On 16 October, ACCA celebrated the start of its annual Ethics Film Festival – the first edition to be held entirely virtually.
In a show of innovation and resilience, ACCA Singapore and its festival partner Singapore Film Society impressively tackled the challenges of Covid-19. It used technology to successfully turn what is typically a physical event into an online one.
Instead of the usual film screenings, festival attendees watched the two selected films – Troubled Water and The Bleeding Edge – through virtual screening parties hosted on Teleparty. They then gathered online on two separate occasions to discuss their thoughts, as well as listen to panel discussions on the films.
Sustainability
The first of the two panel discussions kicked off on Global Ethics Day on 21 October, and was attended by members of ACCA, partners and supporters of the festival.
In his opening speech, Kenneth Tan, chairman of Singapore Film Society, dismissed the idea that a virtual event was a compromise. He said the new setting enabled the festival to reach new heights, allowing, for example, the inclusion of attendees and panellists from countries outside Singapore, such as Brunei, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Thailand.
Also present at the 21 October event was Gajendran Vyapuri, chairman of the ACCA Singapore network panel. He noted the timely release of the ACCA report Mainstreaming impact: Scaling a sustainable recovery in the light of economies planning their Covid-19 recovery efforts, and added that the pandemic had initiated a call for a higher standard of ethical accountability in society.
Guest of honour at the festival was Stavros Thomadakis, chairman of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA), which sets the global standards for the code of ethics followed by professional accountants.
Ethics and sustainability are close relatives. There are ethics involved in every facet of the ESG agenda
Thomadakis said the IESBA code was the very reason why accounting professionals had a role and responsibility in governing and advocating for sustainability in businesses. ‘The code provisions the fundamental principles, which requires accountants to behave ethically and uphold their responsibility to the public interest.’
He went on to say that while the idea of public interest used to be somewhat ambiguous, differing from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, it had in recent years become much clearer and more universal.
‘Ethics and sustainability are close relatives,’ he said. ‘Ethics is crucial for the sustainability of human relationships, based on trust. Without trust, human and professional relationships are not sustainable, nor can a sustainability agenda remain cohesive and effective. There are ethics involved in every facet making up the ESG [environmental, social, governance] agenda.’
Real issues
In the panel discussion, Chan Choong Tho, CEO of CFA Society Singapore, guided the conversation around some of the ethical issues raised in Troubled Water, a documentary film about the bottled water industry.
Other speakers on the panel included: Esther An, chief sustainability officer of City Developments; Jimmy Greer, ACCA head of sustainability; Vincent Lim FCCA, deputy group CFO of Hi-P International; and Prae Piromya, associate director of AWR Lloyd.
In discussing whether the film’s focus on environmental damage caused by the industry was fair, they concluded there were insufficient facts to reach a definitive judgment. They did, however, agree that ESG is an issue to be jointly owned by every member of an organisation.
Leadership roles, profit vs ESG, and the role of accountants also came up for debate. The key takeaway was that Troubled Water deals with real issues that all organisations need to consider.
‘There is definitely a challenge and a call for all companies to provide better environmental services,’ Greer said. ‘We all need to be better stewards.’
The second film discussed, The Bleeding Edge, was about the medical device industry. The panel included: moderator Sarjit Singh, executive chairman of Ardent; Eduardo Araral, associate professor and co-director of the Institute of Water Policy at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy; Chong Yoke Sin, president of Singapore Computer Society; and Ernest Wong FCCA, president and group CFO of KVB Holdings.
For more on the films, see our article Ethical lessons through film.
