Professional Ethics & Standards Flashcards
7 cards from real CCC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Professional Ethics & Standards flashcards as text
A cost consultant discovers a material error in an estimate already submitted to a client. According to AACE International's Canons of Ethics, what should the consultant do?
Answer: Promptly disclose the error to the client and correct it
Professional integrity requires prompt disclosure and correction of known material errors regardless of magnitude.
A client asks a certified cost consultant to lower a contingency estimate to make a project appear more fundable. The consultant believes the original figure is accurate. What is the ethical response?
Answer: Decline to alter the estimate and explain the professional basis for it
Consultants must not misrepresent professional judgments to please clients; they should stand by defensible estimates and explain their basis.
Under AACE ethical standards, a cost consultant may accept a commission from an equipment vendor whose products are specified in a project estimate only if:
Answer: The arrangement is fully disclosed to and accepted by the client
Conflicts of interest such as vendor commissions are permissible only with full disclosure to and consent of all affected parties.
A cost consultant is asked to provide an expert opinion in litigation. Which practice violates professional ethics?
Answer: Accepting a fee contingent on the outcome of the case
Contingent fees for expert testimony compromise objectivity and are considered unethical for professional experts.
A CCC-certified consultant learns that a colleague has been falsifying progress measurement data on a joint project. What is the appropriate first ethical step?
Answer: Address the issue through appropriate reporting channels within the organization
Ethics codes require reporting known professional misconduct through proper channels rather than ignoring or improperly publicizing it.
Which action best demonstrates a cost consultant's ethical duty of competence?
Answer: Accepting only assignments within their area of expertise or obtaining qualified assistance
Professionals must perform services only in their areas of competence or engage qualified experts to fill gaps.
A former client's confidential cost breakdown data would be useful in preparing a bid analysis for a new client who is a competitor. Ethically, the consultant should:
Answer: Refuse to use or disclose the former client's confidential information
The duty of confidentiality survives the end of an engagement, so proprietary client data cannot be used for a competitor's benefit.