Ethics

The case regarding Fashion First is a very interesting case as it allows for a discussion to take place in relation to ethics. Ethics could be defined as moral principles that govern a person’s or group’s behavior. In other words, ethics allow for individuals to distinguish between right and wrong, and to make decisions based on what is right or wrong for any particular situation. In this situation, Sandy, the part-time bookkeeper of Fashion First is approached with a situation where she noticed that $500 cash was missing from each deposit while she was looking through weekly deposit chats. After a more thorough inspection of the monthly tax documents that the owner of Fashion First, “Buzz” Thompson (her manager) filled out, she noticed that the monthly gross revenue was $2,000 less than what had actually been counted. After she approached “Buzz” Thompson about the scenario, “Buzz” asserted that she shouldn’t be concerned since she wasn’t the person who signed the forms. This brings up an ethical dilemma that allows for a discussion on what the “right” thing to do is, and how morals could affect the decision made by Sandy. This case is very interesting due to the fact that Sandy is only an intern who is an accounting student at a University. Heather Hunter, a Senior in the CPA firm, was one for Sandy to go to if in need of anyone to talk to or attain advice from for anything regarding the company. Sandy mentioned to Heather her knowledge of unlawful actions regarding Fashion First. Sandy’s concern related to the handling of sales revenues, as monies are counted and deposited on a weekly basis as a chart is filled out with categories carefully delineating the type of payment: cash, checks, American Express, or Visa/Mastercard. She would bring her chart to her employer (in this case Mr. Thompson) and her employer would bring his own written in total of the actual amount deposited on his own chart, basically comparing the two charts. The issue in this case of