Ethics in Business and Accounting

This assignment delves into the crucial topic of ethics in business and accounting. It examines the principles outlined in APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, emphasizing honesty and integrity within the profession. The discussion focuses on a case study where directors and CEOs might manipulate financial accounts to present a false picture of the company's health. Consequences for investors, lenders, and the company's overall goodwill are explored. The assignment also highlights the accountant's responsibility in detecting and reporting unethical practices within financial reporting.

Running head: ETHICS IN BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTING
Ethics in Business and Accounting
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

1ETHICS IN BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTING
Introduction
According to the principles and standards of APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional
Accountants, the accounting professionals need to be honest and need to maintain integrity in
the profession. At the same time, the accounting professionals need to maintain ethics in their
jobs (apesb.org.au, 2017).
Discussion
As per the provided case study, the directors and CEO may have manipulated the
financial accounts of the organization in order to show a healthy financial condition of the
company. In this situation, if the investors invest their money in the company by seeing the
financial results, they will have to lose their money as in actual the company is not able to
provide them with high returns. In addition, sue to unfavorable audit report, the debt lenders of
the company may not provide the company with further debts. Overall, the company will lose its
goodwill to their customers (cpaaustralia.com.au, 2017).
It is the responsibility of the accounts of the companies to conduct all the financial
transactions and to prepare the financial reports. In this process, the accounts needs to make it
sure that there is not any frauds in the reporting and preparation of financial reports. In case the
accounts discover any frauds or material misstatements in the financial reports, they need to
report the issue to the high authority (Huang, Rose-Green & Lee, 2012).
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be seen that unethical business practices affect various
stakeholders of the companies like investors, shareholders, lenders and customers. In addition,

2ETHICS IN BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTING
the accountants of the companies play a crucial role to detect unethical practices in financial
reporting.

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References
APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. (2017). apesb.org.au. Retrieved 25
August 2017, from
http://www.apesb.org.au/uploads/standards/apesb_standards/standard1.pdf
Huang, H. W., Rose-Green, E., & Lee, C. C. (2012). CEO age and financial reporting
quality. Accounting Horizons, 26(4), 725-740.
APES 110. (2017). Cpaaustralia.com.au. Retrieved 25 August 2017, from
https://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/professional-resources/accounting-professional-and-
ethical-standards/apes-110-code-of-ethics-for-professional-accountants