Details of Principles of Business Conduct

IEEE has been built based on the excellence of its technical information and member and customer service. IEEE insists not only on ethical dealings with others, but on the ethical handling of actual or apparent conflicts of interest.

See the IEEE Staff Policy and Chapter 3 of the Employee Handbook for rules regarding employee conduct (requires user ID and password).

Staff’s certification of compliance with the requirements of the “Principles” also includes acknowledgment of the above policy and employee handbook sections.

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All involved parties are required to deal honestly and fairly with IEEE volunteers, members, customers, vendors/suppliers, competitors, and others.

In dealings with these parties, IEEE:

• prohibits bribes, kickbacks, or any other form of improper payment;
• prohibits gifts, favors, services, payments, or privileges of a character that goes beyond courtesies consistent with ethical and accepted business practices;
• limits marketing and client entertainment expenditures (see Section 6 of the IEEE Finance Operations Manual (PDF, 222 KB) for allowable expenses);
• requires clear and precise communication in contracts, advertising, literature, and other public statements;
• reflects accurately on all invoices the sale price and terms of sales;
• protects all proprietary data provided by customers or suppliers;
• prohibits representatives from otherwise taking unfair advantage of customers, suppliers, or other third parties, through manipulation, concealment, or abuse of confidential information.

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Involved parties should not participate in any activity that creates or gives the appearance of a conflict of interest between their personal interests and the interests of IEEE. Situations that could represent potential conflicts of interest include:

• being a consultant to, or a director, officer, or employee of an outside business that:
  • markets products or services in competition with or supplies products or services to IEEE;
  • purchases products or services from IEEE;
  • has any financial interest in any entity with which IEEE does business;
• seeking or accepting any personal loan or services from any entity with which IEEE does business;
• being a consultant to, or a director, officer, volunteer, or employee of an outside business if the responsibilities of the outside business would be in conflict with the director’s, officer’s, volunteer’s, or employee’s responsibilities for IEEE;
• accepting any personal loan or guarantee of obligations from IEEE;
• conducting business on behalf of staff or volunteer family members.

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Conflict of Interest

Involved parties must complete and submit a Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement to the Director, Operations Audit, indicating the existence of any actual or potential conflicts of interest between their IEEE responsibilities and their other personal or business involements (see the IEEE Bylaws I-300.2 - Conflict of Interest and the IEEE Policies, Section 9.9 - Conflict of Interest, for an explanation of the requirements for Conflict of Interest (COI) reporting; also see the COI form for definitions of situations that could be considered conflicts of interest).

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Principles of Business Conduct

A Statement of Exceptions should be completed and forwarded to IEEE Corporate Integrity for all other items that individuals consider possible violations of the IEEE Principles of Business Conduct (see compliance form).

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Certain involved parties are entrusted with IEEE’s confidential information and with the confidential information of its suppliers, customers, or other business partners (see the IEEE Policies Section 9.28 - Information Disclosure Policy for the categories of information that are considered confidential). Involved parties shall:

• not discuss confidential information with or in the presence of any unauthorized persons;
• use confidential information only for legitimate business purposes;
• not disclose confidential information to third parties;
• not use IEEE property or resources for any personal benefit or the personal benefit of anyone else.

In addition, any business opportunity that comes to an IEEE volunteer or staff member in his/her capacity as a representative of IEEE belongs to IEEE.

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 All involved parties are committed to ensure full, fair, accurate, timely, and understandable disclosure in reports. To this end, involved parties shall:

• not make false or misleading entries in IEEE’s books;
• not condone the establishment of any undisclosed or unrecorded bank accounts, funds, or other assets for any purpose;
• comply with generally accepted accounting principles and applicable IEEE financial reporting and related policies and procedures;
• notify IEEE Corporate Integrity if there is an unreported transaction;
• maintain a system of internal controls that will provide reasonable assurances that material information is made known to management;
• present information in a clear and orderly manner;
• notify IEEE Corporate Integrity if presently debarred, suspended, proposed debarment, or excluded by any U.S. Federal government department or agency; or if within the last three years have been convicted or had a civil judgment rendered against you for commission of fraud, embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statement, tax evasion, violating federal criminal tax laws, or receiving stolen property;or if presently indicted for any of these offenses; or if any of the foregoing actions occur subsequent to the submission of a compliance certificate; 
• not communicate to the public any nonpublic information, except under the direction of the IEEE Executive Director.

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Specifically, IEEE is committed to:

• maintaining a safe and healthy work environment;
• promoting a workplace that is free from discrimination or harassment,
• supporting fair competition;
• conducting our activities in compliance with all applicable laws (see references to laws, rules, and regulations applicable to international business);
• keeping political activities separate from our business;
• prohibiting illegal payments, gifts, or gratuities to any government officials or political party;
• prohibiting use, reproduction, or distribution of any third party’s trade secrets, copyrighted information, or confidential information;
• prohibiting the sale or export of our products and services to countries where they may not be sold per all applicable U.S. (federal, state, and local) and foreign laws (see information on the Office of Foreign Asset Control requirements).

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It is the IEEE’s responsibility to provide a process for reporting and access to IEEE Corporate Integrity, when an individual wishes to report a suspected violation of the Principles or to seek counseling and guidance when his/her immediate supervisor cannot, for whatever reason, be contacted to report suspected or questionable activities.

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In response to specific requests, IEEE Corporate Integrity provides guidance and counseling on reports and handling of reportable conditions to assure compliance with these Principles. The Corporate Integrity Compliance Person may conduct investigations and shall report to the IEEE Audit Committee.

IEEE volunteers and staff with decision-making authority are asked to read the Principles and sign a Compliance Certificate (annually). IEEE volunteers must complete and submit the Compliance Certificate to their assigned departmental contact within 30 days of taking office. IEEE staff will complete the Compliance Certificate during the annual performance review period and foward it to IEEE Corporate Integrity.

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For volunteers, failure to submit a completed Compliance Certificate within 30 days of assuming his/her position or, in the case of elected positions within 30 days of the acceptance of the nomination, shall result in automatic removal from service on the committee, board, or election slate.

For staff, failure to submit a completed Compliance Certificate may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.

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If an individual feels he/she may be involved in, or has uncovered, a violation of one or more of the items noted in the Principles (see items above) and wishes to receive advice and counsel on addressing the issue, he/she may complete the Statement of Exceptions portion of the Principles of Business Conduct Compliance Certificate (see below) and forward it to IEEE Corporate Integrity.

The statement will be reviewed and a response given, indicating what, if any, action should be taken by the individual to address the issue/concern.

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Reports of any known or suspected violations and questions regarding these Principles are to be directed to IEEE Corporate Integrity.

IEEE reserves the right to use a third party reporting resource.

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All reports will be treated confidentially to the fullest extent possible. IEEE Corporate Integrity will investigate the alleged violation and determine an applicable response, working with the Chair of the IEEE Audit Committee, the IEEE Executive Director, and/or the Staff Executive, Business Administration, as applicable.

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Involved parties that violate any laws, governmental regulations, or these Principles will face appropriate disciplinary action. The disciplinary action will depend on the nature of the violation and the circumstances involved. In the case of employees, the disciplinary action may include termination. In the case of volunteers, the disciplinary action may include removal from office or other proceedings (see IEEE Bylaw I-110).

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 For further information, please see the Laws, Rules, and Regulations Relating to International Business page. 

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