A distinguishing mark of the insolvency profession is its acceptance of the responsibility to act in the public interest. This module serves as an introduction to Ethics and Professional Practice in Singapore and will cover, in an introductory fashion, the nature of fiduciary appointments, the beneficiaries of the fiduciary duties, standards of conduct expected in Singapore as well as INSOL’s ethical principles and other sources of guidance on ethical behaviour. The module will also include codes of conduct and ethical principles which includes a discussion on integrity, objectivity, independence and impartiality, professional/ technical competence, professional behaviour and remuneration and disbursements. Finally, the module will cover practice management which includes a discussion on record keeping, quality control, risk management, compliance management, complaints management and professional indemnity/fidelity insurance.
This module is part of the Advanced Certificate in Insolvency and Restructuring.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This is an asynchronous e-learning module. Participants will be given a duration of 10 weeks to complete the module at their own time, own pace. At the end of the module, participants will be able to:
- Explain the duties owed by IPs and the nature of such duties
- Understand the nexus between the ethical norms expected from IPs and their fiduciary duties
- Identify threats to ethical conduct by IPs
- Recommend safeguards for ethical conduct
- Understand the policies and procedures in relation to practice management as well as to formulate and utilise them
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
- Newly qualified accountants and lawyers pursuing R&I practice or mid-career accountants/ lawyers from other specialisations
- Restructuring/ Financial Advisers
- Bank/ Lender work-out groups
PREREQUISITE
Participants should preferably be a degree holder, in any discipline, and have at least one year of working experience.
ASSESSMENT
As part of the requirement for SkillsFuture Singapore, there will be an assessment conducted at the end of the course. The mode of assessment, which is up to the trainer’s discretion, may be an online quiz, a presentation or based on classroom exercises.
Participants are required to attain a minimum of 75% attendance and pass the associated assessment in order to receive a digital Certificate of Completion issued by Singapore Management University.
SPEAKER
Dr. Lézelle Jacobs is an Associate Professor at the University of Technology (UTS) Sydney, Australia. She is also the current Legal Director of the Australian Restructuring and Turnaround Association (ARITA). She has taught Insolvency and Company Law at undergraduate as well as postgraduate level and is the Course Convenor for the ARITA Advanced Certification Programme at UTS Law. She obtained an LLD from the University of the Free State in 2015, the focus of which was Fiduciary Duties of Business Rescue Practitioners in South Africa. The study resulted in a proposed Code of Conduct for Business Rescue Practitioners in South Africa that has been utilised in the drafting of ethical codes for the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) of South Africa. She consulted on the drafting of the Ethical Principles for Insolvency Professionals as part of INSOL International WG10. Dr. Jacobs has been involved in various funded research projects and is widely published on the area of Insolvency Practitioners’ Ethics. She is a contributor to Sweet and Maxwell’s European Cross-border Insolvency and Practical British Company Law.
Dr. Jacobs is an Attorney of the High Court of South Africa (non-practising).
FEES AND FUNDING
