Professional Ethics: A Theranos Story

The downfall of Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos, has been told in many formats (books, podcasts, television). However, the story of Theranos, the company, the employees, and other stakeholders have not been examined in-depth, especially from the perspective of ethical decision-making and organizational culture.

In this on-demand course, we will explore the Theranos fraud and key stakeholders using IESBA’s (International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants) five fundamental principles of ethics as the framework for our investigation: Integrity, Objectivity, Professional competence and due care, Confidentiality, Professional Behaviour.

We will also examine how a lack of psychological safety and a toxic organizational culture compromised the ethical decision-making process of numerous stakeholders.

Field of Study: Regulatory Ethics