Ethical discourse is commonly not a priority in a conventional finance syllabus. Moral sentiments often take a back seat to market sentiments, even in shaping the direction of ethical finance business. This anomaly persists despite growing interest in ethical finance. Taking an interdisciplinary and diverse perspective, this book enriches the evolving definition and scope of ethical finance literature by focusing on actors, products and regulation that shape markets. Considering the gap between theory and practice, this book bridges academic and professional knowledge in unpacking ethical and governance issues in the financial industry. In an effort to include as many viewpoints as possible, regardless of popularity or who holds them, the book editors gathered thoughts from diverse fields, including accounting, economics, ethics, finance, governance, law, management, philosophy and religion. Appealing to academic and non-academic stakeholders with an interest in ethics and finance, this book is the result of and a testament to a distinct educational and public engagement project that included different generations and communities, for future reference.

The debate on connections between economic activity and socio-environmental impact has become increasingly relevant. As a result, ethical finance is emerging from its niche. However, the terms "ethical finance" and "sustainable finance" are often confused and overlapping, and the risk of greenwashing is high. Many authors suggest the need of a paradigm shift because the present economic system is no longer able to maintain a safe environment. Tim Jackson explicitly argues about the need of a future of "prosperity without growth". From the experiences of ethical finance, we can identify some interesting tools to achieve that goal. This book explains how ethical finance works and which innovations it has engendered in financial and economic systems; clarifies the links between finance and ethics, going beyond Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing, and offers an approach, which is vital for most financial sectors, from microcredit to impact investing; investigates the goals, constraints, and opportunities of environmental and social considerations in finance and explores the more innovative experiences in banking and investing. It helps readers understand the phenomena in depth, distinguishing the strategic, managerial, organizational, and risk practices of ethical finance. The authors adopt a holistic but critical approach, both with respect to the practices exercised by financial intermediaries, and with reference to new regulatory aspects. The book identifies the key issues and current challenges of ethical finance, both for financial operators and regulators. Several concrete international cases offer empirical comparisons of practices, and as such it will be an invaluable reference for academics and researchers who wish to deepen their knowledge of ethical finance.

The third edition of Ethics in Finance presents an authoritative and wide-ranging examination of the major ethical issues in finance. This new edition has been expanded and thoroughly updated with extensive coverage of the recent financial crisis and the very latest developments within the financial world. Substantially updated new edition with nearly 40% new material, including sections on credit cards, mortgage lending, microfinance, risk management, derivatives, and securitization Includes coverage and references to the recent financial crisis and the very latest developments within the financial world Focuses on the practical issues that confront finance professionals, policy makers, and consumers of financial services Cites examples of the scandals that have shaken public confidence in Wall Street and world financial markets Includes numerous examples throughout to illustrate the concepts and issues described within the text

Financial disclosure has become a crucial component of corporate communication. Through this process, companies aim to provide information and project an image of trustworthiness in response to on-going ethical concerns in the world of finance. Rhetoric in financial discourse provides new insights into how companies communicate with key stakeholders, not only to boost transparency, but also to attract investment. The book offers an in-depth linguistic analysis of the rhetorical dimension of financial communication. It focuses on two technology-mediated genres which are widely used, yet remain largely unexplored from a rhetorical perspective: earnings presentations and earnings releases. Using an innovative methodological approach, the book shows how corporate speakers and writers use distinctive rhetorical strategies to achieve their professional goals. It includes a practical discussion of how the findings can be exploited to develop state-of-the-art corporate communication courses and to improve the effectiveness of financial disclosure in professional settings. The book contributes to an enhanced understanding of the language of finance, representing a discourse community that involves and impacts the lives of many people around the world. It will be of interest to several communities of practice, including language researchers, discourse analysts, corpus linguists, finance and communication academics, students of business and finance, and professionals of financial communication. Belinda Crawford Camiciottoli is Associate Professor of English Language and Linguistics at the University of Pisa. Her research focuses on business discourse in both academic and corporate settings. She has published in leading journals, including Discourse & Communication, Business Communication Quarterly and English for Specific Purposes. She is the author of The Language of Business Studies Lectures (2007). She has taught business and organizational communication courses for universities based in Italy, the US and the UAE.

The financial crisis of 2008 has led to a re-evaluation of the role of financial institutions and their relationship with the wider economy and society. This process has meant an increased questioning of both the conduct of business itself and the principles behind commercial and financial activities. Yet non-western voices have been notably absent from this debate, as have alternatives to the dominant western-derived economic ideologies. From the ancient spiritual wisdom or Dharma of the Jains, there emerges a practical modern philosophy fully in tune with the re-emergence of India as a global economic power. Jain individuals, businesses and charities have played a powerful role in India’s rise and within the global Indian Diaspora. Jain communities are noted everywhere for their contributions to business, the professions and science. These successes are based on the principles of interdependence and co-operation, with an emphasis on long-term consolidation rather than short-term bursts of growth. Researchers and students interested in the ethics of finance, accounting and economics will find Jainism and Ethical Finance a scholarly and illuminating evaluation of Jain Dharma as a non-western case study. In the light of current concerns about the way global finance and banking systems operate, this book offers a timely alternative perspective. .

From the mid-1970s until the crisis in 2007, the world of finance enjoyed thirty euphoric years as the general public, businesses and governments put their blind trust in financial techniques, professions and institutions. Shaken up by a structural crisis and a crisis of legitimacy, today’s financial sector can no longer afford to avoid the issues summed up by the key question: what is next for the role of ethics and responsibility in finance? Many see an unbridgeable gap between ethics and responsibility and financial practice. Ethics and Responsibility in Finance paves the way for the dialogue that is needed in order to solve the current problems and allow the return of a refined ethical thinking in the financial sector. This book opens with an in-depth analysis of the operational implications of two key notions: ethics and responsibility. It then addresses ethical dilemmas that are characteristic to each of the three actors involved in any financial transaction. This begins with the discussion of the dilemmas of the ultimate owner of funds: the individual or collective saver, as in the case of pension funds. The analysis then turns to financial intermediaries such as banks, insurance companies, asset managers, and consultants, who work in a web of different loyalties. Finally, the dilemmas of the user of funds are addressed – the household taking a mortgage, an enterprise or a public authority which borrows – all of which have to be clear on the reasons and values driving their decisions. This volume is of great interest to those who study banking, corporate finance and ethics philosophy.

Accounting is the language of business, increasingly standardized across the world through powerful global corporations: a technical skill used to reach the correct, unquestionable answer. Yet, as recent corporate scandals have shown, a whole range of financial professionals (auditors, bankers, analysts, company directors) can collectively fail to question dubious actions. How can this be possible? To understand such failures, this book explores how accountants construct the technical knowledge they deem relevant to decision-making. In doing so, it not only offers a new way to understand deviance and scandals, but also suggests a reappraisal of accounting knowledge which has important implications for everyday commercial life. The book's findings are based on interviews with chartered accountants working in the largest accountancy practices in London. The interviews reveal that although accounting decisions seem clear after they have been made, the process of making them is contested and opaque. Yet accountants nonetheless tend to describe their work as if it were straightforward and technical. Accountants' Truth digs beneath the surface to explore how accountants actually construct knowledge, and draws out the implications of that process with respect to issues such as professionalism, performance, transparency, and ethics. This important book concludes that accountants' technical discourse undermines their ethical reasoning by obscuring the ways in which accounting decisions must be thought through in practice. Accountants with particular ethical perspectives more readily understand and construct particular types of knowledge, so the two issues of knowledge and of ethics are inseparable. Increasingly technical accounting rules can therefore counterproductive. Instead, our best approach to avoiding future scandals is to redefine and reinvigorate professional ethics in the financial world.