Course Description
This course examines the ethical and regulatory dimensions of the financial industry. Students explore compliance frameworks, financial misconduct, and ethical dilemmas through case studies. Emphasis is placed on developing professional judgment and understanding regulatory systems across financial markets. (3 credits)
Additional Information
This course will focus on the principles, structures, and enforcement mechanisms that shape modern financial regulation in the United States and globally. Other topics include regulatory agencies and their authority, anti‑fraud and anti‑money‑laundering frameworks, ethics in financial decision‑making, whistleblower protections, governance failures, and major historical cases of financial misconduct. Students will evaluate regulatory interventions, analyze ethical dilemmas, and propose policy or organizational improvements aligned with professional and legal standards.
Prerequisites
- ACC 101: Financial Accounting
- ACC 102: Managerial Accounting
- BUS 201: Business Statistics (or equivalent)
- ECO 103: Macroeconomics OR ECO 104: Microeconomics
- ENG 101: English Composition 1
- ENG 102: English Composition 2
- FIN 210: Financial Management
Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
- Apply the concepts, theories, and relationships among the functional areas of an organization, including the ability to explain the nature and construct of an organization.
- Design strategic marketing practices. This will include such areas as marketing research, consumer behavior, customer acquisition and retention strategies, and public relations. Additional areas include digital marketing including SEO techniques, social media strategies, leveraging artificial intelligence for targeted marketing campaigns, and driving brand loyalty.
- Explain the global environment of business including the political, social, and intercultural sensitivities that exist in society that are important to the development of meaningful relationships and success in business and in life.
- Demonstrate professional business behavior, social responsibility, and ethical decision making and conduct.
- Demonstrate effective critical thinking, decision-making, problem solving, organizational leadership, teamwork; oral and written communication skills utilizing tools such as AI, research databases, and other tools as required.
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Analyze major U.S. and global financial regulatory frameworks and determine how they shape market behavior.
- Evaluate ethical dilemmas in financial practice using established ethical theories and professional standards.
- Assess financial misconduct cases to identify root causes, regulatory failures, and ethical breakdowns.
- Synthesize regulatory requirements and ethical considerations to recommend appropriate compliance strategies for financial institutions.
- Compare and critique the roles and authority of key regulatory bodies (SEC, CFTC, FINRA, CFPB, OCC, Federal Reserve, international regulators).
- Design an ethical decision‑making model applicable to real‑world financial scenarios.
Course Activities and Grading
| Assignments | Points | Weight |
|---|
Discussions (Weeks 1-7) | 140 | 14% |
Short Written Analyses (Weeks 1,2,3,5,6) | 420 | 42% |
Midterm Case Evaluation (Week 4) | 150 | 15% |
Final Project Draft (Week 7) | 100 | 10% |
Final Project (Week 8) | 190 | 19% |
Total Points | 1000 | 100% |
Required Textbook
- This course uses Open Educational Resources (OER). OER are openly licensed, educational resources that can be used for teaching, learning and research. OER may consist of a variety of resources such as textbooks, videos and software that are no cost for students.
Course Schedule
Week | PLOs | SLOs | Readings and Exercises | Assignments |
1 | 2,4 | 1,2 | Topics: Foundations of Financial Regulation & Ethical Reasoning - Read and Review:
- Chapter 1: Why Ethics Matter – Introduction, Business Ethics (OpenStax)
- Responsible business conduct in the financial sector (OECD)
- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence in the Financial Industry (video)
- Financial Capability Month Message from SEC Chair Gary Gensler (video)
- Ethical Leadership, Part 1: Perilous at the Top (video)
- Ponzi Scheme
- Bernard L. Madoff and Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC - Litigation Release
- SEC charges Bernard L. Madoff for multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme - Press Release
- FBI - Bernie Madoff Case
| - Review assigned resources
- Participate in discussions
- Submit Short Written Analysis 1
|
2 | 2,5 | 1,3,5 | Topics: Regulatory Agencies & Enforcement Powers - Read and Review:
- How We Operate - Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
- A Day Inside FINRA (video)
- Insider Trading Detection: FINRA’s Vital Role in Ensuring Market Integrity (video)
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) - Market Participants Division
- Eras Tour of The Securities and Exchange Commission - The SEC’s 90th Anniversary (video)
| - Review assigned resources
- Participate in discussions
- Submit Short Written Analysis 2
|
3 | 3,4 | 1,2,5 | Topics: Global Financial Systems & Cross Border Regulation - Read and Review:
- Global Financial Stability Report (IMF) - Executive Summary and Chapters 1 & 2
- Basel III: Finalising post-crisis reforms
- Press Briefing: Global Financial Stability Report (video)
- Finalising Basel III – Highlights (video)
- Consolidated Basel Framework - Overview
- HSBC Holdings Plc. and HSBC Bank USA N.A. Admit to Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Violations, Forfeit $1.256 Billion in Deferred Prosecution Agreement
- Documents and Resources from the December 11, 2012 HSBC Press Conference
- U.S. Vulnerabilities to Money Laundering, Drugs, and Terrorist Financing: HSBC Case History
| - Review assigned resources
- Participate in discussions
- Submit Short Written Analysis 3
|
4 | 2,4,5 | 2,3,4,5 | Topics: Financial Crimes, Fraud, & Whistleblowing - Read and Review:
- United States v. Bernard L. Madoff and related cases
- The Madoff Affair (full documentary)
- The man who figured out Madoff's Ponzi scheme (60 Minutes)
- Bernard L. Madoff and Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC – Litigation Release (Review)
- FBI - Bernie Madoff Case (Review)
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Fines Wells Fargo $100 Million for Widespread Illegal Practice of Secretly Opening Unauthorized Accounts
- OCC Hosts St. Louis Workshop for Bank Directors
- Federal Reserve Board - Wells Fargo Press Release
- The Rise And Stall Of Wells Fargo (video)
- Don’t Open the Door to Scammers – Investor.gov
- About the Division of Enforcement, Security Exchange Commission
- SEC Litigation Releases
- FINRA For Investors
- Information for industry whistleblowers (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)
- Consumer Complaint Database
| - Review assigned resources
- Participate in discussions
- Submit Midterm Case Evaluation
|
5 | 2 | 3 | Topics: Compliance Frameworks & Risk Management Ethics - Read and Review:
- Chapter 6: What Employees Owe Employers, Business Ethics (OpenStax)
- Responsible business conduct in the financial sector (Review)
- Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs - Introduction and Major Evaluation Areas
- Enterprise Risk Management
- The IIA’s Three Lines Model
- Culture of compliance: Setting the right tone at the top (video)
- Tone from the top: The role of leadership in establishing a culture of integrity in businesses (video)
- Corporate governance & risk management explained (video)
- Risk management and corporate governance (video)
- Enterprise risk management for audit committees (video)
- Understanding the updated three lines of defense model (video)
| - Review assigned resources
- Participate in discussions
- Submit Short Written Analysis 4
|
6 | 2,3,5 | 1,5 | Topics: Technology, Regulation, & Ethical Use of Data - Read and Review:
- OECD framework for AI governance and trustworthy artificial intelligence
- Global financial stability report: Maintaining resilience
- Impacts of AI on financial stability (video)
- AI in finance: How to approach financial regulation (video)
- Applications of AI: Financial and capital markets (video)
- Can we use technology and innovation to improve financial inclusion? (video)
- Managing technology in finance: Global approaches for the digital age (video
- IMF chief says she is concerned about cybersecurity risks to financial stability (video)
| - Review assigned resources
- Participate in discussions
- Submit Short Written Analysis 5
|
7 | 4,5 | 4,6 | Topics: Corporate Governance & Ethical Decision‑Making Models - Read and Review:
- Chapter 10: Changing Work Environments and Future Trends, Business Ethics (OpenStax)
- Senate Hearing: An examination of Wells Fargo’s unauthorized accounts and the regulatory response (video)
- The rise and stall of Wells Fargo (Review) (video)
- Corporate governance & risk management explained (video)
- Being Your Best Self, Part 2: Moral Decision Making, Concepts Unwrapped (video)
| - Review assigned resources
- Participate in discussions
- Submit Final Project Draft - Governance and Compliance Transformation Plan for Meridian Harbor Financial Group
|
8 | 2,3,4,5 | 1,2,3,4,5 | Topics: Integrating Regulation, Ethics, & Professional Judgment - Read and Review:
- Introduction to Giving Voice to Values (video)
- Ethical leadership, part 2: Best practices (video)
- Chapter 1: Why Ethics Matter – Introduction, Business Ethics (OpenStax) (Review)
- Chapter 6: What Employees Owe Employers, Business Ethics (OpenStax) (Review)
- Chapter 10: Changing Work Environments and Future Trends, Business Ethics (OpenStax) (Review)
- Basel III: Finalising post-crisis reforms (Review)
- Responsible business conduct in the financial sector (Review)
- Global financial stability report: Maintaining resilience (Review)
- How We Operate - Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) (Review)
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission - Markets Participants Division (Review)
- Information for industry whistleblowers (Review)
- Senate Hearing: An examination of Wells Fargo’s unauthorized accounts and the regulatory response (video) (Review)
- Bernard L. Madoff and Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC - Litigation Release (Review)
| - Review assigned resources
- Submit Final Project Readiness Check: Evidence-to-Action Alignment Matrix (Ungraded)
- Submit Final Project: Regulatory & Ethical Assessment Report
- Complete Course Evaluation
|
COSC Accessibility Statement
Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.
COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources
Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.
