Critically reflect on the arguments as to why a code of ethics is essential to support the regulation of the accounting profession in New Zealand.
Introduction
Code of Ethics display the ideal qualities that one should follow and demonstrate, in the accounting profession. It lays down the expected standards, and are based on personal characteristics and behavior. According to New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants Act 1996 the five fundamental principles in the Code of Ethics are integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality and professional behavior (NZICA, 2013). These five principles aim at guiding an accountant in a moralistic way. Although it highlights the general expectations of an accountant, it is designed to benefit the wider accounting network. The Code of Ethics can also be thought of as a perfect role model, which accountants use to compare themselves against. The Code of Ethics is vital to the accounting profession because it helps keep a controlled, safe and positive working environment.
Discussion
Integrity is one of the fundamental principle, which is responsible for securing and maintaining confidence among the public, and also internally through professionalism. In the Code of Ethics, integrity is defined to be, the key to building a network of good trust, and also personal characteristics that distances one from taking advantage personally (Velayutham,2003).Generally we can assume that integrity is directly
In the world of business, it is so obvious that Certified Public Accountants are playing an extremely important role to the public. Working as Certified Public Accountants, it is so special that they provide accounting professional services not to a specific person but to the whole public. Therefore, the ethics and conducts of the Certified Public Accountants becomes much more important because it affects the reasonable operation and successful development of the whole industry. So, as a professional accountant, we need take the duties that required by the AICPA code of ethics --- “professional competence, confidentiality, integrity, and objectivity".
Stephen L. Carter links integrity and honesty. There are three constraints discussed in this essay. First, integrity does require a degree of moral reflectiveness. Second, Integrity may cause conflict that is must be resolved. It does not necessarily produce or protect interpersonal harmony. Third, a person who has integrity can be trusted. It does not avoid the restructuring of social structures and associations, because it leaves the matter to exercise of interpersonal authority.
The five fundamental ethical principles of the Australian Accounting Profession as listed in APES 110 Code of Ethics of the Australian Accounting Profession are integrity, objectivity, and professional competence and due care, confidentiality and professional behaviour.
Accountants are held to a higher ethical standards and they must performed their duties in compliance with standards or ethical values of honesty, integrity, objectivity, due care, confidentiality, which must be fully committed to. They must put clients or public interest first before their own. They must have and ethical values and maintain those values way beyond what the society or the company’s code of ethic. It is important that accountants’ behavior or ethical values is in conformity with the
Integrity is the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one’s actions. Integrity regards internal consistency as a virtue. One may judge that others “have integrity” to the extent that they act according to the values, beliefs and principles they clam to hold. As Williams explains, the principal of utility undermines personal
Limited access to records and assets can really make it hard for someone in an organization to commit fraud. If the accounting department never has access to the actual money and the people in charge of the money have no access to the accounting of the organization other than sending them the info over that the
Ethics in any industry is important, but for Accounting professionals and those in need of their services, it is a particularly stressed element. Information provided by accountants is used to make major decisions, including investing, downsizing, expanding, etc, so accountants are expected to be competent, reliable, and have a high degree of professional integrity. Because of these high expectations, the professional accountancy industry, like many other professions, has adopted professional codes of ethics (Woelfel, 1986). These ethical codes go above and beyond the requirements for state or federal laws and regulations. There are several professional organizations within the
Integrity is a code of values which individuals follow. It means to follow moral and ethical convictions such as being honest or doing the right thing. Integrity can be applied to many scenarios including the workplace, the university or our home. For students such as myself, which are perusing a career in the medical field, integrity has to be a core value for delivering decent healthcare. In the medical field patients, every day entirely rely on the integrity of their doctors. By trusting the doctor or any other medical professional they encounter, they expect their medical records and secrets to be treated with the highest discretion. As a dear friend who practiced medicine for more than 30 years once told me " Doctors know it all, but say
Businesses, investors, creditors rely on accounting ethics. The accounting profession requires honesty, consistency with industry standards, and compliance with laws and regulations. The ethics increase the responsibility and integrity of accounting professionals, and public trust. The ethical requirements influence the management behavior and decision-making. The financial scandal of Enron and Arthur Anderson demonstrates the failure of fundamental ethical framework, such as off-balance sheet transactions, misrepresentation of financial statements, inaccurate disclosure, manipulations with earnings, etc. The confronted accounting profession and concern for ethics in businesses forced regulators to revise the conceptual framework of accounting processes.
Imagine trusting your hard-earned money like your retirement savings to a financial adviser or Certified Public Accountants (CPA) only to lose it all in a fraudulent Ponzi scheme. In today’s world of business many organizations, financial planners and accountants are in the news due to the financial ethical breaches that have affected their customers, employees, and the general public. A CPA has to be responsible for their audits and take any punishments as a result of their mistakes, incompetence or illegal actions. CPAs are expected to have integrity in their work,
A Code of Ethics is placed to act as a guideline to specific values, ethics, organization objectives, and the responsibilities of the specific organization. The code of ethics acts a guideline and template for the behavior for both internal employees and also towards employees externally. Being the cornerstone of operations, The Star Financial and Tax Solutions Company operations are guided by the following Code of Ethics:
A code of ethics is a set of written principles regarding conduct and behavior created by the organization to serve as a guide. The purpose of ethical codes is to give its employees, management, and any interested party a reference point that adheres to company policy, standards, and ethical beliefs. The code is made visible to the public to ensure professional integrity, quality, and to prevent misguided conduct. Regardless of the organization or governing body a code serves as a go-to guide because ethical issues can stem from anywhere at any given time. The Code of Ethics for Nurses is so dynamic because as technology changes, so does the code to ensure that updated knowledge is provided to healthcare workers as they address new ethical
What does ethics have to do with accounting? Everything, since there have been some recent financial accounting scandals; a few examples being Xerox, WorldCom, Enron, which have generated much unwanted and unfavorable publicity for CPA's, including those working as controllers or chief financial officers for organizations.
No man can be certain beyond a shadow of a doubt how he will react in any given situation. One can know how he would hope to react; however, until the circumstances are in place behavior can not be entirely predicted. A person’s reaction in the direst of moments is in fact the heart of who they are. While reactions are spontaneous, actions are not and the decisions to act or not to act
Code of ethics promotes the ethical culture in an internal audit profession. Principles and rules of conduct