Professional services firms are facing heightened scrutiny on ethics and integrity. In the audit sector, high-profile failures have prompted calls for urgent reform to safeguard market integrity. In consulting, ethical lapses and complicity in widespread harms are drawing attention to the ethics of the industry. And law firms are feeling growing pressure to pay attention to ethical expectations from clients and the public.

At a systemic level, declining trust presents a significant challenge. A robust audit sector, backed by an efficient market for trusted legal advice and consulting expertise, is essential to the functioning of capital markets and the broader corporate sector. At a time when trust is at a premium, faith in the ethics and integrity of the sector has never been under greater threat.

The Ethics Study 2024: Ethics & Culture in Professional Services

For this year’s special edition of The Ethics Study, we have drawn on a decade’s experience supporting clients across the professional services sector, from Big Four audit firms to global law firms.

During this time, we have worked with firms recovering from crisis to remediate the root causes of ethical failure, rebuilding stronger and more resilient organizations. We have also been fortunate to work with leaders investing proactively to build new approaches to ethical leadership, ethical decision-making, and ethical culture.

This year’s study is our attempt to capture the challenges that leaders face, and to showcase the most effective strategies we’ve seen in response.

About the Research

The Ethics Study is our flagship programme of research on organizational ethics.

First published in 2021, The Ethics Study represents the most extensive global research programme on ethics in business. Informed by conversations with leaders across the world, our research provides unparalleled insight on why and how leaders are seeking to embed ethics and integrity at the heart of their organizations.

For this special edition of The Ethics Study, we have drawn on a decade’s experience supporting clients across the professional services sector. During this time, we have worked with firms recovering from crisis. In many cases, this has involved identifying and remediating the root causes of ethical failure. As a result, these organizations have been able to rebuild themselves as stronger, more resilient institutions.

At the same time, we have also had the privilege of working with leaders who are not responding to crisis, but rather acting with foresight. Through intentional reflection and inquiry, they are seeking to build new approaches to ethical leadership and ethical decision-making. In particular, they aim to strengthen ethical culture, while also translating purpose and values into innovation, and into the development and deployment of AI and other emerging technologies.

We are indebted to our many clients across the sector who have shared their challenges, aspirations, and strategies for the future.