Ethics Of Business And Accounting

Every day businesses are faced with making decisions that can have far reaching effects within their organization and the communities in which their business are based. Company Q is one of these businesses. Recent decisions made within this company have demonstrated a trend that would suggest Company Q has a negative attitude toward social responsibility. This attitude can be evidenced by the closing of two stores in high-crime rate areas because they were consistently losing money, offering minimal amounts of health-conscious and organic foods despite high demand, and declining donations of day-old products rather than donating these items to the local area’s food bank due to concerns of fraud and stealing by employees.

This post will discuss two ethical accounting dilemmas that could occur in the CPA profession. For each dilemma, it will explain how the dilemma could be resolved based on logic and reason. It will then support that proposed resolution through support from the American Institute of Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA) Code of Professional Conduct.

Ethics are principles of behaviour that distinguish between right and wrong. Resnik (2011) defines ethics as” a method, procedure, or perspective for deciding how to act and for analysing complex problems and issues” (p.1). People face ethical decisions; however, People working in business frequently face ethical decisions. Business ethics is the evaluation of business activities and behaviour as right or wrong (Society for Business Ethics, 1991).

Socrates; the founder of Western Philosophy, the first user of the Socratic method and Socratic irony, contributor to the field of ethics, and martyr for teaching what he thought was right. Indeed, Socrates is a household name, yet the picture many hold of Socrates may not be true to who Socrates actually was. Socrates considered himself a teacher and a thinker, not a writer, thus he wrote none of his teachings or thoughts down. As a consequence, the only surviving accounts of Socrates come second hand from his pupils, Plato and Xenophon, and from the playwright Aristophanes. However, it is difficult to tell how much of the Socrates depicted in the works of those men is embellishment or outright fabrication, and how much is truth. This problem, the Socratic Problem, has been troubling historians and philosophers for centuries, and will go on doing so. While the real Socrates may never be known, Socrates the character may be studied extensively through the works of his pupils. Plato’s Symposium depicts Socrates in an informal setting, getting drunk with friends, and offers an opportunity to see Socrates’ character and personality more clearly. While Symposium is set at a party, Socrates is still shown to be a larger-than-life, idealized character, who may have been too brilliant and perfect to be true.

Throughout the course of history, many were influenced by knowledgeable thinkers and teachers. Those who opened the eyes of the people and presented them with new ideas regarding life and its meaning. They had made such a massive impact, that their practices still live on to this day. Whether they be a soft-spoken philosopher or child of God, some can’t help but compare and contrast not only the ideas that each had created, but also their personal traits and morals. Two that are seen as similar individuals with striking differences are Jesus and Socrates.

As simple and as complex as it could be Richards (2017) cited that organization whose leader is able to convey good communication honestly and openly can actually make a big difference, thus, it is needed that leaders can undergo trainings and coaching to equipped themselves with skills that foster effective communication. It will be in this sense that leaders may be able to develop or improvise means to keep the communication between both parties free flowing.

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

Business ethics refers to the consideration of moral decisions and responsibilities in the process of operating a business. Business ethics, practiced throughout the deepest layers of a company, become the heart and soul of the company 's culture and can mean the difference between success and failure. Values drive behavior and therefore need to be consciously stated, but they also need to be affirmed by actions. Ethical business environments are created with foundations of integrity, accountability and commitment.

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

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,

1. The Sales Rep. A sales representative for a struggling computer supply firm has a chance to close a multimillion-dollar deal for an office system to be installed over a two-year period. The machines for the first delivery are in the company’s warehouse, but the remainder would have to be ordered from the manufacturer. Because the manufacturer is having difficulty meeting the heavy demand for the popular model, the sales representative is not sure that the subsequent deliveries can be made on time. Any delay in converting to the new system would be costly to the customer; however, the blame could be placed on the manufacturer. Should the sales representative close the deal without advising the customer

1) The discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation

The current focus on corporate culture in managerial theory, on character development in business ethics, and on the work/family relationship in

Establishing principles for ethical behavior frequently starts with a policy on ethics. Businesses acquire a policy on ethics to guide their measures and to set up a general meaning of correct versus incorrect. According to the American Library Association, code of ethics is a handbook for suitable behavior (2012).