1. Integrity
Integrity is about being honest, straightforward and doing the right thing in all professional and business relationships.
Key focus
- Truthfulness and fairness.
- Not being associated with false, misleading or incomplete information.
- Acting according to moral and ethical principles, even when no one is watching.
Example
- An accountant discovers a material error in the financial statements that makes profits look higher.
- With integrity, they insist on correcting the error, even if management prefers to hide it.
2. Confidentiality
Confidentiality is about protecting information obtained from a client or employer and not disclosing it without proper authority or legal/professional duty.
Key focus
- Non-disclosure of information to unauthorised parties.
- Not using client information for personal gain or to benefit another party.
- Ensuring staff and others under your control also keep information confidential.
Example
An accountant knows that a client is planning a big takeover.
Under confidentiality, they cannot tell friends to buy the target company’s shares or share the news with others for personal advantage.
Key Differences (How to phrase in exam)
You can summarise like this:
Nature of the principle
Integrity: relates to honesty, truthfulness and moral character in all actions.
Confidentiality: relates to protecting and not disclosing information acquired in the course of professional work.
What it guards against
Integrity: guards against lying, bias, manipulation, misleading statements, and unethical behaviour.
Confidentiality: guards against unauthorised disclosure or misuse of client/employer information.
Short exam sentence
Integrity requires a professional accountant to be honest and straightforward and not be associated with false or misleading information, while confidentiality requires the accountant to respect and protect client or employer information and not disclose or use it without proper authority or legal/professional duty.
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