The Origins of Ethical Failures : Lessons for Leaders

Winner of the Bronze Axiom Business Book Award 2024 in the Business Ethics category.

In this thoroughly updated new edition of his ground-breaking and award-winning book, Dennis Gentilin draws on both his personal experience as a well-known whistleblower and recent events in the Australian financial services industry to provide insights into how widespread, systemic ethical failure can take hold in an industry and, crucially, what leaders need to focus on to avoid it.

In 2001, as a young university graduate, Dennis Gentilin became a member of an FX trading desk at one of Australia’s largest banks, the National Australia Bank. In the years that followed, the desk became involved in a trading scandal that resulted in the resignation of the chairman and CEO, the collapse of the board, significant financial loss and incalculable reputational damage. Over the past decade, the frequency of ethical failure within the Australian financial services industry has only increased. Among other failures, there have been multiple breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act, rigging of the benchmark BBSW interest rate, mis-selling of consumer credit insurance and predatory sales practices. In this new edition, Gentilin draws on experimental research from economics and finance to illustrate how, when the conditions are permissive, humans have a predisposition towards dishonesty, and therefore, to reduce the likelihood of ethical failure, leaders must focus obsessively on putting in place appropriate institutional arrangements.

Gentilin’s combination of intellectual rigour and real-life reflections makes this book a must-read for students, practitioners and leaders alike who would like to develop a deeper understanding of corporate ethics, governance and conduct.