As Global Ethics Day 2026 calls on the world to “Re-center Ethics”, new research highlights why businesses must look beyond their corporate values and examine how decisions are made, people are treated and leaders are held accountable.
Artificial intelligence, workplace misconduct, declining trust and growing scrutiny of corporate behaviour are putting business ethics firmly back in the spotlight. New research to mark Global Ethics Day 2026, taking place today (21 October), reveals that 61% of finance and accountancy professionals now rank AI use among their leading ethical challenges – almost double the 32% recorded in 2024.
The global study by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), involving 1,178 respondents across 135 countries, also found that more than half (53%) had witnessed unethical behaviour over the past three years, while 50% believe ethical challenges have become harder to resolve. The findings come as the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs marks the 13th Global Ethics Day with a call to “Re-center Ethics” in public, personal and professional life.
Against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions, rapid technological change and growing divisions, the Council is encouraging organisations around the world to put ethical considerations back at the heart of their decisions. For businesses, the timing is particularly relevant. Beyond the challenge of navigating new technologies, employers are also confronting difficult questions about how people are treated, whether employees feel safe speaking up and how far corporate responsibility should extend.
WORKPLACE ETHICS UNDER PRESSURE
The gap between corporate values and employees’ experiences remains a significant challenge. A US workplace ethics study highlighted by Fair Play Talks earlier this year found that one in three employees feared retaliation or other negative consequences for reporting misconduct. The research, conducted by law firm Outten & Golden, also revealed that 22% had witnessed unethical or illegal behaviour at work, while 21% had felt pressure to compromise their ethical standards.
Earlier research by workplace culture platform Emtrain also pointed to deteriorating perceptions of workplace integrity and trust. Together, the findings expose a problem that policies alone cannot solve.
Organisations may have codes of conduct, whistleblowing procedures and commitments to inclusion, but these offer limited protection if employees believe speaking up could jeopardise their careers. The way managers respond when concerns are raised – particularly when allegations involve senior or influential colleagues – can say far more about an organisation’s ethics than the policies published on its website.
LEADERSHIP: WHERE ETHICS IS PUT TO THE TEST
Business leaders have a considerable influence on whether ethical principles become part of workplace culture or remain little more than corporate messaging. Recent research also found that employees were 1.6 times more likely to act ethically when boards actively focused on ethics and compliance.
Employees also have clear expectations of their managers. A UK survey by Ciphr found that trustworthiness was the most valued managerial quality, cited by 69% of employees. Fairness and respect followed at 66%, while 62% prioritised honesty and authenticity. These qualities become especially important during difficult periods, whether organisations are restructuring, making redundancies, managing performance or responding to allegations of misconduct.
Decisions about who is promoted, whose concerns are heard and whether senior executives face the same consequences as other employees offer a revealing measure of ethical leadership. The latest ACCA findings reinforce the importance of leadership and culture. Alongside AI, respondents identified ethical leadership (43%) and organisational culture (39%) among the leading challenges facing their profession.
AI RAISES THE STAKES FOR BUSINESS ETHICS
While workplace misconduct and leadership failures are longstanding concerns, AI is introducing new ethical dilemmas, and at a pace many organisations are struggling to match. From recruitment screening and employee monitoring to financial reporting and customer decisions, AI is increasingly influencing how organisations operate.
Yet questions remain over bias, data privacy, transparency and who takes responsibility when automated systems produce unfair or inaccurate outcomes. The ACCA research suggests these concerns are becoming increasingly difficult for professionals to navigate. They are not entirely new, however. Back in 2020, KPMG research found that almost 90% of US technology leaders believed AI ethics policies were vital across industries. More recent evidence suggests that stronger AI governance may also be associated with commercial benefits.
A 2026 global study by SAS, featuring insights from IDC found that organisations with strong trustworthy AI practices were 15 times more likely to report strong returns on their AI investments than those with weaker practices. The research found that 62% of organisations investing strongly in trustworthy AI reported strong or high returns, compared with just 4% of those lagging behind.
Although the findings do not prove that ethical AI practices directly drive profitability, they suggest that investment in governance, transparency and responsible deployment can sit alongside better business outcomes. For employers, the questions are practical as much as philosophical. Should AI determine which candidates reach interview? How should employees challenge automated decisions affecting their careers? And where does responsibility lie when technology gets something wrong? These are decisions organisations increasingly need to confront before problems arise.
UNESCO LAUNCHES FREE AI ETHICS TRAINING
As demand for practical guidance grows, UNESCO has introduced a free online course designed to help professionals understand and apply ethical AI principles. Developed with LG AI Research, the Global MOOC on the Ethics of AI offers more than eight hours of self-paced learning across 10 modules.
The course examines issues including fairness, discrimination, privacy, transparency, accountability, sustainability and human autonomy, using case studies and practical ethical dilemmas. It draws on UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, adopted by 193 Member States in 2021.
While primarily aimed at professionals involved in AI development, research and governance, the course also provides a useful resource for organisations looking to strengthen their understanding of responsible technology. Participants who complete the programme can earn a UNESCO–LG AI Research certificate.
ETHICS EXTENDS BEYOND THE BOARDROOM
Questions of corporate responsibility are not limited to the treatment of employees or the introduction of new technology. Businesses are also facing scrutiny over their environmental practices, supply chains, social impact and historical conduct.
As Fair Play Talks explored earlier this year on World Day of Social Justice, employers can influence wider social outcomes through decisions on fair pay, job security, recruitment, accessibility and career opportunities. The debate over historical accountability has also intensified.
In September, Fair Play Talks reported on proposed legislation in California that would require certain major businesses to investigate and disclose whether they or their predecessors benefited from slavery. While the proposals raise complex questions about how far corporate accountability should extend, they reflect growing expectations that businesses confront uncomfortable aspects of their history rather than simply focus on present-day commitments. For organisations, such developments underline how ethical decisions can extend far beyond immediate commercial considerations.
DOES ETHICAL BUSINESS PAY?
There is also a growing body of research examining the relationship between responsible business practices and commercial performance. Earlier this year, Ethisphere recognised 138 organisations across 17 countries and 40 industries as the World’s Most Ethical Companies of 2026. According to its analysis, publicly traded companies recognised through the programme outperformed a global benchmark by 8.2 percentage points between 2021 and 2025.
Similarly, a study by Bain & Company and EcoVadis, examining ESG activities across 100,000 companies, identified positive correlations between certain responsible business practices and stronger financial results. The studies cannot establish that ethical behaviour directly causes better financial performance, but they suggest that responsible business practices and commercial success are not necessarily competing priorities.
Consumer attitudes add another dimension. Research from The Conference Board and The Harris Poll identified fair wages and working conditions among the leading sustainability-related considerations influencing purchasing decisions. An earlier Jobcase study found that 61% of consumers surveyed were more likely to shop with companies that treated employees well. Taken together, the research suggests that corporate behaviour matters not only to employees, but also to the customers and communities businesses depend on.
FIVE WAYS EMPLOYERS CAN PUT ETHICS INTO PRACTICE
Global Ethics Day offers businesses an opportunity to examine where ethical commitments are working – and where they may be falling short. For organisations looking to strengthen their approach, there are several practical starting points:
1. Lead by example. Ensure senior leaders and managers are held to the same standards expected of employees. Ethical conduct should influence leadership assessments, promotions and accountability.
2. Make it safe to speak up. Review whistleblowing procedures and reporting channels, ensure concerns are investigated fairly and demonstrate that employees will not face retaliation for raising genuine concerns.
3. Review the ethical impact of AI. Examine how automated systems affect recruitment, performance management and other workplace decisions. Assess risks around bias, privacy and fairness, with clear human oversight.
4. Measure actions, not promises. Look beyond corporate values statements to assess progress on fair pay, inclusion, employee wellbeing, responsible sourcing and environmental commitments.
5. Encourage ethical conversations. Give employees opportunities to discuss real dilemmas, challenge decisions constructively and develop the confidence to raise difficult questions.
HOW TO TAKE PART IN GLOBAL ETHICS DAY 2026
The Carnegie Council is encouraging individuals and organisations worldwide to mark Global Ethics Day through discussions, workshops and activities that explore how ethics influences everyday choices. Previous participants have organised employee town halls, civic engagement workshops, educational events and discussions around emerging ethical challenges.
Businesses can take part by hosting conversations about leadership and organisational values, reviewing their codes of conduct or inviting teams to explore ethical dilemmas relevant to their work. Employers can also share practical learning resources, including UNESCO’s free AI ethics course and ACCA’s Navigating Ethics for Trust report.
The Carnegie Council’s Global Ethics Day website offers further resources, key messages and a social media toolkit. Organisations can also explore highlights from Global Ethics Day 2025 for inspiration.
PUTTING ETHICS BACK AT THE CENTRE
Founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1914, the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs has spent more than a century encouraging ethical thinking in international affairs and public life. Global Ethics Day, launched in 2014, extends that mission by inviting people and organisations around the world to reflect on the principles guiding their decisions.
This year’s theme, “Re-centering Ethics”, comes at a time when businesses are facing some difficult choices – about the use of AI, the treatment of employees, corporate responsibility and the balance between commercial pressures and doing what is right.
For business leaders, the challenge is not simply to demonstrate support for ethical principles on one particular day. It is to ensure those principles hold firm when decisions become uncomfortable, when commercial interests are at stake and when employees raise concerns that leaders may not want to hear. After all, an organisation’s ethics are often revealed not by what it promises, but by what it chooses to do when those promises are put to the test.
Visit the Global Ethics Day 2026 website for further information.
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