A team fromthe Master's in Financial Managementprogram at ORT's Graduate School of Business participated in the CFA Society Ethics Challenge, a competition organized by the CFA Institute.
The challenge involved analyzing a fictional dialogue from a meeting of the directors of a financial services firm. The teams’ objective was to identify violations of the CFA Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct in that meeting, explain them, and propose a solution.
Some of the ethical dilemmas they addressed included conflicts of interest that arise when employee incentives are not aligned with the interests of clients, a lack of oversight, and the encouragement of inappropriate behavior among subordinates.
The team consisted of Gastón Juambeltz, Josefina Grezzi, Claudio Barneche, and Nicolás Navarro.
“These serious violations give rise to a series of behaviors that, in one way or another, end up having a negative impact on the institution’s clients,” said Gastón Juambeltz.
Knowledge of legislation, market operations, and financial instruments
“The master’s program helped us, on the one hand, to put the information presented into context. Over the course of this year, we’ve learned about how markets work and financial instruments, which was important for understanding the basics of the case,” said Josefina Grezzi. “We also drew on what we learned in the financial sector regulation course, as well as in professional ethics, which is a key pillar of ORT.”
The Master's in Financial Management provided me with knowledge of the laws and regulations governing various financial institutions.
Juambeltz.
“The experience was very rewarding. It required constant communication and discussion with my classmates, as well as meetings with our instructor,” said Claudio Barneche. “The positive aspect of this type of teamwork is that one person might identify a violation at a certain point in the case, while another classmate might have a different perspective and identify yet another violation at the same point.”
For his part, Nicolás Navarro noted that ORT’s Master’s in Financial Management was helpful in addressing this challenge because “over the course of the year, we gained a range of insights into the behavior of financial markets as well as applicable legislation—key aspects that enabled us to understand and analyze the root causes of the violations identified in the case study.”
A challenging experience
“It was certainly a challenging experience. All the teams were highly qualified, and it was clear they were well prepared for the challenge,” said Juambeltz.
From the very beginning, the challenge demanded the highest possible level of skill, focus, and dedication from the entire team.
Navarro
“It was an enriching and challenging experience, both personally and professionally,” said Josefina Grezzi. “We put in many hours of teamwork and learned a great deal about the ethical standards expected of a CFA charterholder. We had the opportunity to work with a highly experienced professional as our mentor, which was also very enriching for us.”
Perspectives, Analysis, and Reflections
“The challenge allowed me to view and apply the knowledge I had acquired from the perspective of a compliance officer. At the same time, I was able to assess whether behavior within organizations is ethical or not, and reflect on what might lead to such inappropriate behavior,” Juambeltz said.
“Taking part in an international competition organized by an institution as influential in the financial world as the CFA Institute is a unique experience,” Grezzi noted. “That said, I believe it goes beyond the academic realm: these are principles of professional conduct that apply to many areas of life.”
For his part, Navarro noted: “One particularly rewarding aspect was interacting with colleagues from different professional fields, which allowed us to exchange ideas, knowledge, and diverse perspectives.”
“Professionally, it was a very enriching experience in many ways: we were able to immerse ourselves in the ethical standards we must uphold as professionals in the world of financial markets; furthermore, we had the opportunity to engage in discussions with representatives of the CFA Society from various countries,” Barneche concluded.