Financial Officer Code of Ethics
Additional Ethics Obligations for All Finance Employees
All employees have an obligation to abide by the Cisco Code of Business Conduct (COBC), which includes adhering to all internal financial and accounting policies. There are additional ethical obligations that apply to all Finance employees.
Our Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and all Finance employees are accountable for maintaining compliance with our established financial policies and for reporting our results with objectivity and the highest degree of integrity. Finance employees must adhere to the following principles and foster a culture throughout Cisco to ensure that the financial information we provide is timely, complete, relevant, and accurate. We must establish and maintain a strong ethical climate so that our affairs are conducted to the highest standards of personal and corporate conduct. We must also ensure that Cisco has established an effective system of internal controls. Finance employees must fully understand and embrace our fiduciary oversight responsibilities and ensure that our high standards of financial accounting and reporting, as well as our underlying system of internal controls, are maintained to ensure the highest level of confidence in processes, internal controls and our people, who must be objective in their responsibilities and operate under the highest level of ethical standards. Because of their special role, the CEO, CFO and all members of the Cisco Finance organization are bound by this Financial Officer Code of Ethics.
I understand that as a steward for Cisco: 1) I am entrusted to ensure that the business works ethically to maximize shareholder value, and 2) I will always prioritize the interests of the company as a whole above any specific area of the business.
I. Integrity and Compliance
I will act with honesty and integrity, avoiding actual or apparent conflicts of interest in personal and professional relationships.
I will provide information that is accurate, complete, objective, relevant, timely, and understandable to help ensure full, fair, accurate, timely, and understandable disclosure in reports and documents that Cisco files with, or submits to, governmental agencies and in other public communications.
I will act in good faith, responsibly, and with due care, competence, and diligence, without misrepresenting material facts or allowing my independent judgment to be subordinated.
I will comply with the 8 Tenets of Ethical Financial Stewardship:
- Authorization and Approval – I will understand and ensure all transactions are properly authorized and approved. Cisco’s policies and procedures set forth the appropriate authority levels for transactions based on the level of risk. I need to ensure that all of our transactions and those of my business partners are properly approved
- Policies and Procedures – I will adhere to Cisco policies and procedures that provide the standards that all employees must follow in transacting business on behalf of Cisco. These policies set forth the risk tolerance level of Cisco. Individuals are not authorized to make exceptions to these policies. Exceptions may only be granted by the policy owners or those defined by the policy.
- Operational Processes and Controls – I will have a thorough understanding of the operational processes for the areas I support and will maintain the proper internal controls to ensure adherence to Cisco’s policies and procedures and mitigation of risks.
- Risk Management – I will understand the risks to our business and ensure that they are adequately identified and addressed. Risks take many different forms; such as, financial, intellectual property, compliance, and management reporting, among others. I will review transactions for a broad spectrum of risks and bring in subject matter experts when needed.
- Efficient Use of Resources – I am entrusted to use our shareholders’ capital in the most efficient way possible to maximize return. Each of us in Finance has a unique opportunity to ensure our physical and intangible resources, and those of our business partners, are being employed to create the greatest value for Cisco.
- Laws and Regulations – I will ensure that I along with my business partners are aware of and comply with all applicable rules, laws and regulations of federal, state, provincial, and local governments, and of other appropriate private and public regulatory agencies. While I am not expected to be a legal expert, I am expected to ensure that my colleagues are aware of and considering applicable laws and regulations in all aspects of our operations.
- Information Integrity and Reliability – I am responsible for ensuring that information provided to management is accurate, relevant, complete, timely and objective. Management relies on Finance to provide unbiased and objective information to help in decision making. This is about more than just providing data, it is about providing insightful analysis that will assist in solving business problems and value creation.
- Safeguarding of Assets – I will ensure the responsible use of and control over all assets and resources employed by or entrusted to Cisco. This includes respecting the confidentiality of information acquired in the course of your work and protecting our physical and intangible assets from theft or misuse by ensuring our systems and processes have the appropriate controls to protect our data, and physical and intellectual property. I will only disclose confidential information when authorized or legally obligated to do so and will not use confidential information for my personal advantage.
II. Personal Accountability and Serving as a Role Model
I will share knowledge and maintain skills important and relevant to stakeholders’ needs.
I will proactively promote and be an example of ethical behavior as a responsible partner among peers, in my work environment and the community.
I will promptly report to the Vice President of Governance, Risk, and Controls (GRC) and/or the Chairman of the Audit Committee any conduct that I believe to be a violation of the law or business ethics or of any provision of the COBC. I understand that it is against Cisco policy to retaliate against an employee for good-faith reporting of any potential or actual Code violations.
III. Stakeholder and Public Reporting
I will contact Cisco Legal, the Ethics Office, or the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors if I believe that a violation of the Financial Officer Code of Ethics has occurred
IV. Violations
Any violation of this Financial Officer Code of Ethics, including a failure to report potential violations by others, will be viewed as a severe disciplinary matter and may result in personnel action, including termination of employment.
The Financial Officer Code of Ethics is complementary to the Cisco Code of Business Conduct and does not replace the responsibilities all employees have under the Cisco Code of Business
Revised – March 2018