CHAPTER 1

ETHICAL ASPECTS OF STUDENT CONSULTING

The student team must exercise great care and judgement with respect to any intentional or unintentional release of the client's confidential information. The Small Business Consulting (SBC) program guarantees that all information about the client and their business will remain confidential.

Students should not discuss their client's business with outsiders, nor should there be ridicule of a client's operation. Confidentiality of any client information is permanent; students will never use or discuss any client information outside the classroom except with the client, nor engage in any direct competition with the client during or following the case. In addition, written reports will not be made available to outsiders without the client's written permission. Neither should names, facts, or pictures be used for publicity purposes, without the express permission of the individuals mentioned or pictured. Without confidentiality as a foundation of the client/counselor relationship, the result would be insufficient information for the provision of management assistance.

It is possible that during the consultation students may discover activities that appear to be unethical or illegal. When such situations are reported to the instructor, he/she must use his/her best judgement in handling the matter, keeping in mind the confidential aspects of the consulting. In addition, the SBC instructor may choose to consult with the SBA Business Development Specialist. It is not possible to provide specific instructions on this point, except to urge discretion and avoidance of publicity. Such consulting cases may have to be discontinued.

Each student should carefully read the Standards of Conduct from the Statement of Work, on the following page, which contains some conflict-of-interest situations to avoid. For example, students cannot hold a vested interest in companies that maintain business relationships with their SBC client. They cannot personally receive gifts or gratuities from a client nor serve on their advisory board. They cannot work as a student consultant for a business that is owned or managed by themselves or an immediate family member. While the team can help the client in obtaining loans, including SBA guaranteed loans, they cannot offer testimony or evidence on behalf of a client to obtain a SBA guarantee.

STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR THE SBI PROGRAM

(Taken from the SBDC Statement of Work)

The SBC Instructor, students and faculty case supervisors through their positions as contracting

representatives with the SBA, are asked to adhere to the highest standards of professional and

ethical conduct, and SHALL NOT:

! Hold vested interests in firms that maintain business relationships with a client;

! Accept personal gifts or gratuities from clients;

! Accept as a client a firm for which they serve as an advisory board member;

! Accept as a client a company owned or controlled by a foreign individual (the SBC

Instructor should seek approval from the SBA BD staff on this issue as it pertains to

counseling resident aliens);

! Accept as a client a company from another SBA service area (i.e., another Region or

District Office), unless referred by the appropriate SBA program person;

! Accept employment or remuneration from a client firm while still engaged in counseling--

must allow 90-day grace period just prior to and just after counseling engagement to waive

this requirement (the 90-day grace period requirement will not apply to students);

! Apply for nor personally receive assistance from other SBA programs;

! Consult with a client firm that is owned/managed by an immediate family member;

! Share current client data with others outside of the student team, case supervisor,

faculty advisers, and SBC class members (possible exceptions to this standard may arise when

working with other SBA program areas, or with other SBA resource partners--i.e., SCORE

and SBDC; in these instances the SBC Instructor should seek SBA BD staff guidance and

client waiver of confidentiality);

! Practice discriminatory case selection procedures against any potential client;

! Accept as a client a firm in which they maintain a controlling interest, or in which an SBA

employee has a controlling interest; and

! Proffer testimony or evidence on behalf of an SBC client who is applying for an SBA loan

guarantee or other SBA assistance program.