Ethics in Accounting
Introduction
Ethics in accounting and financial decision making is important in today 's business world. Many organizations put emphasis on ethics and the financial decision making process with the organization and expect that auditors, managers and accountants will behave in an ethical manner. There are many factors that inspire organizations to assure and push ethical policies. In the last seven years, the world has witnessed stunning financial collapse in many companies that were ranked among the most admired in America. Companies like Enron and WorldCom, left an impact the way ethics is valued and viewed among companies. What went wrong? The question that arises is what form of ethics or education training did the involved auditors, accountants and managers receive? Ethics training and study for accountants, auditors, and managers must be enforced to help individuals make better financial decisions.
Summary
The public 's perception of corporate ethics changed dramatically with the revelation of the unethical decision making at WorldCom and Enron. The scandals took a toll on consumers ' confidence and portfolios, and undermined their faith in the accounting profession. Corporate stakeholders have called for more transparent financial reporting and evidence of better ethical conduct. SEC Chairman William H. Donaldson has said that restoring the public 's confidence in the accounting profession was the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 's (SOA) primary goal. Part of restoring the public 's confidence entails auditors to adopt good practice. One example of good practice in decision making is the code of ethics in business. According to research article Corporate Transparency, Code of Ethics Disclosures, 2005, fortune 500 companies are making their codes of ethics readily available after the passage of SOA.
examines the responses by 97 large U.S. companies from the global Fortune 500 in making their codes of ethics readily available after the passage of SOA.
Ethics in accounting and financial decision making is important in today 's business world. Many organizations put emphasis on ethics and the financial decision making process with the organization and expect that auditors, managers and accountants will behave in an ethical manner. There are many factors that inspire organizations to assure and push ethical policies. In the last seven years, the world has witnessed stunning financial collapse in many companies that were ranked among the most admired in America. Companies like Enron and WorldCom, left an impact the way ethics is valued and viewed among companies. What went wrong? The question that arises is what form of ethics or education training did the involved auditors, accountants and managers receive? Ethics training and study for accountants, auditors, and managers must be enforced to help individuals make better financial decisions.
Summary
The public 's perception of corporate ethics changed dramatically with the revelation of the unethical decision making at WorldCom and Enron. The scandals took a toll on consumers ' confidence and portfolios, and undermined their faith in the accounting profession. Corporate stakeholders have called for more transparent financial reporting and evidence of better ethical conduct. SEC Chairman William H. Donaldson has said that restoring the public 's confidence in the accounting profession was the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 's (SOA) primary goal. Part of restoring the public 's confidence entails auditors to adopt good practice. One example of good practice in decision making is the code of ethics in business. According to research article Corporate Transparency, Code of Ethics Disclosures, 2005, fortune 500 companies are making their codes of ethics readily available after the passage of SOA.
examines the responses by 97 large U.S. companies from the global Fortune 500 in making their codes of ethics readily available after the passage of SOA.
References: Labor Relations Board Retrieved October 9, 2006 from www.homeearthlink.net