For Your Professional Ethics Edification

The ACPE Professional Ethics Commission (PEC) purpose is to educate our members about ethics issues and processes. Each month we post a commissioner’s reflection* on ethics concerns, including our ethics process. 

5. In conducting business matters, ACPE members: implement sound fiscal practices, maintain accurate financial records, and protect the integrity of funds entrusted to their care.

For September, Jarda Alexander, ACPE Certified Educator, Decatur, GA, writes: 

 ACPE Certified Educators, regardless of positional authority, have responsibility for implementing sound fiscal practices, maintaining accurate financial records, and protecting the integrity of funds entrusted to our care. There are many ways to comply. One way is to ensure that our students enroll their unit(s) properly and on-time, and for CEs to register the unit within the allotted time post-unit. Accurate enrollment can result in an accurate quarterly fee assessment.

In many CPE programs, orientation is often filled with delays, information overload, and moments of uncertainty. It is common for a percentage of students to withdraw during or after orientation and in some cases be dismissed. According to Policy and Procedures Development for Program,[1] students on all levels (IA/IB/IIA/IIB) are to enroll in each unit of CPE through the ACPE website before the completion of orientation and within the first week of subsequent units of a year-long residency.[2]  This means that even those who don’t receive credit for the unit will be assessed a student fee.

Student fees are assessed by the registered date and billed in that quarter. Certified Educators have 21 days to send the final evaluation to the student through the evaluation hub. The unit is registered upon the finalization of the evaluation.

Another sound fiscal practice that protects the integrity of funds in our care,[3] is maintaining accurate financial records through monthly reporting. These monthly reports, and an annual evaluation, improve the auditing process for accreditation portfolio readers and site teams, and provide CPE centers with the historical financial data needed to set fiscal goals that support the best interest of ACPE and hosting institutions. The added check-in with ACPE accounting personnel to reconcile discrepancies, update information, and confirm remaining balances has strengthened collaborative efforts between the two entities and peace of mind.

In summary, all CEs have a fiduciary responsibility in business matters to implement sound fiscal practices, maintain accurate financial records, and protect the integrity of funds entrusted to their care. We satisfy this ethic when we ensure timely enrollment and registration of student units in compliance with the Policy and Procedures Development for Program in ACPE’s Accreditation Manual. We also comply with this standard when we maintain accurate records as outlined in the Accounting and Fiscal Procedures Manual and contractual agreements with our institutional employers. Let us continue to uphold these standards that contribute to ACPE being the standard in Spiritual Care & Education.

*Every situation is unique, and any member should not act based solely on the comments in the article but to base action on an independent review of the ethical standards applicable to his/her situation.