RICS APC Ethics Questioning: Best Practice Framework & What to Avoid

16 minutes ago
4 min read

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What is this blog about?

As an RICS APC Assessor or Chair, your questioning technique is key to determining if a candidate has hit level 3 in the Ethics, Rules of Conduct and Professional mandatory competency.

Here are our top tips to ensure that your questioning is robust, relevant and aligned with RICS best practice. It is also a helpful refresher for RICS APC candidates on how your interview should be structured, and, thus how you can prepare accordingly.

The Four Step Questioning Framework

To help candidates demonstrate their competencies logically, assessors should use a four step top-down approach.

1. Start with the Rules of Conduct

A great way to kick off is to begin the conversation on familiar, high-level ground. This lets the candidate find their footing and demonstrate their awareness of the Rules of Conduct.

Ask the candidate to pick one of the five Rules of Conduct.
Ask them to explain it in detail, demonstrating that they understand the core spirit of the Rule, rather than just reciting it ‘parrot fashion’.

2. Move to Level 3 and Level 2 Examples from their Summary of Experience

Transition your questioning into the candidate’s experience by questioning the examples in their Summary of Experience.

Focus on their practical application of ethics and advice on an ethical dilemma by questioning their examples in Level 3.
You can also discuss their Level 2 examples, where they have actively carried out work professionally and ethically, and, in doing so, applied the Rules of Conduct.

3. Move into Knowledge (Level 1 & understanding their limitations)

This is where you can test out the candidate’s foundational awareness of how a firm operates and where their professional and personal boundaries lie. Key areas to question include:

Registering for regulation, eligibility and the Responsible Principle.
Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) and Complaints Handling Procedures (CHP).
Clients’ money handling, bribery, gifts and hospitality and CPD requirements.
Locums (understanding business continuity).

Hypothetical scenario setting can be used here to test a candidate’s understanding of their limitations, but don’t try to be too clever. Assessors should always keep hypothetical scenarios realistic and fair - and if at all possible, focus your questioning on the examples that the candidate has written down.

4. Move into Legislation

You can wrap up by exploring the broader legal framework that underpins the surveying profession. You should ensure that candidates understand the general principles of:

Bribery Act 2010 and modern slavery.
Money laundering and terrorist financing.
Data protection, if this hasn’t already been covered at length in the Data Management competency.
Health and safety, with the proviso stated above.

What to avoid?

The profession evolves and so must your questioning. RICS recommend consciously moving away from antiquated or trivia-based questions.

Avoid These Outdated Topics	Why?
The ‘Bottle of Wine’ scenario	Overused and often lacks the nuance of modern corporate hospitality guidelines.
Who is the current President / CEO?	Tests memory of trivial facts rather than professional competence or ethical judgment.
Strange/Absurd Scenarios	Complicated, unrealistic trick questions confuse candidates rather than testing out their everyday competence.
Annual Subs	Knowing the exact administrative cost or date of professional fees does not prove a candidate’s ethical standing - just that they have a great memory!
Levitt / Bichard (as current affairs)	While historic reviews are important for context, they should no longer be treated as hot-off-the-press current affairs. Look at what has been happening in the industry in the last 3-6 months and focus questioning here instead.

Final Thoughts for RICS APC Assessors

The goal of the APC interview is not to trip candidates up; it should give them the opportunity to prove they are a safe pair of hands and ready to uphold the reputation of the RICS.

By using this updated, structured approach, assessors can ensure a fair, modern and comprehensive assessment every time.

For candidates, knowing how you might be assessed means that you can better prepare for your final assessment. Share this framework with your Counsellor and others who will be testing you out with Q&A in the run up to your interview!

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