May 02, 2025
Aziza Msaaf crossed an entire ocean to complete our Ethics and Compliance Certification program. She is in charge of ethics and professional conduct for Morocco’s Court of Accounts (similar to the Auditor General of Quebec or Canada) and is the first person who has come here from another country to take part in the program. She’s leaving very happy with what she learned and some useful tools that are bound to come in handy in her work.
Msaaf has spent the last 22 years working in management control for the same employer. She has been in her current position since a permanent ethics and professional conduct unit was created in 2022. This initiative was the result of new strategic priorities embraced by the Court of Accounts, reflecting a desire to modernize the organization and further strengthen the integrity of its leadership.
An informed choice
As she prepared to implement a strategy to promote ethics and professional conduct within her organization — which is highly respected in professional circles and by the general public — Msaaf wanted to expand her knowledge and learn from approaches in other jurisdictions.
“We had already done several things, including introducing a charter and developing training sessions,” she explained. “But we wanted to validate what we were doing and explore new ideas.” After carrying out extensive research and comparing the available options, she gravitated toward the in-person program at Executive Education HEC Montréal, which is divided into four two-day modules that are delivered monthly. “The stated goals were a perfect match with my own expectations.” With the support of her employer, she booked a series of return flights to Montreal.
The right balance between theory and practice
Msaaf contends that the strength of the program lies in how well it balances theory and practice, with high-profile academic and industry experts covering the multifaceted aspects of the subject. “We learned about the historical foundations and milestones in ethics, and explored contemporary issues with practitioners who have first-hand experience with ethics and compliance dilemmas in their own work. This lends remarkable depth to the learning process.”
A stimulating environment and a warm welcome
The wide range of backgrounds of the participants in the cohort also meant that many different perspectives could be shared. “The questions people asked were always on point, bringing some fundamental issues and major challenges like cybersecurity and AI into the conversation, which made for some incredibly thought-provoking discussions.”
She also emphasized how friendly the program team, instructors and other people in the group were, and how helpful this was in making her feel welcome, as the only participant from outside Quebec. “When local examples were brought up, people always made it a point to explain the context to me.”
She’ll now be putting her newfound knowledge to good use as she works to implement ethics and compliance initiatives in the Court of Accounts. “My biggest challenge will be to make the most out of what I learned to benefit the organization and my country,” she said, clearly satisfied with and inspired by her first experience in Canada.
➲ Learn more about the Certification in Ethics and Compliance.