Abstract Software systems are becoming more and more integral to our lives. Software engineers and their companies often find themselves in a position of being held accountable for any ethical concerns that might arise. This paper attempts to separate ethical considerations applicable at the software engineer's level and those under the umbrella of business ethics. Codes of Ethics and Conduct have been used to address ethical issues that fall within the purview of engineers. We argue that these Codes of Ethics and Conduct cannot provide a normative framework for custom software development.