Ethical Considerations for Accountants: A Comprehensive Overview

This essay explores the critical role of ethics in the accounting profession, emphasizing the necessity of ethical behavior for accountants. It highlights how ethical values such as integrity, objectivity, and confidentiality are essential for effective decision-making and maintaining financial integrity. The essay discusses the importance of ethical conduct in ensuring accurate financial reporting, protecting stakeholder interests, and upholding public trust. It also examines the five ethical dimensions of accounting: integrity, objectivity, interdependence, responsibilities to consumers and colleagues, technical standards, and accounting practices. The essay concludes that accountants must be ethical to navigate complex financial situations, make sound judgments, and fulfill their responsibilities to the public and stakeholders. The provided references and bibliography support the arguments presented in the essay, offering further insights into the subject matter.

Do accountant need to be
ethical?

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................2
BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Ethics are the moral principle which assist the individuals in taking appropriate decision
keeping in mind personal and professional values. It plays crucial role in determining person's
behaviours as it as analyses the importance of values when working or conducting any activity
(Roy, 2017). The report will outline that the accountant need to be ethical because it assists the
person in overcoming dilemmas of circumstances by making right decision and choice for the
benefit of the organisation.
MAIN BODY
The organisation have their own set of rules and regulation of accounting according to
country. In accordance to accounting profession it is the responsibility of accounting professional
to behave and make decisions ethically in order to make effective engagement of business
operations. The individual is responsible to maintaining the information and data accurately and
truthfully in order to establish effectiveness in financial condition of firm and consumer
services(Kelly, 2017). Further, integrity plays a vital role in accounting line of work as in this
the person requires to be honest, forthright and candid when dealing with the financial
information of consumers. Ethics in accountant assist the company in securing the confidentiality
and manipulation of financial information. Ethical values assist the person in working in
consistent manner without any hindrance and misleading of information. Importance of ethical
values for accountant are, confidentiality in this the accounting individual is liable to maintain
the privacy of financial information until unless the individual is bound to share information with
person under the set rules of legal framework. In addition to this, ethical values assist the
accountant in complying with all the regulation and laws which protects the firm from negative
functioning and established guideline for business operations.
Ethical values of Accountant assist the processional min making analytical decision for
an enterprise such as, determination of situation which comprises What, Who, Where, How and
When. Moreover, it focuses on equal participation of all the shareholders of the company that is,
stakeholders, consumers, employees, community, association etc. Nevertheless, ethical values in
accounting professions assists maintaining the confidentiality of information in order to avoid the
changes of conflicts (Sorensen, Miller and Cabe, 2017). Apart from this, ethical values in
accountant is beneficial in determining the alternative action in various circumstances of an
organisation. Implementing the use of ethics assist the person in determining the consequences of
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situation which aids in formulating effective solution keeping in mind the benefits of
shareholders of company. Thus, following ethical values assist the accountant in formulating
effective and ethical decision and actions according to situation and financial condition of
business. Hence, Accounting ethics plays a crucial role in determining the appropriateness of
values in accounting profession as it segregated the values in five ethical dimensions that is
integrity, objectivity and interdependence, responsibilities to consumers and colleagues,
technical standards, and accounting practices (Gong, 2017). In this integrity is aims at honesty,
objectivity and interdependent is based on reduction in conflicts and securing interests and
business relationships. Moreover, responsibility towards clients and employees is based on
securing of information and data whereas technical standards aims at following of accounting
standards set by board to secure public interest and to maintain the fairness of accounting
decisions. Hence, the accounting practices set the guidelines which aims at appropriate use of use
financial information of an enterprise.
Apparently, Ethical values in accounting helps the individuals in dealing with financial
uncertainties. The profession of accountant is based on honesty and trust which is supported by
its behaviours and knowledge (Lee and Sohn, 2017). The accountant in an enterprise are bound
to work keeping in mind their ethical values which aims at, maintaining the confidentiality of
information, security of data and securing the interest of shareholders. Accounting profession is
based on capital markets, funding, tax collection therefore, it is important for the individual to
implement the use of ethical values. It is the responsibility of accountant to work according to
public interest which is supported by the ethical values. It assists the person in formulating
decision according to needs and wants of employee and consumers. Further, in accountants there
is always third party involvement for which the ethical standards regulates the accounting
profession in order to maintain the confidentiality of information. Henceforth, it has been
determined that yes, accountants need to be ethical in order to make effective decision of
accounting profession.
CONCLUSION
The report summarized that ethical values which are moral values which assist the
individuals in taking appropriate decisions. It analysed that accountant need to be ethical because
it assists in overcoming dilemmas of circumstances by making right decision. Further, it outlined
that ethical values assist the person in working in consistent manner without any hindrance and
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misleading of information. Hence, it evaluated five ethical dimensions that is integrity,
objectivity and interdependence, responsibilities to consumers and colleagues, technical
standards, and accounting practices.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0072994029/student_view0/ebook/chapter1/chbody1/
ethics_in_accounting.html
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/ethics-accounting-profession-3738.html
https://www.omicsonline.org/scholarly/accounting-ethics-journals-articles-ppts-list.php
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Gong, J.J., 2017. Ethics in Accounting: A Decision-Making Approach.
Kelly, P.T., 2017. Integrating Leadership Topics into an Accounting Ethics Course–Preparing
Students for a Challenging Profession. In Advances in Accounting Education: Teaching
and Curriculum Innovations. Emerald Publishing Limited. (pp. 141-180).
Lee, B.K. and Sohn, S.Y., 2017. A Credit Scoring Model for SMEs Based on Accounting Ethics.
Sustainability. 9(9). p.1588.
Roy, S., 2017. The Significance of Business Ethics as a Competency Requirement in Fiji’s
Accountancy Profession. Australian Academy of Accounting and Finance Review. 2(3).
pp.264-279.
Sorensen, D.P., Miller, S.E. and Cabe, K.L., 2017. Developing and measuring the impact of an
accounting ethics course that is based on the moral philosophy of Adam Smith. Journal
of Business Ethics. 140(1). pp.175-191.
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