"Knowledge & Training with Ethical quotient - pathway to Professional Excellence” A VOICE OF A CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT STUDENT

Ethical Lapses are undermining public trust not only in the institution, their leaders and the people long held to a higher standard of behavior in the corporate world and political arenas, but also the trust that builds up the entire nation. 
 Ethical quotient in a simple word is the rule, regulation or the guideline to be followed.  The term ethics itself covers up the entire concept of conduct, clarity, confidentiality, fairness and professionalism and the fundamental principle of Auditing revolves around the code of ethics. The proper conduct of Ethical quotient can definitely lead to professional excellence which could mold the profession to a beautiful shape.

 What does professional excellence actually mean?
As stated by Alan P Rossiter, the aspects of professional excellence are:
 Produce High quality technical work  Communicate your work clearly   Keep a schedule  Recognize your professional limits  Invest in furthering the profession  Affirm your coworkers  Enjoy your work , and help other enjoy it   The quest
These are exactly the same aspects that the code of ethics of our profession covers. Professional solely means not being amateur and the term excellence is used rather as greatness. Greatness is a status to which few can aspire. Excellence is an achievable standard and is also the process of attaining the greatness.
But the notion of professional excellence is widely canvassed. The fancy words in the Audit and Assurance Textbook are sadly conferred only in the textbooks. The dense words like Integrity, Objectivity, Clarity, and Fairness made me fantasize the world of Audit.  “So Much Greatness” is what I had thought and I am thinking too. But, as an articled trainee, I am now able to sense the harsh reality. Why are these dense words conferred to textbooks only?  Is it the loop hole of our profession or this is what we should be living with? I don’t blame the professional Institution neither the professionals. The Code of ethics made by the institution definitely aims to guide the professionals to excellence. But the question is where are we lacking?  Are the ethical quotients
too vague? Or the tradition we have been following is too vague? We have been so situational that we go with the flow, we act as per the situation demands.  Rather than being guided by the specific culture, we have started making our own culture. The ethical quotient are being followed just for the sake of following it, it has not been verbatim. 
It’s not the institution or the professionals, neither the government, but it’s our nature which is compelling us to settle for the less. The temporary satisfaction that we are seeking is not only ruling our professional excellence but also our personal excellence. Why settle for less when you and your profession can do so much more. When the entire economic development of the nation depends upon the quality and assurance of the profession. Knowledge and proper training in the ethical quotient is a must. The honesty in the profession not only guides us to professional excellence, but also the personal excellence which we ultimately should aim for. The fundamentals of life and the ethical quotients of our profession is more or less the same. 
In the Year 2018, economic growth in Nepal remained strong at 6.3 percent despite less favorable monsoons and the easing of growth from the rebound following the 2015 earthquake. As predicted by Asian Development Bank Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to grow by 5.9% in 2018 and 5.5% in 2019, followed by inflation rates forecasted at 4.2% in 2018 and 6% in 2019 and Per capita GDP growth is expected at 3.5% in 2018 and 4.1% in 2019. This is definitely the high time for our nation and even us. The professional excellence is the underlying factor for the nation’s development. At this point of time, quality in our profession can lead the nation to the desired future. Inherence of ethical quotient is important. The ethical quotient should not be conferred just in the textbooks but be implemented in our lives too. Economic growth of Nepal is just one of the examples reflecting the importance of our profession. 

The dignity of our profession solely depends upon the ethical quotient. Knowledge and training along with the inherence of the ethical quotient will definitely lead to professional excellence.