可以详细解析下这道题吗？

问题如下：

To avoid violating any CFA Institute Standards of Professional Conduct, which of the following is Ong’s most appropriate response to Mercer’s question?

选项：

A.“I will need to touch base with my partners.”

B.“I’m not able to take on projects as an individual.”

C.“I can refer you to another independent adviser.”

解释：

1. Correct. Ong’s most appropriate response is, “I will need to touch base with my Partners.” Ong has a responsibility to protect the interests of his firm and his partners, according to Standard IV: Duty to Employers. If Ong took the assignment as an individual, he would be potentially harming his firm and his fellow partners. The harm would arise by Ong potentially competing against his firm and thus depriving the firm of his time, skills, and potential source of revenue, because the partners may agree to lower their normal fees to accommodate Mercer. The lower fee could be a loss leader for future projects with the government of the developing country. In particular, if Ong took the assignment as an individual, he would be violating Standard IV(A): Loyalty, which requires charterholders to act for the benefit of their employer (in this case, the employer is Ong’s firm and partners) and not deprive their employer of the advantage of their skills and abilities or otherwise cause harm to their employer. He would also be potentially violating Standard IV(B): Additional Compensation Agreements, which requires charterholders to refuse to accept additional compensation resulting from activity that competes with their employer or might reasonably be expected to create a conflict of interest. Ong would also likely be violating Standard IV: Duty to Employers if he referred another adviser to Mercer without first giving his partners the option to lower their fees. He would be eliminating a business opportunity for the firm, thus potentially harming his firm and the partners.

2. Incorrect. Ong’s most appropriate response is, “I will need to touch base with my Partners.” Ong has a responsibility to protect the interests of his firm and his partners, according to Standard IV: Duty to Employers. If Ong took the assignment as an individual, he would be potentially harming his firm and his fellow partners. The harm would arise by Ong potentially competing against his firm and thus depriving the firm of his time, skills, and potential source of revenue, because the partners may agree to lower their normal fees to accommodate Mercer. The lower fee could be a loss leader for future projects with the government of the developing country. In particular, if Ong took the assignment as an individual, he would be violating Standard IV(A): Loyalty, which requires charterholders to act for the benefit of their employer (in this case, the employer is Ong’s firm and partners) and not deprive their employer of the advantage of their skills and abilities or otherwise cause harm to their employer. He would also be potentially violating Standard IV(B): Additional Compensation Agreements, which requires charterholders to refuse to accept additional compensation resulting from activity that competes with their employer or might reasonably be expected to create a conflict of interest. Ong would also likely be violating Standard IV: Duty to Employers if he referred another adviser to Mercer without first giving his partners the option to lower their fees. He would be eliminating a business opportunity for the firm, thus potentially harming his firm and the partners.

3. Incorrect. Ong’s most appropriate response is, “I will need to touch base with my Partners.” Ong has a responsibility to protect the interests of his firm and his partners, according to Standard IV: Duty to Employers. If Ong took the assignment as an individual, he would be potentially harming his firm and his fellow partners. The harm would arise by Ong potentially competing against his firm and thus depriving the firm of his time, skills, and potential source of revenue, because the partners may agree to lower their normal fees to accommodate Mercer. The lower fee could be a loss leader for future projects with the government of the developing country. In particular, if Ong took the assignment as an individual, he would be violating Standard IV(A): Loyalty, which requires charterholders to act for the benefit of their employer (in this case, the employer is Ong’s firm and partners) and not deprive their employer of the advantage of their skills and abilities or otherwise cause harm to their employer. He would also be potentially violating Standard IV(B): Additional Compensation Agreements, which requires charterholders to refuse to accept additional compensation resulting from activity that competes with their employer or might reasonably be expected to create a conflict of interest. Ong would also likely be violating Standard IV: Duty to Employers if he referred another adviser to Mercer without first giving his partners the option to lower their fees. He would be eliminating a business opportunity for the firm, thus potentially harming his firm and the partners.

• recommend practices and procedures designed to prevent violations of the Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct