Every profession faces a multiple of ethical challenges on a daily bases, this can be clearly witnessed in the accounting profession. The main focus of this literature review is to discuss the ethical values held in this profession and to also explore the ethical challenges that they face. Professional ethics for accountants is all about making sure that accountants carry out their duties to the highest standard possible and in a very professional manner. A code of ethics is designed to make sure that ideal behaviour is being carried out and it must be enforceable and realistic. From reading a variety of literature the core principles of the code of ethics are as follows: integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, …show more content…
It is the quality from which public trust derives and the benchmark against which a member must ultimately test all decisions.’ Smith (2003, p47) From reading this Smith feels that anyone working in the accounting profession must be trained and equipped to a high standard at implementing moral judgement so that they can consider the well being of those that will face the consequences of their actions.
Citron (2003) examined how and when these ethical values came about. It
..was developed at a time of mounting levels of criticism of the auditing profession.
Therefore it was a move that the UK Chartered Accountants Joint Ethics Committee felt that was needed in order to make sure that ideal behaviour was being carried out and to also make sure that all accountants were doing all their work to a high standard.
However like everything when the ethical values that are integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality and professional behaviour are complied with, it can still leave accountants to be faced with many potential ethical dilemmas. Jackling, Cooper, Leung and Dellaportas (2007) carried out an online survey in relation to ethical issues and put it forward to sixty six different professional accounting bodies. They found out from their research that the largest ethical
When auditing a publicly held company, auditors need to observe principles. The ethical principles of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Code of
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.
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).
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.
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
Ethics are crucial to the accounting profession and the business world, so choosing an ethics system to base your moral decisions on is extremely important. Accountants and all business professionals will be confronted with moral dilemmas on a daily basis. Being strong in your faith and knowing what you believe in will help you to always make the right decision. Based on this reasoning, this essay will explain why deontology is the best ethics system for the accounting profession.
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has created a code of professional conduct that all certified public accountants must follow. This code of conduct lists the responsibilities CPAs have when working with a company 's financial information. The AICPA also includes information regarding the integrity, objectivity, independence and due care that CPAs must use when working in the accounting industry. The AICPA offers an ethics course for accountants to refresh their understanding of accounting ethics.
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
The study is important because it examines the role of ethics in accounting. The research on identified problems is necessary due to vagueness of ethics concepts and its difficulty to
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,
When determining and defending the use of a particular ethical system within the confines of a profession, it is important to evaluate the system in terms of the professional culture as well as the expected professional conduct laid out within the vocation itself. The accounting profession has been evolving for thousands of years. Early accounting records date business transactions back as far as third century B.C. (Schroeder, Clark, & Cathey, 2009). Early record keeping was for internal purposes and as societies and economies expanded, it became important to maintain records for external purposes as well. According to Schroeder, Clark & Cathey (2009), by the ninetheeth centruy, bookkeeing expanded into accounting (p. 3). From this time, it has been the duty of the accountant to serve the public interest and the profession has been culitvated into an organizational culture with professional norms and standards constantly taking shape in an effort to complete an all-inclusive conceptual framework.
The conduct of chartered accountants in the UK is governed by the Code of Ethics. The latest revision of these ethics took place January 1, 2011. The fundamental rules that govern the work of these accountants are as follows and similar to those in the US:
as accounting clerks need to deal with different ethical dilemmas in the future. For example, supervisors may want accounting clerks to input incorrect financial data so that a company’s financial statements are attractive to investors.
Introduction. The authors study reasons of potential discrepancies between leaders and non-leaders of accounting firms. The firm’s ethical norms directly influence the behavior of its members. The researchers state that it is important to identify and understand the factors that affect ethical norms in the organization (p. 125). The firm’s leaders should play a meaningful role in building and supporting the ethical environment. The main objective of research is to analyze motives of perceptions’ inconsistencies in of the ethical setting between the management, partners, and other accounting professionals of the firm. The study is important through its investigations of influential factors of ethical standards on perceptions of accounting firm’s members, and in reducing the gap between partners and non-leaders of the CPA firm. The authors consider two problems of the study: greater ownership interest promotes the decision leadership in the company, and lack of non-leaders participation in modeling the firm ethical environment (p. 126).