The Role of a Professional in Society

By Y. H. Malegam

Summary

This Forum of Free Enterprise pamphlet reprints Y. H. Malegam’s valedictory address to the Forum’s Annual Residential Programme on Taxation at Khandala in August 2006. Malegam, a former Managing Partner of S.B. Billimoria & Co., Co-Chairman of Deloitte Haskins and Sells, and past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, begins by defining what makes a professional. Drawing on an IFAC study, he identifies three qualities: skills and expertise tested by examination and continuously developed; commitment to the values of accuracy, honesty, integrity, objectivity, transparency and reliability; and being subject to oversight by a disciplinary body. He chooses to dwell on the first two, arguing that a professional’s responsibilities extend beyond mere function to a duty toward himself, the client or employer, and the public interest, with an obligation to safeguard the public interest and create sustainable value.

The central thread of the address is that functional expertise alone is insufficient in today’s globalised world; domain knowledge must be combined with continuous self-development and with integrity and objectivity. Malegam surveys management literature, including McKinsey Quarterly articles on how executives grow, the psychology of change management, and research linking high ethical standards in organisations to greater drive, effectiveness and significant competitive advantages, drawing out lessons professionals can apply to their own development.

Malegam then turns to two grave problems facing Indian society: the widening gap between rich and poor (illustrated with under-five mortality and healthcare-expenditure data) and the pervasive spread of corruption, which he discusses at length via Bimal Jalan’s analysis of the ‘supply and demand of corruption’ and the vertical and horizontal integration of corruption across politics, bureaucracy, and even independent institutions and professions. He closes with a charge to professionals: to leverage their senior positions to build a more ethical environment, to ask why things are the way they are rather than merely supplying answers, and to recognise that because professionals belong to society’s dominant element, the norms they adopt will largely determine the norms of society.

Key points

• The work is Y. H. Malegam’s valedictory address to the FFE Annual Residential Programme on Taxation, Khandala, August 2006.

• A professional is defined by three qualities (per an IFAC study): tested and continuously developed expertise, commitment to ethical values, and submission to disciplinary oversight.

• Professional responsibility extends beyond function to the client/employer, to oneself, and to safeguarding the public interest by creating sustainable value.

• Mere functional expertise is not enough in a globalised world; domain knowledge must be paired with continuous self-development, honesty and objectivity.

• Management research (McKinsey Quarterly, IFAC) is mined for lessons on how executives and professionals grow.

• Two societal dangers are highlighted: the widening rich-poor gap (mortality and healthcare data) and pervasive corruption.

• Corruption is analysed through Bimal Jalan’s ‘supply and demand of corruption’ and its vertical and horizontal integration across institutions.

• Closing charge: professionals, as society’s dominant element and potential role models, set the norms of society by the norms they adopt.

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