CISI Introduces Mandatory Integrity And Ethics Testing For Members

The CISI is introducing new membership requirements for voting members in line with its commitment to champion the highest standards of ethical behaviour within financial services.

Eventually all members at MCSI and FCSI level must obtain a grade A pass in the Institute’s IntegrityMatters online ethics test.  Nearly 5,800 members have already taken the test, which is based around ethical dilemmas in the workplace. It is already a requirement for personal Chartered status.

For existing MCSI and FCSI members who have not already passed IntegrityMatters at A grade the following measures will apply.

As a first stage, as of 1 April 2012, they will be required to undertake and pass the Integrity & Ethics unit of the Institute’s Professional Refresher elearning tool by 31 March 2013. Professional Refresher is provided free of charge to members and studying the module counts as CPD hours.

Subsequently, as of 1 April 2013, existing MCSIs and FCSIs will be required to take and pass with an A grade the IntegrityMatters test by the end of the 2013/14 subscription year.

There is a different requirement for new members entering at MCSI level, including those upgrading from ACSI. They need to pass IntegrityMatters at A grade before 31 March 2013.  This will mean that new members meet the same ethics test entry requirements as entrants from universities accredited as CISI centres of excellence.

Chris Harris-Deans, Chartered FCSI, Chairman of the CISI Membership Committee and Senior Director of Charles Stanley’s Exeter office, said: “The CISI requires all applicants for membership to declare that they will uphold the high standards of the Institute. The requirement that all MCSI and FCSI members must undertake ethics elearning and testing provides tangible support for that declaration.”

Ruth Martin, CISI MD said: “Integrity has been embedded into our mission statement since our foundation in 1992 and for CISI and its membership this is an ever evolving process to ensure integrity and ethics remains at the forefront of our professional identity and profile.”

For further information, see the Integrity and Ethics section at cisi.org