1. General provisions
An APECOM member company should:
1.1. Observe the highest standards of professionalism in carrying out the role of Communications and treat former and current clients, associated colleagues and other professionals, intermediaries, the media, staff and, particularly, the public, with honesty.
1.2. Know of, follow and comply with this code, as well as the recommendations and guidelines issued by APECOM.
1.3. Accept the provisions of this Code and contribute in order that other associates accept them as principles upon which they should base appropriate decisions, in relation to any issue that may come up in their professional activity. Any associate company that consciously allows its staff to act in opposition to these principles is considered to be a participant in such an action and thus to have breached this code.
1.4. Avoid taking part in any practice or behaviour that damages the reputation of the Association and the interests of the activity.
2. Conduct in relation to the public, the media and other professionals
A member company should:
2.1. Carry out its professional activities with public interest in mind.
2.2. Respect truth, by not spreading, intentionally or carelessly, false or incorrect information.
2.3. Respect the codes of the professionals with whom it may work and never intentionally breach those codes.
2.4. Respect the confidential information to which it becomes a party in the course of professional activity.
3. Conduct in relation to clients
A member company should:
3.1. Ensure the confidentiality of information obtained from both current and former clients and not reveal or use that information to their detriment or to their own benefit, except when the client has previously publicly disclosed such information, specific authorisation has been given to disclose it or when this is required by a legal order.
3.2. Inform its clients about any financial interests that it has or any of its employees has in another company or with people whose services they recommend.
3.3. Inform the client of fees, commissions or other amounts that they may receive as part of the same activity, from sources other than the client itself.
3.4. Be qualified to negotiate with clients taking into consideration all the circumstances of each specific situation. And in particular: a) The time spent on carrying out the work; b) The specifics of the issue, if, it is a problem related to work and the difficulties of carrying it out; c) The professional or specialised skills and levels of qualification of staff, or outside consultants that deal with the case, the time spent and the level of responsibility involved; d) The amount of documentation needed to be examined or prepared and its importance; e) The location and circumstances under which the work is carried out, in total or partly; f) The scope, extent and value of the task to be carried out and its importance to the client, in terms of decision or of project.
A member company should not:
3.5. Make incorrect use of information about its client’s issues, for the financial gain of another.
3.6. Serve a client under terms or conditions that may compromise their independence, aims or integrity.
3.7. Accept to represent interests that may conflict or compete amongst themselves, without the Express consent of clients involved in them.
3.8. Guarantee that results can be reached that it knows ahead of time it does not have the capacity to achieve.
4. Conduct in relation to colleagues
A member company should:
4.1. Observe the highest levels of exactitude and truth and not make use of ideas or succumb to pressure from outside sources.
4.2. Be free to present its capacities or offer its services to any potential client, both by their own volition or at the client’s request, provided that, on doing so, they do not seek to break any existing contract or diminish the reputation or capacity of any other agency that is already serving the client.
A member company should not:
4.3. Denigrate the reputation or Professional practice of another member of the Association.