Ethics and Compliance Handbook 2017

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The need for such a publication arose from a global discussion about whether ethics and compliance were the same thing and could be combined in one function in an organisation, or whether they were different and should be separated, and which of the two would be more effective.

The authors of the handbook, Liezl Groenewald from TEI and Guendalina Dondé from the IBE, believe that while ethics and compliance may be two sides of the same coin, there are differences. These differences may end up defining the choices organisations make regarding their ethics and compliance functions. They say that while ethics implies that people will behave in accordance with a system of common values that are agreed and shared, compliance means that people must do what they are told to do, either by law or by their superiors.