Lugano, January 12, 2009 - According to the corruption perceptions index, Finland is one of the least corrupted countries in the world. Finnish society is based on transparency and therefore unethical behaviour is easily detectable. The Finnish media plays the role of watchdog and takes politicians to task even in minor cases of ethical problems. In the age of social media also ordinary people make themselves heard whenever they feel treated unjustly.

In November 2009, ProCom - The Finnish Association of Communication Professionals carried out an ethics survey among its members. The results were presented during a ProCom seminar on ethics at the beginning of December.

In a legal jungle

The survey shows that in Finland communication professionals work amidst a whole jungle of laws and regulations. Communication stock exchange regulations in particular have to be strictly observed. This can lead to conflicting situations. What is the public's right to information and what is the organisation's right to keep things secret? A communication professional can break the rules either by asserting untrue things as being true or by revealing information he doesn't have the right to tell.

The results of the survey show that a clear majority (58%) of the companies and associations represented in ProCom have established a set of ethical rules for their activities. The commonest set of rules is the Code of Conduct (ethical principles of the company), but there are many more to be found in the professional's toolkit: journalist guidelines, copyright regulations , the Finnish Companies Act, Corporate Governance guidelines, guidelines for public servants, ProCom and Global Alliance communication guidelines, not to forget financial control and stock exchange guidelines.

Read this article in the GA Knowledge Center HERE or Download full survey report in PDF HERE.