At the ASAC Conference: Keith Dickinson on Ethics
11/10/2022
During the recent ASAC Annual Conference in Oklahoma City, Keith Dickinson from Farm Credit East and ASAC member helped the attendees think through some difficult ethical dilemmas that are typical for agricultural consultants. One involved the challenge of consulting with producers who happen to be neighbors, and how to maintain confidentiality for both clients.
During the recent ASAC Annual Conference in Oklahoma City, Keith Dickinson from Farm Credit East and ASAC member helped the attendees think through some difficult ethical dilemmas that are typical for agricultural consultants. One involved the challenge of consulting with producers who happen to be neighbors, and how to maintain confidentiality for both clients.
The hypothetical situation that Keith provided was that a consultant had been working with two neighbors, but had never mentioned this to either of them. Producer A asked the consultant to develop a financial summary of the previous three years because he had approached his neighbor, Producer B, about buying Producer A’s operation. The neighbors were friends, and both were interested in making this deal.
The ethical challenges for the consultant include:
The ethical challenges for the consultant include:
1. The consultant has to maintain confidentiality of his relationships—so can he even tell Producer A that he knows Producer B?
2. The consultant can certainly provide the financial summary to Producer A, but should he have any role in discussing it with Producer B?
3. What are the consultant’s company’s policies concerning confidentiality in these situations?
4. Does the consultant’s company have another individual who can be called in to work with this arrangement so that the consultant is not put in this situation between two clients?
5. Are there state laws that influence what the consultant can and cannot do?
6. Would it be appropriate for the consultant to schedule a meeting for both neighbors to meet in a public location to discuss their plans, the limits to his services in this type of situation, and to provide full disclosure?
7. Can the consultant agree to move forward with the understanding that all communications with both neighbors are shared with everyone so that there is no opportunity for there to appear to be favoritism of one neighbor over the other?
8. If the consultant is a private consultant without any ties to a company and their policies, does it affect any of these options?
There was a hearty discussion of this dilemma among the attendees and two other situations that Keith presented. The attendees provided their insights and shared how the would address the situation from their point of view.
One of the great benefits to membership in ASAC is that consultants have access to a Code of Ethics that provides direction in these situations, and access to a network of consultants who can help other members navigate these difficult challenges.
If you aren’t a member, consider contacting ASAC through their website www.agconsultants.org or an existing member to get more information.
Don Tyler
ASAC Member
Post a new comment