ACCT CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY

This Form is Confidential and Intended for Internal Use Only

Policy:

Employees and volunteers of ACCT International (ACCT) must, in the course of conducting ACCT business, act in the best interests of ACCT. Moreover, the Executive Director and the Board of Directors of ACCT have an obligation to ensure that the organization maintains a bias-free decision-making process. The purpose of this policy is to inform employees and volunteers about what constitutes a conflict of interest, assist them in identifying and disclosing actual and potential conflicts, and help them avoid conflicts of interest where necessary. This policy may be enforced against individual employees or volunteers as described below.

1. What Is a Conflict of Interest?

A conflict of interest may arise when an employee or volunteer has some other interest that might suggest or give the appearance of divided loyalty on the part of the employee or volunteer between obligations to ACCT on one hand and to some other organization, company, individual(s), or cause, on the other. The “other interest” may arise from a transaction between ACCT and a third party, or an employee’s or volunteer’s relationship with a third party, which may compromise or give the appearance that it might compromise an employee’s or volunteer’s ability to provide unbiased and undivided loyalty to ACCT. To proactively address any potential conflicts of interest, each employee or volunteer is required to annually complete and submit a disclosure form detailing any such “other interests.” The employee or volunteer also must update the disclosure form if any material changes or additions to the submitted information arise during the course of the year.

On the disclosure form, the employee or volunteer must list:

• all financial interests of the employee, volunteer, or family member of the employee or volunteer in any nonprofit or for-profit third-party organization (whether such interests are direct or indirect) that provides goods or services to ACCT or has potentially conflicting interests with ACCT;
• all paid or unpaid positions or relationships with nonprofit or for-profit third-party organizations that compete with ACCT or take public positions contrary to those of ACCT; and
• all business interests and relationships with or between other ACCT employees and volunteers.

The employee or volunteer must disclose a relationship if there is any uncertainty as to whether the relationship should be disclosed.

2. How Should Conflicts Be Addressed?

Conflicts, and potential and apparent conflicts, shall be reported to the Executive Director and shall be regarded as confidential information. Complaints concerning the Executive Director should be emailed directly to compliance@acctinfo.org, which shall be directed to the Chair of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Board Emeritus (“ACCT Leadership”). An initial determination as to whether a particular outside transaction or relationship may constitute an actual, potential, or apparent conflict of interest shall be made by the Executive Director and/or ACCT Leadership, with the assistance of legal counsel and without the presence of the individual whose involvement in such transaction or relationship is under consideration. This determination shall be made in any circumstance in which a credible potential for or appearance of a conflict of interest is identified by an individual employee or volunteer (through mandated self-disclosure) or by a third party. If the Executive Director and/or ACCT Leadership conclude that this determination should be made by the ACCT Board of Directors (“Board of Directors”), the matter shall be referred to the Board of Directors (with or without a recommendation from the party for its consideration, deliberation, and resolution, with or without the assistance of legal counsel and without the presence of the individual whose involvement in such transaction or relationship is under consideration. The Board of Directors shall have final authority over the resolution of all conflict-of-interest matters.

If the Executive Director and/or ACCT Leadership believe that a particular relationship or transaction may represent an actual, potential, or apparent conflict of interest, it shall first request additional information from the employee or volunteer detailing the nature of the relationship or transaction.

When evaluating whether a particular transaction or relationship constitutes an actual, potential, or apparent conflict of interest, the Executive Director and/or ACCT Leadership shall consider the following (non-exclusive) factors:

• Abusing one’s role as an employee or volunteer for one’s own gain or pleasure (including, but not limited to, the solicitation or acceptance of gifts or other items of value as an inducement to provide special treatment on organization matters).
• Placing one’s self-interest (including the interest of one’s company, organization, or another entity for which the individual serves in a leadership, employment, or ownership capacity) or the interest of any third party above that of ACCT.
• Engaging in any outside business, professional or other activities that would directly or indirectly adversely affect ACCT.
• Providing goods or services to ACCT as a paid vendor.

If the Executive Director and/or ACCT Leadership determine that a particular relationship or transaction represents an actual, potential, or apparent conflict of interest, it (or the Board of Directors, if the matter has been referred to the Board of Directors) shall resolve such actual, potential or apparent conflict in one of the following manners:

1. Variance: This is to waive the actual, potential, or apparent conflict as unlikely to affect the employee or volunteer’s ability to act in the best interests of the organization.
2. Determine that the individual employee or volunteer should be recused from all deliberations and decision-making related to the part, giving rise to the actual, potential, or apparent conflict. This resolution should apply particularly when the transaction or relationship is one that presents a conflict only with respect to one or two discrete issues or activities. For example, if an individual Board of Director member also works for a company that produces an educational program that competes with one or two discrete programs of ACCT, the Executive Director and/or ACCT Leadership, or Board of Directors may determine that the employee or volunteer should be recused from all deliberations and voting-related to such program(s) (both at the outset and on an ongoing basis), but that the employee or volunteer need not resign his/her position as an employee or volunteer.
3. Determine that the individual employee or volunteer must resign from his/her service to ACCT because the actual, potential, or apparent conflict is so significant that the employee or volunteer would seldom, if ever, likely be able to act in the best interests of ACCT. For example, suppose the employee or volunteer is a part of a volunteer group or Board of Directors and works for a company or association that has an ethical grievance filed against it, the Executive Director and/or ACCT Leadership, or the Board of Directors may determine that the individual should resign from their duties for the duration of the conflict or permanently..
4. The special procedure below applies to all instances in which an employee or volunteer (or the employee or volunteer’s company, organization, or another entity for which the employee or volunteer serves in a leadership, employment or ownership capacity, or a member of the employee or volunteer’s family) seeks to provide goods or services to ACCT as a paid vendor, or seeks to receive a significant contract from ACCT. This procedure shall not apply to pre-existing relationships with employees or volunteers with respect to which the conflict has previously been waived by the Executive Director and/or ACCT Leadership, or the Board of Directors.
   
   
   1. If the employee or volunteer has reason to believe that the Board of Directors is contemplating taking some action, in connection with which the employee or volunteer might seek to provide services or goods, the employee or volunteer must disclose their intent to the Executive Director and/or ACCT Leadership, and the Board of Directors..
   2. If the individual is a Board of Directors member, that member must recuse himself/herself from all deliberations and voting related to the contemplated action.
   3. If the value of the transaction exceeds $5,000, ACCT must, through a request for proposal process, have solicited proposals broadly from other qualified vendors and received (or attempted to receive) written bids from at least three such individuals/entities (including the employee or volunteer).
   4. The Board must determine (without the presence or participation of the employee or volunteer) by supermajority vote (two-thirds or greater) that the transaction is fair and in the best interests of ACCT based on all of the facts and circumstances, and such determination (including the fact that it was made in the absence of the employee or volunteer) shall be documented as part of the relevant meeting minutes (all competing bids received shall be retained as well).
   5. If selected, the Employee or Volunteer may not participate in any process by which his/her performance as a vendor is evaluated.

Procedure:

• The Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form and Nondisclosure Agreement (“COI/NDA”) shall be completed, signed, and submitted by all ACCT employees and volunteers on an annual basis and must be amended/updated during the calendar year as needed. Examples of circumstances that would require an updated form are changes to business relationships, as indicated in the above policy.
• Employees and Volunteers will be notified annually of the status of their COI/NDA form. If an update to the form is required, employees and volunteers must obtain and submit a new form.
• Conflicts described will be reviewed by ACCT staff and/or their designees. They will refer matters to the Board of Directors as described in the policy as needed.

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 ACCT CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY AND DISCLOSURE FORM

ALL CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE FORMS MUST BE RETURNED TO THE ACCT OFFICE DIGITALLY, ANNUALLY TO CONTINUE SERVING IN A VOLUNTEER OR PAID CAPACITY

To help avoid any conflicts of interest or the appearance of a conflict, you are disclosing ownership or other proprietary interests, responsibilities, circumstances, or other reasons why you (or, by extension, any member of your family) might have an actual, apparent or potential conflict of interest in your volunteer or paid capacity with ACCT, both with respect to the conflicts identified in the attached policy and any others. You hereby invite further review by ACCT of any aspects of these circumstances that might be appropriate. In addition, you agree to cooperate with ACCT Leadership, the Compliance Committee, and the Board of Directors to bring about a resolution which (in worst case circumstances) might include surrendering your volunteer or paid position with ACCT, if it is determined that such steps are necessary to protect the integrity of ACCT and avoid the breach of your responsibility to ACCT. Finally, during such time as you continue to serve in a volunteer or paid position, you agree to notify the Compliance Committee or ACCT Leadership promptly if and when you determine that any additional actual, apparent, or potential conflict of interest arises subsequent to the execution of this form. Please check the appropriate section at the bottom of this page.

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NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENT

I agree that any confidential information disclosed to me in my capacity as a volunteer or employee of ACCT, whether by other members, volunteers, ACCT staff, the Board of Directors (and various committees), or by third parties, in connection with my position within ACCT, will be treated as such. I will not use or disclose such information except as may be authorized by the source of the information and will make my best effort to prevent its unauthorized disclosure. Confidential information shall include all information relating to ACCT’s members or ACCT’s operations, policies, plans, goals, or objectives. Confidential information also includes all documents that are in draft form. It shall also include any information which I might reasonably believe ACCT or the party considers confidential, whether or not it is designated as such. Confidential information shall not include information previously known to me (unless I received it in confidence), the ACCT membership, the general public, or previously recognized as standard practice in the field. I acknowledge that unauthorized disclosure of confidential information could cause irreparable harm and significant injury to ACCT and ACCT’s members. I agree that, upon request, I will return to ACCT or to the other party(ies) all materials they supplied, including agendas, minutes, and supporting documents.

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Adopted: 2011

Revised: May 5, 2025

Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement

In the spirit of transparency and maintaining ethical conduct, we kindly request you to consider and disclose any potential conflicts of interest. Please be sure to list the organization(s) you are currently employed by or conduct contract work for as it relates to the challenge course industry. Sharing this information enables us to make informed decisions and, if necessary, allows association leadership to be aware when volunteers may need to recuse themselves in the event of a conflict arising. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

Please sign and return this completed form electronically to: ACCT International

All data submitted through this form will only viewable by the reviewing parties mentioned in the Conflict of Interest Policy. If you have concerns about filling out this form please contact us.