Our policies and reports

Introduction

The days of businesses being judged solely on their financial performance are long gone.  The most admired, and successful, businesses today are those that not only deliver profit, but also those that recognise their impact more widely in the community and seek to do something about it – whether that is by looking after and developing all of their staff, taking an interest in their clients, treating their suppliers fairly, respecting the natural environment or engaging with residents in their local area, to name but a few examples.

This is why our Code of Conduct is so important. 

You can read our Code of Conduct below or download it in pdf format.

Our Values and principles

Our Values are at the heart of who we are – and underpin this Code of Conduct. They enable us to define what we collectively stand for and help inform everything that we do as a business – from setting our firm’s strategy through to how we recruit and develop our staff.  Our Values are defined as follows:

• We are curious
• We value authenticity
• We respect each other
• We enable

We draw on these Values to give us a clear purpose and a set of Guiding Principles that set us apart from our competitors. 

Our aim is to understand people, the organisations they run, and what matters to them, so we can simplify unnecessary complexity and help them achieve their ambitions.

We have three important principles that make a big difference in our business, and they also have a significant impact on our clients’ organisations. They are really simple:

• We work with people not numbers – People matter; making a difference for the people we work with and the people we work for is our priority.
• We never underestimate understanding – We are relentlessly curious, because we want to know each client’s organisation as well as they do, even better if we can.
• We get things done – We have an entrepreneurial attitude and seek out practical and commercial solutions to challenging problems.

What this means

Drawing on our Values and Guiding Principles, our Code of Conduct provides us with a framework for how we should behave in our day-to-day work.

We learn and improve

We recognise that we are accountable for our actions and that continued learning is important to deliver our work to the highest standards.  

• We invest time in learning and self-improvement, both professionally and personally
• We actively seek feedback from those around us and use it to help us to continue to improve and perform our work to a high quality and standard
• We are inquisitive and create opportunities to satisfy our curiosity
• We ensure that we keep up to date with and comply with all laws, regulations and professional standards when performing our work, displaying integrity, objectivity and due care at all times

We value our people

We aim to create a supportive, developmental and aspirational working environment that enables all of us to fulfil our potential.

• We treat all of our colleagues fairly and with respect, recognising that the combination of our different personalities, backgrounds, experiences and expertise is what gives us our advantage
• We are generous with our ideas, views, support and time
• We provide honest and respectful feedback to support each other with our development objectives, and to ensure the highest possible quality of work
• We empower and support our colleagues to deliver the best possible results

We understand our clients

We take a genuine interest in understanding our clients, their aspirations and their challenges.

• We invest time in asking questions to better understand the underlying issues
• We seek continuous dialogue – genuine two-way communication – with our clients and respond to them in a timely manner
• We ask for feedback from our clients so that we can continue to improve the service we offer
• We demonstrate care and attention when gathering information and making decisions that affect our clients

We are transparent and honest

We value character, honesty and courage. We refuse to compromise on our principles.

• We recognise our personal strengths and limitations
• We are not afraid to ask for help or support
• We acknowledge mistakes and failures, and seek to learn from them
• We do not put off difficult decisions or conversations, and always give the best possible advice – even if it is not necessarily the advice the recipient wants to hear

We challenge ourselves and others

We challenge, explore and ask questions; we never simply assume or turn a blind eye.

• We have the courage to ask difficult questions of ourselves, our colleagues or our clients
• We speak up constructively on matters of principle, whatever the outcome
• We feel enabled to raise concerns as and when they arise without fear or challenge
• We remain objective and apply our professional scepticism and curiosity at all times

We produce great work

We are driven to provide clever solutions to complex problems. We thrive when facing a challenge and are willing to take the lead in making things happen.

• We take personal accountability for our commitments
• We deliver on our promises and keep to deadlines
• We only provide our services where we have the appropriate understanding, expertise and experience to deliver a high-quality product
• We maintain the firm’s values and priorities, complying with all applicable professional standards, laws and regulations, even in high-pressure situations

We are good neighbours

We believe that we can and should have a positive impact on the communities of which we are a part.

• We seek to understand the impact of our individual and collective decisions on our  (professional, local or broader) communities
• We challenge ourselves and our colleagues to be active contributors to our communities
• We aim to leave our communities in a stronger position than we joined them
• We seek to minimise our impact on the natural environment

Now make it happen

This Code of Conduct is at the heart of what we want to achieve as an organisation.  It guides our Partners and staff in our day-to-day work, influences our culture and sets high standards in key professional behaviours.   With the support of our Technical, Training and HR teams, as well as our Ethics Partner and Professional Standards Committee, we expect everyone at PKF Littlejohn to embrace the Code and help our firm to continue to make a positive difference.