Patrick Adonis, IT manager for financial services firm Bongiorno & Partners labelled the ACS push "provocative".

"IT is an industry where you can either perform the task or run and hide - accreditation means nothing," Adonis said.

"IT managers are consistently dedicated to the task. Even though there is no formal standard of ethics our livelihood depends on us acting so.

"IT managers know they should never compromise on the task at hand and never seek to take shortcuts.

"Australia already has a high standard of professionalism - so many people donate time out of work to attend seminars and we always network with different sources - that tells you the professional IT person is always seeking to stay in touch with peers."