Ethical failures rarely start with bad intentions. They start with pressure, ambiguity, and small “in-the-moment” choices that drift over time—especially when deadlines, client demands, performance metrics, or new technologies (including AI) make the wrong choice feel easier than the right one. Ethics by Design: dilemmas, escalation, and prevention is a practical, highly interactive course that helps CPAs strengthen judgment where ethics actually happens: in fast decisions, gray areas, and uncomfortable conversations. You’ll work through rapid, realistic micro-dilemmas that mirror what professionals face every day, then learn how to speak up with clarity (without escalating conflict) and how to build safeguards that reduce recurring ethical risk. You will leave with repeatable tools: a rapid decision routine, a set of escalation scripts you can use immediately, and a pre-mortem prevention method to identify ethical vulnerabilities before they become reputational, regulatory, or career-limiting events. This is ethics training designed not just to inform—but to change behavior and prevent drift.
Course ID: EBD
Ethics by Design: Dilemmas, Escalation, and Prevention
Learning Objectives
- Identify common organizational and situational factors that increase ethical risk
- Recognize ethical risks associated with AI-assisted work
- Select appropriate response options
- Apply a structured, rapid decision process to analyze ethical dilemmas, determine missing facts, and select a defensible next action under time pressure
Major Topics
- The 10-minute dilemma routine: rapid analysis, missing facts, defensible next steps
- Micro-dilemmas lab: repeated, realistic scenarios to practice judgment in gray areas
- Ethical drift and rationalization: how small compromises become major exposure
- Escalation and “speak-up” skills: scripts for clarity, boundary-setting, risk framing, and escalation
- Prevention through pre-mortem: predicting failure points before they occur
- AI and ethics: validation, accountability, transparency, and responsible use practices
- Personal commitments: one behavior change, one escalation script, one safeguard to implement
Advanced Preparations
None
Who Should Attend
All employees who want to maintain their integrity. For all organizations that want to support their ethical culture
Fields of Study
Behavioral EthicsPrerequisites
None