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IBBC CAPITAL ACADEMY / 2027

Professionalism: law, independence and competence

Independent IBBC Capital draft content for self-study. Not affiliated with or endorsed by CFA Institute. New lessons await subject-matter review. No CFA designation or official PSM credit is awarded.

Learning goals

  • Explain applicable obligations using mechanisms and limitations.
  • Explain integrity in communication using mechanisms and limitations.
  • Explain capability and controls using mechanisms and limitations.

Draft · approximately 25 minutes, excluding further revision.

Applicable obligations

When applicable law and professional requirements differ, determine the governing rules and comply with the stricter duty; seek compliance advice rather than ignoring uncertainty.

Do not knowingly assist a violation; take appropriate steps to dissociate and document concerns, using legal and compliance channels as the circumstances require.

Integrity in communication

Gifts, issuer-paid travel and commercial pressure can impair independence; consider purpose and influence rather than treating an arbitrary small amount as universal permission.

Do not misstate services, returns or authorship; attribute sourced work appropriately and verify material claims even when another person or AI produced the text.

Capability and controls

Dishonest conduct relevant to professional integrity can violate duties beyond a trading transaction; workplace norms do not excuse deception.

Maintain knowledge and skills appropriate to current duties; a loss does not alone prove incompetence, and a profit does not prove competent process.

Formula and assumptions

Professional response: identify stricter duty; protect independence; verify claims; maintain role competence

Original applied case: Professionalism: law, independence and competence

  1. A fictional analyst is asked to attach their name to an unverified AI report and receives an issuer-funded resort invitation.
  2. Both authorship accuracy and independence require review; declining a benefit does not cure an unsupported recommendation.
  3. Validate the research, identify the actual contributors and follow a gift policy that addresses influence and disclosure.

Errors to catch

  • Do not assume: Always choose the less restrictive rule.
  • Do not assume: Following orders permits knowingly assisting a violation.
  • Do not assume: Any gift below an invented threshold is automatically permitted.

Original knowledge check

Answer every question before checking. Review explanations after submitting; retry starts a new attempt.

Sources and coverage status

These original lessons are drafts. Public outlines are used to check scope; the official learning-outcome text and proprietary question banks are not reproduced here. Follow the source for exam-year requirements and updates.