HAWTHORNE, N.Y., March 13, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Working Values(r) Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of SmartPros Ltd. (AMEX:PED) and a leading developer of values-based ethics and compliance training programs, today introduced its new Integrity Toolkit -- FastTrack(tm), a collection of interactive web-based tools to help organizations readily deploy and update integrated ethics and compliance training programs.
"To create the type of ethical culture demanded by regulators and prosecutors, ethics and compliance programs must be fully integrated," says Working Values President, David Gebler. "All of the elements must work together to help the company address its most pressing integrity risk factors. The Integrity Toolkit -- FastTrack(tm) allows companies to quickly and economically launch their very first ethics program, or enhance their existing program."
Gebler continued, "The foundation of this innovative package is our Living the Code(tm) component -- an ethics course that uses creative role-playing and real-life scenarios to help employees recognize the pressures and influences that may cause them to do things they know they shouldn't do."
The Integrity Toolkit -- FastTrack(tm) includes the most critical tools to provide basic ethics and compliance training, as well as the means to assess effectiveness and provide Code of Conduct certification.
-- Living the Code(tm) -- a modular online ethics course that explores
what it means to act with integrity, what gets in the way, and
the steps to overcome obstacles and put integrity at the heart of
all business decisions. Living the Code(tm) helps employees
acknowledge the pressures and influences that could lead to
inappropriate conduct. Its modular and interactive design
dramatizes realistic workplace scenarios, and can provide updates
and refresher training on a wide variety of topics.
-- Learning Moments(tm) -- Ethics Refresher Training -- five-minute
online episodes help reinforce and sustain ethics programs by
delivering key messages and learning points to specific employee
and manager groups throughout the year.
-- Code of Business Conduct -- helps develop a Code as the centerpiece
of the organization's integrity efforts.
-- Ethics Risk Assessment(tm) -- a web-based tool to assess employee
attitudes and awareness of critical integrity and antifraud risks
as part of a complete ethics program evaluation.
-- WeComply Compliance Modules -- The Working Values Integrity
Toolkit -- FastTrack(tm) seamlessly integrates over 40 compliance
training modules from the popular WeComply catalog. These
easy-to-use training modules cover the core knowledge that all
employees, auditors and board members need to meet heightened
ethical and legal standards.
Living the Code(tm) is a particularly innovative training tool. Participants adopt characters in a fictional financial services company, and then face a carefully linked series of ethical dilemmas. Resolving these challenges teaches a wide range of critical ethical principles and skills, including the selection of key issues, recognition of obstacles to ethical behavior, understanding the impact of one's actions on ethics compliance, and finally, how to make the right decisions. The Living the Code(tm) solution offers a variety of customizing options (including company branding, welcome messaging, color scheme and more), promoting "ownership" of the program by the presenting organization and its participating employees.
"Experience tells us that one course is not enough to change and sustain a culture," Gebler notes. "Working Values encourages companies to build a comprehensive approach comprised of several elements to frame the issues on an ongoing basis. We have developed a wide variety of training and communication tools to sustain the message and the meaning of the program. We offer integrated, cost-effective programs that promote ethical work environments and help organizations identify, mobilize, and 'live' their values and ethics policies."
About Working Values, Ltd.
Working Values(r) Ltd., a SmartPros(r) company, is an industry leading developer of integrated values-based corporate responsibility and ethics awareness and compliance learning programs. Since 1993, Working Values has helped organizations such as America Online, JP Morgan Chase, Coors Brewing Company, Schering Plough and Raytheon align workplace behavior with standards, values and ethical principles. For more information, visit http://www.workingvalues.com.
About SmartPros, Ltd.
Founded in 1981, SmartPros Ltd. is an industry leader in the field of accredited professional education and corporate training. Its products and services are primarily focused in the accredited professional areas of corporate accounting, financial management, public accounting, governmental and not-for-profit accounting, banking, engineering, and ethics and compliance. SmartPros is a leading provider of professional education products to Fortune 500 companies, as well as the major firms and associations in each of its professional markets. SmartPros provides education and content publishing and development services in a variety of media including Web, CD-ROM and video. Our subscription libraries feature hundreds of course titles and 1,000+ hours of accredited education. SmartPros' proprietary Professional Education Center (PEC) Learning Management System (LMS) offers enterprise distribution and administration of education content and information. In addition, SmartPros produces a popular news and information portal for accounting and finance professionals that services 300,000+ visitors and 100,000+ subscribers per month. Visit: www.smartpros.com.
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