Ethics in Finance

15 Pages Posted: 21 Oct 2008 Last revised: 10 Nov 2021

See all articles by Robert F. Bruner

Robert F. Bruner

University of Virginia - Darden School of Business

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Abstract

This paper reflects on the role of ethics in field of finance.

Excerpt

UVA-F-1503

Version 4.0

ETHICS IN FINANCE

The first thing is character, before money or anything else.

—J. P. Morgan (in testimony before the U.S. Congress)

The professional concerns himself with doing the right thing rather than making money, knowing that the profit takes care of itself if the other things are attended to.

—Edwin LeFevre, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator

Integrity is paramount for a successful career in finance and business, as practitioners remind us. One learns, rather than inherits, integrity. And the lessons are everywhere, even in case studies about finance. To some people, the world of finance is purely mechanical, devoid of ethical considerations. The reality is that ethical issues are pervasive in finance. Exhibit 1 gives a list of prominent business scandals around the turn of the twenty-first century. One is struck by the wide variety of industrial settings and especially by the recurrent issues rooted in finance and accounting. Still, the disbelief that ethics matter in finance can take many forms.

. . .

Keywords: finance, ethics introduction ethical issues

Suggested Citation

Bruner, Robert F., Ethics in Finance. Darden Case No. UVA-F-1503, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=909925 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.909925

Robert F. Bruner (Contact Author)

University of Virginia - Darden School of Business ( email )

P.O. Box 6550
Charlottesville, VA 22906-6550
United States

HOME PAGE: http://faculty.darden.edu/brunerb/

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