Financial planning advice is becoming increasingly relevant to the economic objectives of Australians. However, the evidence suggests there are numerous ethical risks related to the provision of that advice and other factors that may be influencing the ethical decision making of financial planners and compliance officers in their respective roles.\ud
The purpose of this study was to enhance understanding of the ethical decision making of these financial planning participants within this context. This study is therefore a significant one in what is a relatively under-researched area of interest.\ud
The study’s purpose was converted into seven research questions, two of which concerned the primary types of unethical conduct occurring in the provision of financial advice and respondent perceptions of the current ethical issues they face in their respective roles within financial services organisations. Nine hypotheses were linked to the other research questions to measure whether there were statistically significant relationships between different constructs, and to test respondent perceptions of the ethical climate and culture of their organisation