Ethical Standards in Health Care Accounting
Ethical Standards in Health Care Accounting
Ethical Standards in Health Care Accounting
As a health care manager, there is a need to understand the basic accounting principles and the need to be able to look at a financial report and understand what it says. Without these keys and a good ethical compass, there could be serious consequences and could result in loss of revenue, funds, termination, or even prison time. Now this may seem like an extreme statement, but without using the four elements of financial management and some good common sense, it might not be a far stretch of the truth. This paper will address the four elements of financial management and how good ethical standards and common sense ensure the best results.
The Four Elements of Financial Management
Financial management is simply put managing the financial aspect of a business. That involves cash coming in and cash going out. There are four elements of financial management which include planning, controlling, organizing and directing, and decision making. These four elements are important and need to be discussed separately.
Planning
“The purpose (of planning) is to identify objectives and then to identify the steps required for accomplishing these objectives” (Baker & Baker, 2011, p. 5). Planning allows a manager to understand what his or her organization is about, or what it wants to achieve. This stage allows a manager to lay out the basic roadmap for what needs to happen. This does not meant that this is exactly what will happen, but still it provides a starting point. Creating a plan also requires thought into developing checks and balances. Who will be in charge of what, and who will be watching over whom. Plan to make it difficult for someone to make unethical decisions. According to Chuck Gallagher, a business ethics and fraud prevention expert; “Unethical behavior(s) that morphs into fraud will always have (need, opportunity, and rationalization) at their core”
Ethical Standards in Health Care Accounting
As a health care manager, there is a need to understand the basic accounting principles and the need to be able to look at a financial report and understand what it says. Without these keys and a good ethical compass, there could be serious consequences and could result in loss of revenue, funds, termination, or even prison time. Now this may seem like an extreme statement, but without using the four elements of financial management and some good common sense, it might not be a far stretch of the truth. This paper will address the four elements of financial management and how good ethical standards and common sense ensure the best results.
The Four Elements of Financial Management
Financial management is simply put managing the financial aspect of a business. That involves cash coming in and cash going out. There are four elements of financial management which include planning, controlling, organizing and directing, and decision making. These four elements are important and need to be discussed separately.
Planning
“The purpose (of planning) is to identify objectives and then to identify the steps required for accomplishing these objectives” (Baker & Baker, 2011, p. 5). Planning allows a manager to understand what his or her organization is about, or what it wants to achieve. This stage allows a manager to lay out the basic roadmap for what needs to happen. This does not meant that this is exactly what will happen, but still it provides a starting point. Creating a plan also requires thought into developing checks and balances. Who will be in charge of what, and who will be watching over whom. Plan to make it difficult for someone to make unethical decisions. According to Chuck Gallagher, a business ethics and fraud prevention expert; “Unethical behavior(s) that morphs into fraud will always have (need, opportunity, and rationalization) at their core”
References: Baker, J. J., & Baker, R. W. (2011). Health care finance: basic tools for nonfinancial managers (3rd ed.). Sadbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett. Freeman, K. (2010, Jul 20). Setting a standard in transparency and ethics. Healthcare Finance News. Retrieved from http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/blog/setting-standard-transparency-and-ethics Gallagher, C. (2009, September). Ethics and Healthcare: Every Choice Has a Consequence. New Perspectives, 28(3), 39-41. Retrieved from http://www.ahia.org/audit_library/newperspectivesarchive/new_perspectives/2009/Summer2009/EthicsandHealthcare_EveryChoiceHasaConsequencebyChuckGallagher.pdf Sandrik, K. M. (1993, Mar). Ethical misconduct in healthcare financial management - includes related articles. Healthcare Financial Management, 44(7). Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3257/is_n3_v47/ai_14122725/?tag=content;col1