...Accounting Ethics Accounting ethics is primarily a field of professional ethics, the study of moral values and judgements which are applied to the accountancy. “Accounting ethics can be defined as a set of distinct guidelines for a business to maintain clean balance sheets, accounting for their profits, losses and expenses incurred and prevent it from mishandling financial reports and statements” (Buzzle 2011). The nature of the work carried out by accountants and auditors requires a high level of ethics. Shareholders, investors, managers, and other users of the financial reports rely heavily on the financial statements of a company in order to make some big decisions and investments. And in the current business world, due to more and more business frauds and corporate collapses came out, attention has been drawn to ethical standards accepted within the accounting profession. In China, I often heard about that many companies act in some immoral ways, for example, preparing three books, overstating/understating their assets or net income, overstating the cost of inventory, and so on. The companies which misstate or hide some financial information may bring some substantial benefits to them in a temporary short time. This is the most obvious reason for the accounting frauds. As far as I know, preparing three books is the most common problem in many small companies. When they want to get a loan from the bank in order to make new investments or enlarge the productivity...
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...Ethics is more than simply the pursuit of goods; is also about fidelity to ethically acceptable relationships. A crucial relationship is that of a professional towards his or her client. Because accounting is a skill that demands expertise, and because accountants have clients’ who depend on that expertise, accounting can be included among the professions. Accounting ethics in the field of accounting refers to the guidelines (consisting of judgments and moral values) that a professional needs to follow while practicing accounting. People using the service of accounting professionals rely on their professional competency to take decisions and in the process also relies on the ethics followed by them. Roles an Accountant can fulfill Although accountant’s primary purpose is to present a picture of an organization’s financial affairs, accountants play many other roles: 1) Auditing- the most important role is the role of an independent accountant (auditor). The auditors function is that the organizations estimate are based on formulas and those formulas are applied consistently year to year- thus to ensure reasonable and consistent application. 2) Managerial Accounting- In house role of accountant is to give most accurate picture of the organizations economic state so that company can flourish. The account’s main responsibility is to the company, but if the companies’ board, managers and share-holders are at cross purpose, the accountant is conflicted. This conflict forms the ground...
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...Ethics in Accounting and the Fall of WorldCom Alison Painter Breeden Juanita S. Edwards, CPA ACC 557: Financial Accounting 23 January 2013 Ethics in Accounting and the Fall of WorldCom In 2002, WorldCom was the second largest telecommunications company in the United States, but because of management failures and an unethical accounting culture it went bankrupt. This paper contains a discussion describing corporate ethics currently used in business; WorldCom's background, and the ethical breach; how WorldCom's ethical issue was discovered, describing how management failed to create an ethical environment; and recommendations. A conclusion summarizes the paper. Corporate Ethics If a company is driven by its responsibility to its Shareholders, then it should base its decisions and actions on the best interests of the owners, and generate more profit. If the company is stake-holder driven then its decisions and actions should be based on what is in the best interest of those impacted by the business (Gruble, 2011). Gruble (2011) further argued that "The most widely accepted definition for business ethics says that it is a set of corporate values and codes of principles, which may be written or unwritten, by which a company evaluates its actions and business-related decisions.” WorldCom was a company driven by its responsibility to its shareholders to the point where it began to behave unethically and this ultimately led to its demise. WorldCom History and...
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...Ethics in Accounting By Pace University – New York Accounting for Decision Making, MBA 640 Fall 2011 Required Research Paper Page 1 of 11 Table of Contents Number Content Page Number 1 Introduction 3 2 Ethics in Accounting 4 3 Enron Scandal 6 4 Satyam Scandal 8 5 Conclusion 10 6 References 11 Page 2 of 11 Introduction • What is “Ethics”? Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics • What is “Accounting”? Accounting is basically maintaining and providing records of transfer of funds for an individual or business. All the data collected from these records are then summarized in form of reports and statements, which are used by outside parties and the company itself for various uses and analysis. Source: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/accounting.asp#axzz1fbCBL2q0 Page 3 of 11 Ethics in Accounting With many scandals and scams coming out regarding the unethical behavior of firms in terms of Business and accounting, higher authorities in governments across the globe are worried. These scams are disturbing and damaging the economy at large. When the economy is already sliding down, governments have started taking extra care and strict rules are being applied to control the damage...
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...Ethics in Accounting Linh Pham University of Mount Olive Author Note This research paper was prepared for ACC483, taught by Professor Henry Singletary. Ethics in Accounting Ethics in Accounting has recently attracted a lot of attention in the field of business. Based on my knowledge, ethics in accounting are the behavior or actions that doesn’t allow for intentionally inaccurate and false in accounting practices. This is quite complex because we not only have to follow the accounting rules, but also need to make decisions based on the moral or ethics principles. However, ethics varies by cultures, individual perceptions, religion. For example, what seems about right in one country could be totally wrong in another country. Or what you think is right may actually be wrong. Therefore, it’s really difficult for us to follow the same ethics principle and apply those principles to ethics in accounting practices. In this paper, I will bring a thorough discussion of how to make accounting behaviors become more ethical. Ethics in Accounting is what we really need to take into our consideration in this era, especially after the financial and accounting failures of many big firms such as Enron, WorldCom, AOL, Global Crossing, Tyco, Lehman and AIG. As a matter of fact, experts and analysts are trying to find out the root causes of these failures. It is also significant to realize that more and more fraud cases are detected in this era. Therefore, there is a big question that...
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...Accounting ethics is primarily a field of applied ethics and is part ofbusiness ethics and human ethics, the study of moral values and judgments as they apply to accountancy. It is an example of professional ethics. Accounting introduced by Luca Pacioli, and later expanded by government groups, professional organizations, and independent companies. Ethics are taught in accounting courses at higher education institutions as well as by companies training accountants and auditors. Due to the diverse range of accounting services and recent corporate collapses, attention has been drawn to ethical standards accepted within the accounting profession.[2] These collapses have resulted in a widespread disregard for the reputation of the accounting profession.[3] To combat the criticism and prevent fraudulent accounting, various accounting organizations and governments have developed regulations and remedies for improved ethics among the accounting profession. ------------------------------------------------- Importance of ethics The nature of the work carried out by accountants and auditors requires a high level of ethics. Shareholders, potential shareholders, and other users of the financial statements rely heavily on the yearly financial statements of a company as they can use this information to make an informed decision about investment.[4] They rely on the opinion of the accountants who prepared the statements, as well as the auditors that verified it, to present a true and fair...
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...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. When you hear the word "ethics," what is the first thing that comes to mind? Having to make the decision of doing what is right versus doing what is wrong. Some idealists say that decisions of ethics should not be conditional. However, that is not as simple as it may sound. What constitutes "right" to one person may be "wrong" to anther; what clearly distinguishes the line between right and wrong? What some may look at as being unethical does not necessarily make it illegal. In the predicament of David Duncan, the lead audit partner at Arthur Anderson the Accounting Firm for Enron, underscores the penalty that accountants may face under professional accountability. Duncan had pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice when he was involved in the connection with document shredding. The scandals have made some big implications on the profession as a whole. One being the decision from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOA) of 2002, in April 2003 they voted to assume the responsibility for establishing auditing standards. The Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants...
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...Ethics in Accounting Tonya Thompson Carlene Wilson Immediate Accounting ACC305 November 17, 2010 What is Ethics? Business ethics are moral values and principles that determine our conduct in the business world. Commercial ethics standards activities are needed; whether you have a single client or several business organizations. Ethics Standards can be applied to all aspects of business, from generation of an idea the sell of the particular item. While the objective of all business is to make profits, ethics should contribute to the interest of the society by ensuring fair practices. Being ethical is a theoretical inquiry into the standards of right and wrong or good and bad. Ethics deals with morality insofar as it embodies a set of rules already accepted or formulated for potential acceptance. In studying morality Ethics primarily describes, analyzes and criticizes different moral codes as to their consistency, viability and legitimacy. But it also envisions better norms based on human ability to learn and get a better insight into the nature of our own conduct. Each type of business sectors have associations that has set some kind of ethical standards for them to follow. One association for CPA’s is Financial Executives International (FEI) they were founded in 1931 as the Controllers Institute of America. The expansion of responsibilities of financial executives into policy-making areas led us to change...
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...Accounting Ethics 2 1. Given the corporate ethical breaches in recent times, assess whether or not you believe that the current business and regulatory environment is more conducive to ethical behavior. The ethical breaches in recent times, Weygandt, Kimel, Kieso( 2012) researched that “financial press open full articles and documents facts about financial scandals at Enron, WorldCom, HealthSouth, AIG, Adelphia Communication and Cable and more. As the scandal came to light people did not play the stock market if they believe that the stock prices were rigged.” Weygandt, Kimel, Kieso (2012) researched that; “the United States government regulators and lawmakers were very concerned that the economy would suffers if investors lost confidence in corporate accounting because of unethical financial reporting. In response, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley it is intent is to reduce unethical corporate behavior and decrease the likelihood of future corporate scandals. As a result of SOX, top management must now certify the accuracy of financial information. In addition, penalties for fraudulent financial activity are much more severe. SOX increased the independence of the outside auditors who review the accuracy of corporate financial statements and increased the oversights role of boards of directors. The effective financial reporting depends on sound ethical behavior...
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...Accounting Ethics This paper will discuss the public perception of CPAs in today's society, pitfalls that they may encounter, methods to prevent some of these negative behaviors and consequences they may face should they fall short. Most "Who Do You Trust?" surveys rank politicians, lawyers and used car salesmen at the bottom and certified public accountants at the top. That is because the CPA profession has a squeaky clean image--anal-retentive little wimps who wear thick glasses and cannot get a date. CPAs are known and respected for their honesty. The profession that goes out of its way to project that image, and there is a certain amount of truth to it. Not all accountants are anal-retentive little wimps who cannot get a date. Many of them are quite articulate. Some are quite lovely. In some schools, more than half of the accounting majors are women. Also, not all CPAs are squeaky clean and respected for their honesty. Some are quite dishonest and are putting a black mark on the image of the entire profession. There is one area where the CPA profession has fallen short of protecting the public interest. The general duty that accountants owe to their clients and the other persons who are affected by their actions is to "exercise the skill and care of the ordinarily prudent accountant" in the same circumstances. Two elements compose the general duty of performance: skill and care. Another element and responsibility is owed to clients and other persons, that...
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...Sustainability and Ethics in Accounting : Waste Management Inc. Accounting Fraud The Business Dictionary defines "ethics" as the basic concepts and fundamental principles of decent human conduct. Most definitions agree with this one ; however, these principles are subject to personal and societal points of view that might differ depending on the context and individuals. Due to this subjectivity, codes of conduct have been created to ensure the application of discipline and morality not only personally but also profesionally. In the world of business, the decency of businessmen is constantly questioned as a result of worldwide scandals that have highlighted the lack of ethical standards and the breach of codes of conducts in numerous corporations. Specifically, accountants are often accused of poor financial management and fraud. Among the different cases of accounting malpractice, the Waste Management Inc. hoax is one of the most famous ones and it is usually used as an example to illustrate the decay of values in some of the biggest, most powerful entreprises. In 1968, Waste Management Inc. was founded by entrepreneurs Wayne Huizenga, Dean Buntrock and Larry Beck to provide waste and environmental services such as recycling, hazardous material collection, hauling, treatment and disposal of garbage. The company owns 26,000 collection and transfer vehicles and along with its competitor Republic Services, Inc. it handles more than half of the trash collection in the United...
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...A Review of Accounting Ethics Morals and ethics go hand-in-hand, and in the workplace operating an ethical and moral organization is contingent not only on how the administration of the company behaves, but also its personnel (Bush, 2013). How they interact with each other and with customers should be an everyday concern in every aspect of their business (Brown, 2013). Unfortunately, many organizations have been in the news due to accounting ethical breaches. Most of these ethical breaches have affected their customers, employees, and the general public. Though regulation has been increased to prevent continual corporate ethical breaches I believe there is still plenty of room for error; human error that is. In the corporate world making decisions is a part of everyday business and making the most of these decisions is important because they affect both the company and the people who work for it (Brown, 2013). Striving to maintain ethical and moral decision-making skills is vital. All great businesses should have a clear set of organizational goals and policies, particularly when it comes to morals and ethics (Bush, 2013). Honesty plays a very significant role in morals and ethics. Every person in the organization has to hold him or herself to a high personal level of integrity. Consequently, incorporating policies that will support a high level of integrity also helps to administer how your company operates. An organization must cultivate standards of integrity for their...
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...Cody McKee Dr. Coleman BU 210 October 16, 2015 Ethics and Accounting One of largest problems facing the accounting profession today is the loss of respect that faces accountants in light of recent accounting scandals. In order to regain lost respect in the accounting profession an accountant must have integrity and ethics that are above and beyond the normal. This fact is true whether the accountant works for a business entity or for a government entity. In either situation the accountant is responsible for remaining steadfast, not only in professional behavior, but in personal behavior as well. In recent years, accountants have come under fire by the general public for unethical decisions, a reputation that, although only a few individual accountants were guilty, the entire profession was found guilty of, in the court of public opinion. Romans 12:2 God says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”(Romans 12:2, ESV) This verse helps remind me every day to do everything as the Lord says. When he calls on you to step forward do so with pride and confidence. Now, the accounting profession must be far more diligent in governing themselves, and in assuring those dependent upon their decisions, that they are above reproach. This is especially true of those accountants responsible for government funds, which can be scrutinized by the...
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...Ethics is a term that refers to a code or moral system that provides criteria for evaluating right and wrong. An ethical dilemma is a situation in which an individual or group is faced with a decision that tests this code. Many of these dilemmas are simple to recognize and resolve. For example, have you ever been tempted to call your professor and ask for an extension on the due date of an assignment by claiming a fictitious illness? Temptation like this will test your personal ethics. Ethics deals with the ability to distinguish right from wrong. Accountants, like others operating in the business world, are faced with many ethical dilemmas, some of which are complex and difficult to resolve. For instance, the capital markets’ focus on periodic profits may tempt a company’s management to bend or even break accounting rules to inflate reported net income. In these situations, technical competence is not enough to resolve the dilemma. ETHICS AND PROFESSIONALISM One of the elements that many believe distinguishes a profession from other occupations is the acceptance by its members of a responsibility for the interests of those it serves. A high standard of ethical behavior is expected of those engaged in a profession. These standards often are articulated in a code of ethics. For example, law and medicine are professions that have their own codes of professional ethics. These codes provide guidance and rules to members in the performance of their professional responsibilities...
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...Ethics of Accounting Ethics of Accounting In my essay I will talk about the effect of the Sarbanes Act of 2002 also known as (SOX) that lead to unethical and behavior problems in accounting. This law was passed in June of 2002 by Congress which has helped many companies from having major downfalls within and other employees because of the unethical practices. There are many bad practices and unethical behavior to make their company look better than others. Companies may mess with numbers in their books to look more profitable to a competitor and just because a company may have more customers does not always mean that they have more money. Many businesses will focus on short term and not the long term outlook. The company that I work for focuses on long term which they set goals each year to reach the target of sales. If they do not reach their target they will restructure in the areas that need work. By lying only makes a company look bad in the end because there are now many ways to catch a business lying about their profits. Audits now take place to catch these bad ethics that go on with in the company. So the question is why? Why would companies do this? They will get caught maybe not now but somewhere down the line number and financial statements will not add up and stop misrepresenting data. One company that made headline was Enron how they had bad ethical practice was that they covered up billions of dollars of debt. How they were able to do this was work around...
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