All Business Continuity Practitioners certified under the auspices of the Business Continuity Institute will conduct themselves in accordance with these guidelines. Certification by the Business Continuity Institute is open to anyone who :

• Undertakes to provide professional Business Continuity Planning skills, services, advice, guidance, consultancy or training

• Can satisfy the examiners of their competence to practice.

Affiliate membership is open to all those who have an interest in Business Continuity.

1.Professional Conduct
In supplying their services as Business Continuity Practitioners, members of the Business Continuity Institute agree to:

• Undertake only those assignments which they are properly qualified to carry out, and ensure that any staff assigned are competent and receive appropriate supervision and management.

• Confirm in writing the objectives, responsibilities, terms of reference, fee rates or cost, and terms of business for the assignment

BCI members might be expected to provide services to employers or clients who may be in competition with each other or who offer similar services or products. At all times members will:

• Respect the confidentiality of all employer, client and supplier information to which they have access, both during and after the assignment.

• Declare any potential conflicts which might arise.

• Be prepared to accept security vetting by, or on behalf of, their employer or client.

2.Impartiality and Objectivity
When providing Business Continuity Planning services, BCI members will:

• Put the interests of their employers or clients first at all times.

• Advise and act solely in their employer's or client's best interests

• D isclose promptly to their employers or clients any potential conflicts of interest arising from their relationships with other parties, products or services.

• Not allow such conflicts to prejudice their advice to their employer or client.

• Not accept any terms or conditions for an assignment which may impair their independence, judgement or integrity.

• Not accept any form of inducement which might influence the solutions they recommend.

3.Quality
BCI members shall strive to deliver solutions of the highest quality to their employers or clients. For each project they will:

• Deal with all areas of their activities in a visibly structured and coherent manner so they can provide well-balanced advice and guidance at all stages

• Define the appropriate management and control mechanisms to be put in place to ensure the quality of the end product.

• Provide a quality control plan or similar specification of work, either as part of the professional proposal, or as a first step.

• Ensure that all members of the team involved in the project, including supplier staff where appropriate, understand and follow these quality procedures

4.Ethics
A Certified Business Continuity Practitioner will be expected to:

• Practice the highest level of professionalism at all times.

• Not engage in any conduct which is illegal or unethical, or any activity which could embarrass them, their employer or client.

• Practice and promote the concepts of Business Continuity.

• Not reveal any confidential information obtained in the pursuit of their activities.

• Continually strive to improve the competence of themselves and of those they work with.

• Maintain the currency of their competency across the Certification Standards

Any Certified BCI member who fails to comply with the Rules of Ethics in this Code of Practice be advised, in writing, that their Certification has been withdrawn and their name will be removed from the list of Certified Business Continuity Practitioners.

Any Associate member of the Business Continuity Institute who fails to comply with the Rules of Ethics in this Code of Practice will be advised, in writing, that they will be denied further access to any facilities of the Business Continuity Institute and their names will be removed from the list of Associate members.

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