The Controller in partnership with the entire Finance staff works in collaboration with departments across the University to provide stewardship of the University’s financial resources.
Finance staff in the Division of Business Affairs plays a key role in assuring that high standards of ethical practice are applied to the custody and use of these resources. Each employee understands that their personal and professional conduct reflects on the University of North Carolina Wilmington as well as their individual reputation.
To guide the Finance staff in setting and practicing high standards of conduct, the Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance has adopted the following code of ethics as advocated by the National Association of College and University Business Officers.
Code of Ethics
The employee’s conduct should be characterized by integrity and dignity, and they should expect and encourage such conduct by others. The employee should adopt and be faithful to personal values that:
- Accord respect to self and others
- Preserve honesty in actions and utterances
- Give fair and just treatment to all
- Accept intellectual and ethical responsibility
- Aspire to achieve quality
- Avoid conflicts of interest, or the appearance of conflicts, among personal interests, institutional interests, and the interests of campus groups and disclose such potential conflicts when they may exist
- Promote and support forthright expression of one's own views and tolerance for the views of others.
Finance employees are required to act ethically in all matters involving their duties and to maintain the highest legal, moral, and professional standards of conduct in satisfying their job duties and responsibilities. Decisions and responses to questions are done so with due care, competence, diligence, and without misrepresentation of the facts.
Employees act with honesty and integrity and avoid relationships that would appear to be a conflict of interest. Employees interact with customers, fellow employees, and others in a businesslike manner, using ethical behavior, proper communication, a professional attitude, and due respect.
Employees focus on teamwork, diligence, and rigorous attention to detail to provide accurate accounting records and financial and tax reporting to all internal and external parties.
Overview of Our Responsibilities
Our Ethical and Professional Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Ensuring the integrity and accuracy of the University’s financial accounting and reporting systems and confirm the validity and appropriateness of all financial transactions recorded and reported therein.
- Guiding the University in maintaining strict compliance with North Carolina and federal laws, regulations, policies, and contract requirements applicable to accounting and reporting.
- Providing thorough, fair, and timely disclosures and financial reports for federal and state oversight agencies, taxing authorities, financial institutions, customers, the public, the Office of the Chancellor, the University’s Board of Trustees, campus departments, and other internal and external parties as needed.
- Ensuring UNCW management has established controls and safeguards to ensure that such rules, regulations, and values are complied with.
- Reporting evidence of activities that include a violation of law, fraud, identity theft (Red Flags Activity), misappropriation of State resources, gross misuse or mismanagement of monies, or abuse of authority to appropriate personnel, as outlined in UNCW’s Ethics Policy 02.310 and explained on the University’s website under Protection for Reporting Concerns; How to Report.
- Finally, all employees can anonymously report allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement of funds to UNCW’s Office of Internal Audit using the Report Fraud tool and to the NC Office of State Auditor’s using the State Auditor’s Hotline.
