ABOUT ETHICS AND GOVERNANCE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2022

ETHICS AND GOVERNANCE
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Executive Summary
The concept of ethics is inseparable part from the individual behaviours as well as the
organisational operations. The ethical theories like that of the deontology, utilitarianism, and
egoism guide the individuals to address the various ethical dilemmas. Further, each of the
theory is based on separate principles and beliefs and thus actions are evaluated with
application of one theory at a time. In addition, the ethical models serve as a guiding
framework to the senior managers of the entity to formulate the business strategies and
address particular business challenges. The professional accountants are mandatorily required
to follow the principles of the “APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.”

Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Part A: Application of the Ethical Theories...............................................................................3
Part B: AAA Ethical decision-making model............................................................................5
Part C: APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants...............................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................10

Introduction
Ethical principles refer to the contemporary societal standards, set of values, moral
principles and norms, that set the benchmark to deal with right and wrong (Broad, 2014). The
various ethical theories are formulated taking into account the various ethical principles,
using which the individuals can choose to do the right thing while facing the ethical
dilemmas. Similarly business ethics are comprised of the organisational standards, legal
frameworks and corporate governance principles that guide the business organisations as well
as the individuals therein to maintain a better connection with the stakeholders while facing
the moral or ethical problems (Crane, Matten, Glozer & Spence, 2019). The following work
is an attempt to the study the various ethical concepts such as the ethical theories, models and
the APES 110 Code of ethics. The study would be done with the help of a case study and
analysis of the behaviour of different characters therein.
Part A: Application of the Ethical Theories
Explanation of the ethical theories
It is imperative to study the ethical theories so that a strong foundation for challenging
situations can be established in the entity (Dion, 2012). Over the years, a range of
philosophers have discussed and devised various theoretical ways to understand the morality
and ethics in various circumstances. Two of the most popular ethical theories are that of
utilitarianism as developed by Jeremy Bentham and Deontology as established by Immanuel
Kant. The concept of utility forms the basis for the ethical theory of utilitarianism and the
theory is depictive of the most influential consequential ethical philosophy. The principles of
the theory state that when an action leads to the production of greatest net benefit to the
stakeholders as a whole, the same would be regarded as ethical (Barrow, 2015). Thus, the
theory is focussed on the outcome of the actions and the same must bring happiness or utility
to society as a whole. In contrast to this, the ethical theory of deontology is based on the
actions and intentions of the agent. The principles of the theory state that if the actions are
carried in course of the fulfilment of the duties, the same would be ethical; however the
associated outcome is (Harrison, 2015). Thus, according to the principles of deontology, one
should conduct the duties religiously that is without the intention of deception, coercing or
committing fraud to others. One of the additional normative theories that are completely
different from the above mentioned is the ethical theory of egoism. The theory stresses on the
significance of the self-interests and when one does so, the acts are regarded as ethical