually offensive tweet on Twitter. In that case, the court noted that the Twitter platform was notorious for people using rude and offensive language.
However, the court said that that did not give the barrister a right to post rude or offensive messages themselves. So while the type of platform you are posting on can be relevant, it doesn’t absolve you of responsibility.
Another notable case involves a doctor who was found to undermine public health and public confidence in the medical profession by posting videos online which promoted theories relating to COVID.
In this case, the court had regarded the fact that the individual had used his professional status as a doctor to lend credibility to his views. In addition, the court noted that the doctor had failed to remove the videos after he had agreed to do so.
It’s also helpful to mention the case of a solicitor who was sanctioned for posting false and misleading information on social media about their court attendances and the outcomes. The solicitor had admitted that they had not attended court on the relevant dates and accepted that the posts were pure marketing and were showing off.
That’s an example which is slightly different to using the offensive language, but one that reminds us that professionals must take care when promoting themselves online and ensure that they are being open and transparent in doing so.
More recently, the courts have been considering the test for whether a comment is considered to be racist. They have found that the intention of the person making the comment is irrelevant.
Additionally, it’s not necessary for the person that the comment was aimed at to actually be offended. The appropriate test is whether the post could objectively be considered racist, ie, would a reasonable person consider that post to be racist?
Lumor: I suppose, given that you’ve spoken about a range of professionals there, do you think there’s still a misunderstanding amongst professionals about how reputational damage can arise from online behaviour?
Higgins: I do think it’s a really difficult area. Professionals understand how to act appropriately and professionally in the office, at a conference, even at a work social event, and being in that work environment can really help to moderate behaviour and give a clear signal for what’s appropriate. Whereas posting online is so instant, it’s accessible, it’s informal, it can be really easy to comment quickly without thinking through the consequences.
However, social media is now so embedded in our culture. There have been many cases of professionals and celebrities getting into trouble because of inappropriate posts as well. I think there is now a better understanding of how online behaviour can impact upon a professional’s reputation.
Lumor: Generally speaking, in disciplinary terms, how serious can the consequences be if a professional social media activity is found to have breached their ethical or professional standards?
Higgins: Unfortunately, the consequences can be very serious indeed. In the most serious of cases, members have been suspended or expelled from membership of their professional body, but the outcome will depend entirely on the facts and circumstances of the case.
The factors that are often relevant include things like the nature of the post, whether it was a one-off post or a course of conduct, the platform it was posted on, how clearly the member could be linked to their profession, and whether the nature of the post was directly relevant to the professional role.
We saw earlier that the professional using their professional status that lent credibility to their comments can also be a factor here. The courts and tribunal will also look at whether a post was removed quickly and whether an apology was issued.
All these factors can impact upon the consequences, so it’s difficult to determine exactly what the outcome could be, but there are things you can do to mitigate the outcome.
Lumor: Thank you very much for your time. That was an incredibly interesting discussion. Before we go, is there anything you want professionals to know or understand when it comes to their use of social media? Any thoughts you’d like to leave them with?
Higgins: While this does sound a bit like a lot of doom and gloom for professionals, and I apologise, that’s certainly not the case. There are many benefits of social media, and professionals should not be afraid to use it.
However, I suppose the lasting thoughts are, please do take care with it. Remember that once something has been posted, it can last forever. Please do review your posts carefully to ensure they are accurate and not misleading.
Do consider whether there is something in your post which could be considered by a reasonable person to be offensive, and it can ultimately be worth taking a step back and considering what your colleagues or clients would think if they could reach your post, and finally, please don’t post when you’re angry, when you’re in a rush, when you’re under the influence of alcohol.
It can also be really easy to get into a to and fro with others online and for comments to escalate quickly. If in doubt, always takes some time away from your phone, away from your laptop, and come back to it when you’ve had a chance to reflect.
Lumor: Fantastic. Lastly, please tell us more about where our audience can find you and find out more about what you’re working on, and generally about what you’re doing.
Higgins: Thank you very much, Xose. It’s been a real pleasure discussing these issues with you. My firm, Kingsley Napley, specialises in helping professionals and their firms. We have a dedicated section on our website for accountants where you can find lots of helpful information on regulatory issues and requirements.
On the theme of social media, we also have a Kingsley Napley Regulatory LinkedIn account, where you can find all the latest updates and news. Please do have a look and get in touch with any questions.
Lumor: Thank you very much, Jenny. We’ll make sure the links to those are in the show notes of this episode.
