Ethics, Rules of Conduct and Professional Flashcards
What are the 5 Global professional and Ethical standards?
- (S) Always provide a high standard of service- Act within your scope of competence, be transparent about fees, communicate in way that allows your client to make an informed decision.
- (T) Act in a way that promotes trust in the profession- Understanding how your actions affects others and the profession, doing what you say
- (I) Act with integrity- being straightforward/ trustworthy and acting in the public’s interest
- (R) Treat others with respect- Treating people fairly, being considerate and never discriminate
- (R) Always provide a high standard of service- Act within your scope of competence, be transparent about fees, communicate in way that allows your client to make an informed decision.
What are the rules of conduct for members?
There are 9 rules: (ICE CSCS IC)
- Interpretation
- Commutation
- Ethical Behaviour
- Competence
- Service
- CPD
- Solvency
- Information to RICS
- Co-operation
Rules of Conduct for firms
There are 15 rules (ICE CSCS IC AUA CCI)
- Interpretation
- Commutation
- Ethical Behaviour
- Competence
- Service
- CPD
- Solvency
- Information to RICS
- Co-operation
- Advertising
- Use of designations
- Arrangements to cover incapacity or death
- Complaints Handling Procedure
- Client’s Money
- Indemnity
What are the Principles of Better Regulation? (PACTT)
- Proportionality
- Accountability
- Consistency
- Transparency
- Targeting
What is a bribe?
An inducement or reward offered, promised or provided in order to gain any commercial, contractual, regulatory or personal advantage.
What is the Bribery Act and when was it founded?
- The Bribery Act 2010 is an Act of the parliament of the UK that covers the criminal law relating to bribery.
- It is illegal to give or receive bribes and makes it criminal law
Tell me something you’ve learnt about Anti-bribery corruption and anti-money laundering?
- I learnt not to accept bribes
- Aware of my company’s stance on corruption and anti-money laundering.
Can you accept a gift from a Client or contractor?
Gifts can be accepted unless an assessment on the timing and proportionality of the gift.
- Be open and transparent (inform my line manager)
- Keep a record or put it in my company’s gift register (if the value exceeds £50)
- Consideration (Value, timing, proportionate, giver and receiver)
What is GDPR?
GDPR is a regulation that requires businesses to protect the personal data and privacy of EU citizens.
What are the 7 principles of GDPR? (LPD ASIA)
- Lawfulness, fairness and transparency.
- Purpose limitation.
- Data minimisation.
- Accuracy.
- Storage limitations.
- Integrity and confidentiality (Security)
- Accountability.
Can you explain what a conflict of interest is?
A conflict of interest is anything that impedes an individuals or firms judgement or ability to act impartial and in the best interest of a Client.
What is the risk of using only one party wall surveyor compared to using one? (Level 3)
If there is a dispute, you will need to appoint another party wall surveyor to mediate and resolve the dispute.
When was the RICS Founded?
15th of June 1868
Give your opinion on why the RICS have rules and codes of conduct?
o standardisation & consistency of service & approach
o maintaining professional standards
o governance and regulation.
If a client was prepared to pay you in advance for services you or your company was providing, how would you ensure that this was dealt with? (Level 2)
o Setting up a separate client account
o Providing the client with a statement.
o Informing and agreeing with the client on how and when monies will be drawn.
o Once the services are complete providing the client with a complete reconciliation of the account and all drawdowns.
o Ensuring that everything is auditable and completely transparent.
If a client was prepared to pay you in advance for the services you or your company was providing, how would you ensure that this was dealt with? (Level 2)
- Set up a separate client account that is properly named and clearly identifiable.
- Provide the client with a statement of the account once it has been set up.
- Informing and agreeing with the client on how and when monies will be drawn from the account.
- Prior to drawing monies sending the client a statement of how much will be drawn clearly identifying the services undertaken and fees to be drawn.
- Once the draw has been made, send the client a revised statement of account.
- Once the services are complete, provide the client with a complete reconciliation of the account and all drawdowns.
- Ensuring that everything is auditable and completely transparent.
If you were going to set up your own business and operate as a chartered surveyor, what insurances would you need to put in place? (Level 2)
- Professional Indemnity Insurance
- If I have my own office premises than I need building insurance,
- Public liability insurance, employers liability insurance and third party liability insurances
- Run off insurance
Can you advise on what a conflict of interest is and how you would deal with it (APC Trainer – Level 3)?
A conflict of interest is anything that impedes an individual or firm’s ability to act impartially and in the best interest of a Client
I would ask myself the question ‘could I work on the project without bias?’
Notify the client of a potential conflict of interest
Or respectfully decline the commission and offer up somebody else in my business who could work on the commission without bias or conflict of interest
What is a complaint?
Any expression of dissatisfaction.
How quickly should a complaint be answered?
We advise firms to acknowledge a complaint in a timely manner and recommend that a full response, or if this is not possible, an update, is given within 28 days. Not answering correspondence and not keeping the client informed can often exacerbate a complaint.
Can I review a complaint about myself?
Complaints are reviewed by a senior member of a firm or the firm’s designated complaints handler. If you are a sole practitioner, you may have to review the complaint yourself, in the knowledge that, if it cannot be resolved, it must be referred to an independent redress scheme.
What happens if the complainant isn’t happy with the review?
If the complainant isn’t happy with the review, move onto the second stage of the CHP and involve the redress scheme my firm has chosen to use.
What and when should I tell my insurers?
should inform its insurers as soon as possible to ensure compliance with the terms of your PII policy.
Tell me how you have demonstrated two of the 5 Global Professional & ethical standards on your case study project? (Level 2)
- In my project, I aimed to exceed the client’s expectations by ensuring I interrogated the contractor’s EoT claims that this offered a high standard of Service to my Client.
- As the issue of fire safety presented itself, I approached the Client’s Monitoring Architect to see if there were alternate products with limited combustibility - Taking responsibility
I treated the stakeholder with respect and acted with integrity when the issue arose.