Many studies demonstrate the differences in financial reporting between the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and U.S. Standards. Nagle, Wasieleski, and Rau (2012) in their research focused on the code of ethics and moral duties of the company top management. The researchers studied the financial scandals and the recent financial crisis to demonstrate the gap between the market processes and accounting standards. The IFRS and U.S. GAAP differ in a contrary nature of accounting standards. GAAP is considered as rule-based standards, while IFRS viewed as a principle-based. Therefore, the professional judgment on financial improprieties is highly important (p. 479). Moreover, the code of ethics and systematic ethics trainings can diminish the inconsistencies from accounting policies (pp. 484-485).
Nagle et al. (2012) examined the study of Nelson (2002), Cuccia (1995), Luthar and Karri (2005), Klimek and Wenell (2011) to analyze the quality of financial information due to more aggressive financial reporting. IFRS’ critics state that the liberal interpretation of standards increases the manipulation of financial reporting. Nagle et al. associated the negative consequences of earnings management with the open-minded principle-based standards. The aggressive reporting cannot mitigate the unethical behavior of financial executives. The unfair financial reporting is not supported by IFRS or GAAP regulations, but with the goal to improve the financial performance of
In addition, associated with the misapplication of accounting methods, the financial industry has been plagued with one disaster after another involving numerous scandals from top leading American companies. Consequently, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed in 2002 compromising eleven sections that are generated to insure the responsibilities of the company’s managers and executives. This act identifies criminal penalties for particular unethical practices and currently has new policies that a corporation must follow in their financial reporting. The following examples describe some of biggest accounting methods as a result of the greed and the outrage of the ethical and financial misconduct by the senior management of public corporations.
Such an intense focus has been placed on quarterly earnings as an indication of a company’s success by everyone from analysts to executives that ethics have for the most part been thrown out the window, sacrificed to the all important number, i.e. earnings per share. This is the theory in Alex Berenson’s book “The Number: How the Drive for Quarterly Earnings Corrupted Wall Street and Corporate America.” This number has become part of a game to be played, a figure to be manipulated – beat the number and Wall Street all but throws a parade, miss it and a company’s stock may be abandoned. Take into account the incentives that executives have to beat the number and one can find plenty of reasons to manage earnings.
Financial reporting practices and ethics have manifested an ocean of literature. This has mainly come from organization theorists that address accounting practices. These theorists and professionals have given fresh accountability measures. Their ideals give this industry the tools needed to survive, grow and prosper. The way an organization prepares and reports its financial information and handles its daily operations is in essence financial practices, and in the way it accomplishes this reveals their ethical standards to which they adhere to. This paper will discuss the financial practices, ethical standards, and
“ In order to prevent fraudulent financial reports and statements, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants(AICPA) has created ethical standards” (Ethical standards in a financial statement, 2011). These standards aim to make financial professionals accountable for their accounting practices. This includes the integrity of financial reporting and ensuring financial reporting is done fairly and factually. Financial accountants and professionals should maintain professional integrity, objectivity, and independence to reduce the risk of resulting legal action, loss of profits, and a poor reputation if improper financial reporting is done (Ethical standards in a financial statement, 2011).
In this research paper the authors want to express their thoughts by stating that how to them earnings reporting pertains to the discovery of information that has not been disclosed by either people or other types of sources and focus towards the negative in this study. In my opinion, the title of the paper itself could have had a different title only because throughout the paper it analyzes negative or bad news rather than really paying attention to both perspectives. Also the paper captures the information or news that occurs by using a three day window in which Quarterly Earnings Announcement (QEA) take place and compares it to a period where it does not take place. Furthermore, in this paper there are three hypotheses that arise
The requisites in the Code of Ethics represented in the Sarbanes-Oxley Enactment have formed a foundation in the world of business because business administrators and stakeholders are now mandated to abide by the guidelines in the Act but they still need to be improved. When tackling the issue of social responsibility of a corporate it is of utmost significance that transparency be a key contributor, while ethics is considered by most in business as an oxymoron. People that lack moral standards will more often than not look for loo-holes in this relations due to their evil behaviors, however business principles and moral publication should be ensured so that such behaviors are dealt with in line with the law. “There has been a number of scandals reported in relation with accounting fraud and bad corporate governance as this are termed the biggest reasons why businesses are failing as high-profile organizations continue to subside. Investor confidence levels dropping in relation to financial capital markets due to investors incurring losses and correction mechanisms of the market that were in place were inadequate thus forced the enactment of the SOX Act by Congress (Jain,
A number of people who have studied this topic have suggested that Sarbanes-Oxley is a beneficial law that can improve financial reporting. Paul Volcker and Arthur Levitt Jr. of the Wall Street Journal and Stephen Wagner and Lee Dittmar of the Harvard Business Review are just a few of them who’s articles helped shape this paper. Julia Hanna’s article on Forbes was also used in writing this paper. Obviously, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was also used in this paper, as well as, the AICPA Audit Committee Toolkit. Peter Yeoh’s article in the International Journal of Disclosure and Governance was also helpful.
In the wake of accounting malpractices across several companies in the United States such as Enrol Corporation, Tyco International and WorldCom, there has been a lot of attention with regards to the accounting practices in the corporate sector. Specifically, the Sarbanes – Oxley Act (SOX) which was passed by congress in 2002, was aimed at addressing the situation by regulating fraudulent accounting practices such as bribery and wrong entries in books (Williams & Elson, 2010). While regulation has its own limits, it is hoped that ethical principles can go a long way in keeping accountants in check. To this end, a number of institutions formulated within the accounting professions such as the AICPA have come up with codes of conduct to guide the action of members and ensure that they act in a way that is morally right and in line with the profession.
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.
In this paper, I will explain if I believe whether a code of ethics should do more than the establish minimum acceptable standards. I will also describe the 5 cardinal virtues of professional accountings, whether there should be rules-based ethics standards. Lastly, I will compare and contrast the AICPA’s Code of Professional Conduct and the IFAC Code of Ethics for professional accountants.
Ethical issues have greatly transformed in our lives since the great Enron, Xerox and other huge corporations proposed big profits showing earnings of billions of dollars and yet in reality facing bankruptcy. These corporations faced great trouble with the federals and state for manipulating financial statements. But not only corporations can be blamed on this, accounting firms were involved in this as much as the corporations were. With the business stand point, ethics comprises of principles and standards that guide behavior. Investors, traders, customers, and legal system determine whether a specific action is ethical or unethical. Ethical issue is a vast subject, but we will look at the niche
Ethical and legal obligations apply to all members of society. As one in society, the obligation to act in an ethical, law abiding manner on a daily basis is vital to the integrity of daily life. Many professions have their own code of ethics. Financial reporting is not exempt from such ethical and legal standards. One’s lively hood depends on decisions made in the business world. Business transactions are done daily and can impact one’s economic stability. Trust is placed in the hands of corporate America and an obligation of financial reporting to reveal a complete honest and legal picture of an entity’s accounting practices is important in attaining trust. This paper will discuss the obligations of
Abercrombie & Fitch uses generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) as the basis for the production of its financial statements. In contrast, Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) uses international financial report standards (IFRS). H&M also utilizes Swedish GAAP. For its annual report, there is no indication of what standard is used, and there are no official financial statements. H&M does not note what auditing standards it uses in its annual report. By contrast, the ANF Form 10-K notes that the company's auditors use the Internal Control Integrated Framework as laid out by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), as noted on page 100 of the 2011 Annual Report.
Ethical issues arise in the midst of financial accounting on a frequent basis. Several tempting situations occur by the hour in firms of every kind. Society pressures individuals to do dishonest things in order to appear acceptable in the workplace, especially when working in finance or accounting. The majority of corporate America has disregarded the concept of ethics in the workplace. Although this is not morally correct, it happens on a daily basis in today’s world. Ethical issues, such as pressure from management to complete dishonest acts, greediness in the workplace, omitting financial records and breaking confidentiality with company records are some important problems financial accounting companies must address in order to run corporate America in a proper manner.