Ethics Essay: Business Ethics and Professional Conduct, [University]

This essay analyzes an ethical dilemma faced by Xavier, a Finance Manager, who is asked to falsify accounts. The essay explores the ethical implications of this request, considering the perspectives of various stakeholders and linking the situation to ethical theories such as virtue theory and utilitarianism. It examines the consequences of both accepting and rejecting the Managing Director's orders, emphasizing the importance of integrity, objectivity, and professional conduct as per ACCA principles. The essay argues that Xavier should refuse to falsify the accounts, prioritizing ethical behavior and the protection of stakeholders' interests, even if it means quitting the job. It highlights the potential legal and professional ramifications of unethical actions and suggests reporting the incident to professional bodies. The essay concludes by underscoring the significance of ethical decision-making and the role of ethical principles in navigating challenging situations within the business environment.

RUNNING HEAD: ETHICS 0
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Essay
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Introduction
Ethics are the values or belief that helps to understand the difference between what is
right and wrong in a situation. In any profession, ethics are considered as an important aspect.
Because of ethics an individual get to know the code of conduct and legal principles to complete
the work (George , 2011). The concept of ethics can be understood with three elements that are
good intentions, competence and rules conformance. From the view of good intentions ethics is
behaving in an ethical manner or doing the things with a clear intention of do not harm others, or
from the perspective of conformity of rules; ethics is following the rules and code of conduct that
are framed by the company according to the ethical standard, from the third perspective; ethics in
terms of competence is the ability of a person to act based on the ethical principles (Ferrell &
Fraedrich , 2015). The concept of ethics can be understood with the help of a case study that
focuses on the rules and code of conduct that a professional person should follow. The essay
consists of the analysis of decisions that Xavier should take and the consequences that he might
face in the long run. The analysis includes understanding the bad and good outcome of the given
choices. This is done using the business ethics perspective by linking the ethical theories and
concept with the situation.
Case Study: Analysis and Discussion
The first choice that is in front of Xavier is to accept and follow the orders of the
Managing Director and falsify the accounts. If he goes to choose the first option, than this will
enhance his prospects in the front of management and the company and enable him to continue
the job but that would result in the breach of ethics and accounting law that is considered as the
illegal thing, and this might affect his whole career or this decision would “make him an
accessory to the illegal acts and his standing as a professional accountant may be at risk”
(Ferrell, 2016). If Xavier opted for this solution than there are chances that he may be caught
while falsifying the accounts, the consequences that he can face include sentenced to jail,
termination of its professional membership and a penalty of a fixed amount as per the crime.
On the other side, if Xavier decided to not falsify the accounts as directed by his
Managing Director, he has to quit the job. This option will lead him to find a new opportunity

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and to resign from the current job. This is a safer side as the ethical behavior and moral values of
an individual help them to be successful in the future. Xavier is an accountant in the company
and his role is to disclose all the assets and liabilities, classify information and present it on time,
and presentation of facts and figures in an accurate way in front of management and to the
stakeholders of the company. As a professional accountant he has to follow the rules and
regulations of his country and adhere to the ethical principles.
According to ACCA section 3.2, the ethical principles that should be followed by the
professional accountants are objectivity, confidentiality, integrity, professional behavior and
professional competence. Principle of integrity is that in a profession a person should not mislead
or falsify information or facts, objectivity principle states that a professional person should make
the decision on the basis of facts and figures and for the betterment of stakeholders and company
and his decision should not be based on the personal benefit. Further, professionalism respect
“the confidentiality of information”, a person should not disclose information of a company to
others for their gain. In a profession, a person is a bind to follow and work as per the rules and
regulation of the professional institute and act professionally and ethically in all the
circumstances (King & Fitzgerlad, 2016).
On the basis of above analysis on ethical principles and values, it is advisable that Xavier
should opt for the second option that is to quit the job and don’t follow the Managing Director
instructions. This is the right choice and an ethical decision that will benefit him in the future. As
by following this he adheres to all the professional guidelines and ACCA principles (Duska &
Kury , 2018). Xavier is a professional accountant and this is his duty to take care of the interest
of the company stakeholders and ensure that pubic trust should be maintained on the professional
institutes or bodies. The stakeholders that are affected by this falsification and fraudulent
activities are public, financial institutions, investors and employees. Breaching the rules and not
abiding to the ethical behavior by a professional person will affect all the stakeholders of the
company. By quitting the job he might struggle to get the new job but he will be satisfied
internally.
Ethical behavior of an individual can be identified with the help of virtue theory of ethics,
this theory states that a person acquires virtue through practice as by practicing being brave,

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generous and honest. This will help a person to make the right choice when he will face an
ethical dilemma or challenges (Cremer & Vanderkerckhove, 2017). Linking this theory with the
case, Xavier is not internally satisfied or his conscious not allow him to falsify the financial
statement and if he denies doing that to management he practice bravery and honesty that will
help him to further face any ethical challenges with confidence. Further, utilitarianism is an
approach to decide about the ethical action in a situation, this theory states that an action through
which most people get benefited is considered as right or ethical action, on other side if an action
leads to bad outcome or affect most of the people negatively than it is considered as an unethical
behavior (Fryer, 2016).
Xavier should choose the second option because this will not lead to a breach of
fundamental principles and this ethical behavior will save his job and professional membership.
Xavier situation is difficult as he has to choose whether to follow the orders of the Managing
Director and falsify the accounts or follow the professional ethics as peer demanded by his
profession. The answer should be “No”, as he should be loyal to his profession and his moral
values; there will be the more critical situation in future that leads to choosing between right and
wrong practices. According to ACCA principles, integrity in any profession is must and Xavier
could not violate this principle else that will lead to serious consequences. As this will have
drastic impact on the public and stakeholders. It is an illegal process to change the facts and
figures for personal benefits whether it is done in the influence of others but it is considered as
the illegal activity (Thomassen, 2016).
Ethical principles provide a direction to the person and help him to understand what is
right and wrong. But if Xavier quit the job and denies being part in these illegal activities, the
managing director hires another accountant that will do it. Instead of that, Xavier should report
this incident to the professional bodies and take strict action so that this can never be
implemented and stakeholder interest can be protected. In the area of professional ethics, this
case is related to the ethical dilemma that Xavier is facing, he knows that falsifying the accounts
violate the principles of professional ethics but the pressure of his management or the situation
can lead him to do so. To solve the ethical dilemma, he has to analysis firstly what is right and
ethical in the situation than accordingly step should be taken by him. Ethics and moral values
help an individual to understand the right path in the challenging situation many professional

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bodies form standard rules and regulation that guides the person to behave in ethical behavior,
whereas violation of these principles leads to unethical behavior by a professional person.
Conclusion
Ethics is considered as the branch of philosophy that helps in understanding the
difference between what is wrong and right in a particular situation. As a professional
accountant, Xavier has some responsibilities towards his professional conduct and considering
this he should not follow the orders of Managing Director to falsify the accounts of the company.
On the basis of ACCA framework of decision making it can be analyzed that integrity,
objectivity, competence, confidentiality and professional behavior is important for taking
decision what is right and what is unethical. By choosing this option Xavier can save his
professional career and this decision will protect the interest of all the stakeholders. To solve
ethical dilemma and challenges can be faced by properly analyzing its effects on the person and
number of people affected by the decision. So Xavier should quit the job and pursue his career
and go for other opportunities rather than choosing the wrong way to be successful in his
profession.

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References
Cremer, D., & Vanderkerckhove, W. (2017). Managing unethical behavior in organizations: The
need for a behavioral business ethics approach. Journal of Management and
Organization, 437-455.
Duska, R. F., & Kury , K. W. (2018). Accounting Ethics. Wiley- Blackwell.
Ferrell, O. C. (2016). A Framework for understanding organizational ethics . Routledge.
Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich , J. (2015). Business Ethics: Ethical decision making and cases. US:
Nelson Education .
Fryer, M. (2016). A role for ethics theory in speculative business ethics teaching . Journal of
Business Ethics .
George , R. T. (2011). Business Ethics. New York : Pearson Education .
King, R., & Fitzgerlad, L. (2016). Challenges facing the accounting profession: maintaining
relevance in a changing environment. Perspectives on Contemporary Professional Work:
Challenges and Experiences, 187.
Thomassen, N. (2016). Communicative Ethics in theory and Practice. Springer.