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Professional Ethics: An FTX Story

Navigating Unethical Leadership, Governance Pitfalls, and Building a Culture of Trust in the Cryptocurrency Realm.

Created byGarth Sheriff
BeginnerUpdated Dec 7, 2023

What You'll Learn

  • check_circleDefine IESBA’s five fundamental principles of ethics.
  • check_circleSummarize the key events and dates of the FTX fraud.
  • check_circleIdentify the key stakeholders of FTX.
  • check_circleIllustrate what went wrong with FTX .
  • check_circleIdentify the factors as to why the fraud at FTX happened.
  • check_circleExplain how low psychological safety and a toxic organizational culture contributed to the fraud and poor ethical decision-making.
  • check_circleDefine Blockchain and cryptocurrency.
  • check_circleList one reason why blockchain technology was created.

About This Course

The fraud, drama, and massive failure of FTX is a story of unethical leadership, inadequate governance, and organizational culture with low psychological safety. As with many frauds, the primary media focus is on the sensational details. In this case, the spectacular rise and downfall of the wunderkind entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried combined with the industry in which the fraud occurred: Blockchain and cryptocurrency.

But hidden beneath the surface of the enigmatic leader and the FOMO (fear of missing out) inherent in cryptocurrency are critical lessons in ethical decision-making, governance, and organizational culture.

In this on-demand, we will explore the FTX fraud and critical stakeholders using IESBA’s (International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants) five fundamental principles of ethics as the framework for our investigation:

● Integrity ● Objectivity ● Professional competence and due care ● Confidentiality ● Professional Behaviour

We will examine how a lack of psychological safety and a toxic organizational culture compromised the ethical decision-making process of numerous stakeholders.

We also examine the underlying technology at the heart of cryptocurrency, Blockchain, and why our professional judgment is most vulnerable with transformational technologies.

Course Content

9 activities • 12 videos • duration: 1h 50m

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Introduction1 videos • 12 min
  • videocamIntroduction
    Duration 12:20
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Module 1: Who1 videos • 6 min
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Module 2: When1 videos • 5 min
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Module 3 - Blockchain2 videos • 22 min
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Module 4 - What3 videos • 28 min
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Module 5 - Why - Organizational culture1 videos • 11 min
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Module 6 - Why - Psychological safety2 videos • 18 min
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Module 7 - Why - Leadership and Conclusion1 videos • 6 min
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Final Assessment1 quiz

Your Instructor

Garth Sheriff

Founder of Sheriff Consulting

menu_book43 courses
star13,339 reviews

I am the founder of Sheriff Consulting which specializes in the development and delivery of accounting, auditing and foundational skill courses and workshops. Teaching and working with professionals in diverse and dynamic learning environments has been my passion and experience for over 10 years. As a qualified Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) and U.S. Certified Public Accountant (CPA), I work with finance and accounting professionals in both the U.S. and Canada to meet their training and development needs. My goal has always been to create an engaging and interactive learning environment. To help my own path of continual improvement in achieving this goal, I have also received training and worked as a professional actor. I am a member of ACTRA (the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) and a graduate in improvisation from the Second City Training Centre. http://sheriffconsulting.com/

Credit Information

Is this course eligible for my CPD requirements as a Canadian CPA?

Provincial regulators of CPAs in Canada do not require that independent providers of CPD be approved to offer courses. Instead, individual CPAs are responsible for assessing whether a CPD activity meets their requirements, and may take activities from any source provided those requirements are met.

Every course offered on LearnFormula is delivered by a qualified subject matter expert or learning organization, and advances learning objectives that are relevant to the responsibilities or professional competencies of Canadian CPAs. All activities on LearnFormula are quantifiable in terms of hours, and are also verifiable, in that users receive documented evidence of their attendance via a certificate of completion after finishing a course (and this certificate is stored by LearnFormula indefinitely). Nearly 100,000 Canadian CPAs successfully satisfy their CPD requirements via LearnFormula on an annual basis.

What Students Are Saying

4.6 out of 5
Student's Choice
585 reviews
  • CP
    Colette P.
    starstarstarstarstar

    Very interesting course and great instructor

  • MH
    Maddie H.
    starstarstarstarstar

    Definitely an interesting topic and great presenter - but I do think I knew too much going in to this course - I was hoping for some greater detail on the legal and investigative sides of the case

  • GE
    Grainne E.
    starstarstarstarstar

    Excellent, engaging and motivating.

  • SW
    Shu W.
    starstarstarstarstar

    Very good.

Frequently Asked Questions

We are a registered provider with 300+ associations and regulatory bodies worldwide. We operate across 27 global markets including Canada, the US, Australia, and the UK. Every course page clearly displays its specific accreditations. Upon completion, you receive a professional certificate that can be validated online. Our certificates include all necessary accreditation details, credit hours, and completion dates, and are formatted specifically to meet the submission requirements of most global regulatory bodies.

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