Preamble – The Members of the Institute of Certified Business Counselors are professionals who pledge to abide by the Institute’s strict Code of Ethics. Every Member has voluntarily agreed to abide by the Code of Ethics, which assures the highest levels of professional conduct and protection to their clients. Members are subject to disciplinary action, sanctions and expulsion if they violate the duties imposed by this Code of Ethics.

 

Article One: Members of the Institute shall protect and promote their clients interest while treating all parties honestly.

Article Two: Members of the Institute shall refrain from exaggeration, misrepresentation or concealment of pertinent facts related to property or transactions.

Article Three: Members of the Institute shall cooperate with other professionals to advance their client’s best interests.

Article Four: Business Appraisers are required to be neutral and shall not promote the interest of one party over another.

Article Five: When buying, selling, consulting, appraising or representing their personal, their families’, their firms’ or their other close relationships’, accounts; Members of the Institute shall immediately make their position(s) or interest(s) known.

Article Six: Members of the Institute shall not provide professional services where they have present or contemplated interest in business, property or transaction without first disclosing that interest and obtaining written consent from their client.

Article Seven: Members of the Institute shall disclose to their client any fee or financial benefit they may receive from recommending related products or services.

Article Eight: Members of the Institute may receive compensation from only one party, except where they make full prior disclosure and receive informed written consent from their client before proceeding.

Article Nine: Members of the Institute shall keep entrusted funds of clients and/or customers in a separate trust or escrow account.

Article Ten: Members of the Institute shall make sure that all terms of the contract are in writing, clearly spelled out, and that all parties receive copies.

Article Eleven: Members of the Institute shall give equal professional service to all clients and customers irrespective of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, age, or national origin.

Article Twelve: Members of the Institute shall be knowledgeable and competent in the fields of practice in which they engage. If Members elect to accept an assignment in a discipline where they lack expertise, they shall get assistance from a knowledgeable professional or disclose to their client their lack of expertise prior to commencing the engagement.

Article Thirteen: Members of the Institute shall make true and accurate disclosure in their advertising and in all other representation.

Article Fourteen: Members of the Institute shall not engage in any practice requiring licensing or certification unless they are so qualified.

Article Fifteen: Members of the Institute shall willingly participate in any ethics investigations and enforcement actions commenced by the Institute.

Article Sixteen: Members of the Institute shall make only truthful comments about other professionals.

Article Seventeen: Members of the Institute shall respect and reinforce the exclusive, professional relationships that other professionals have with their clients.

Article Eighteen: Members of the Institute, when feasible, favor alternate dispute resolution methods for resolving disagreements with their clients and other professionals.

Revised October 2004