The Ethics Of The Accounting Profession

Ethics has been around for a long time. Merriam-Webster defines ethics as rules of behavior based on ideas about what is morally good and bad. It is an area of study that deals with ideas about what is good and bad behavior. Ethics has much to do with feelings and beliefs. If you feel deep down in your heart that something is not right, then it you should not do it. The Bible says, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17 English Standard Version). Ethical business procedures include guaranteeing that the main legality is in place. Also, the company observes moral standards in its relationships with the people in its business community, which includes the most important people in their business, who are the customers. This report will discuss ethics in business, ethically transformed organizations; organizations preparation to make ethical decisions, ethical danger signs, and organizations that does business globally.

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 refers to the practice of behaviors that demonstrate proper respect for individuals. Maintaining ethics in business and government operations is the lifeblood of a functioning economy. When businesses and governments act unethically, people that operate within and outside of these large bodies can be adversely effected. Unethical behavior is usually hidden from the general public

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,

In my opinion, being ethical is very important in every field of life, and this advance focus on ethics bring me more close to accounting. As i always wanted to work in a place where people are educated about ethics and ethical behavior. I am really frustrated on the situations as most people don't focus on ethics, they lie, cheat, and steal. Which i think is totally wrong if you have not earned it you can't have it, and why snatching from people who have worked so hard to feed their

Ethics is a decision one makes in knowing the right thing to do and actually doing the right thing. They are the rules of behavior based on one’s belief of what is morally good and bad. A person may hear the word ethics and immediately think of government or the law. Not only does ethics have a role in government, it also plays a major role in business, including accounting. Schroeder, Clark & Cathey (2014) state that the “reason for a high level of ethical conduct is the need for public confidence in the quality of services provided by the profession” (pg. 624). Ethical conduct not only encourages a high standard of performance; it also encourages a high quality of professional

The accounting professional is an industry in which professionals are commonly faced with hard decisions to act in an ethical manner. According to Enofe, Nakpodia,& Moruku, “Ethical guidelines do not aim to provide instant solutions for all ethical issues, rather, ethical guidelines aim to help in the decision-making process” (2014, p. 144). For the accounting profession, such guidelines and regulations are set forth in the AICPA’s Code of Professional Conduct (code). This code helps to set boundaries for accounting professionals’ interactions with the public, their clients, and also their colleagues (AICPA, 2014, p. 5).

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

Ethics is a term that is commonly used to describe a code or moral system that serves as a criterion for assessing right and wrong. Professionals operating in the business world usually face ethical dilemmas, which are situations where a person or group is faced with a decision that tests the moral system or code. While most of these dilemmas are easy to identify and resolve, they come with temptations that test a person's or group's ethics. Similar to others operating in the business world, accountants experience some ethical dilemmas that are complex and difficult to resolve (Langenderfer & Rockness par, 2). The complex and difficult to resolve ethical dilemmas require more than technical competence to deal with them.

Although some behaviors are legal they may not be held as ethical. For example, Henry Blodgett, an analyst for Merrill Lynch, publicly recommend certain technology stocks, although he knew they were a sham (Smith, 2012). His recommendation of these stocks was unethical, but completely legal. One difference between the court system and judging ethical standards is the court system

In the world of business accounting, ethics plays a major role in the daily operations of a business. Not only are businesses responsible for incorporating ethical standards into their operations, but accountants are also responsible for ensuring they perform in an ethical manner. So often, there is a thin line between what is considered ethical and what is considered unethical, especially when a company is considering profit over ethics. However, top level professionals or accountants hold the power to set the tone at the top, lead by example, and provide a standard or code of ethics for peers to follow without hesitation that will ultimately lead to profits earned

Ethics concern an individual’s moral judgment about right and wrong. Most decisions in an organization are made by individuals or groups that influence the culture of the company. Several factors determine the success of a company other than the scope of financial statements. No matter the size, industry or level of profitability, business ethics are the most important aspects of success. Being ethical is an individual decision; employees and management must comply with the local, national and international laws when operating to avoid potential fines. They should decide what they think is the right course of action to take. This may involve rejecting the route that would lead to the biggest short-term profit.

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,