Ethics Program
Ethics Program
AC504: Ethical Issues in Business and Accounting
July 7, 2013
Amy Muscarello
Our new company is a family owned distribution company called TAM’s. The family has one corporate office in Palatine, Illinois. They have ten warehouses in Ohio (Cincinnati, Dayton, and Cleveland), Wisconsin (Madison and Chippewa Falls), Illinois (Bloomington and Palatine), Minnesota (Eagan), Indiana (Indianapolis), and Michigan (Detroit). The father and son are the CEO and CFO of the company. They are the only two family members on the board of directors. The other three board members are non-family members. TAM’s hired an independent accounting firm to help establish an ethics program. The accounting firm handles all the companies’ financials and independent audits. Although not required to be in regulation, the company requires a member of the board of directors, in addition to the CEO and CFO to certify the financial statements, procedures, and policies. All financial statements, procedures, and policies are available to all employees, vendors, and customers. TAM’s owners want as much visibility and trust from employees, vendors, and customers. Although TAM’s is not a publicly shared company, the board of directors follows several areas of Sarbanes-Oxley regarding financial statements and code of ethics. The goal of the ethics program to be implemented is to be in compliance with laws and regulations and value based. There are five program orientations to choose from. * Compliance based * Integrity or values based * Satisfaction of external stakeholders * Protect top management from blame * Combination of any of the above
(Brooks & Dunn, p.256 (table 5.7))
TAM’s board of directors felt strongly about being in compliance with laws and regulations however they wanted values and integrity to be incorporated into the plan. They chose to have a combination of the two program orientations. To have an effective compliance and
AC504: Ethical Issues in Business and Accounting
July 7, 2013
Amy Muscarello
Our new company is a family owned distribution company called TAM’s. The family has one corporate office in Palatine, Illinois. They have ten warehouses in Ohio (Cincinnati, Dayton, and Cleveland), Wisconsin (Madison and Chippewa Falls), Illinois (Bloomington and Palatine), Minnesota (Eagan), Indiana (Indianapolis), and Michigan (Detroit). The father and son are the CEO and CFO of the company. They are the only two family members on the board of directors. The other three board members are non-family members. TAM’s hired an independent accounting firm to help establish an ethics program. The accounting firm handles all the companies’ financials and independent audits. Although not required to be in regulation, the company requires a member of the board of directors, in addition to the CEO and CFO to certify the financial statements, procedures, and policies. All financial statements, procedures, and policies are available to all employees, vendors, and customers. TAM’s owners want as much visibility and trust from employees, vendors, and customers. Although TAM’s is not a publicly shared company, the board of directors follows several areas of Sarbanes-Oxley regarding financial statements and code of ethics. The goal of the ethics program to be implemented is to be in compliance with laws and regulations and value based. There are five program orientations to choose from. * Compliance based * Integrity or values based * Satisfaction of external stakeholders * Protect top management from blame * Combination of any of the above
(Brooks & Dunn, p.256 (table 5.7))
TAM’s board of directors felt strongly about being in compliance with laws and regulations however they wanted values and integrity to be incorporated into the plan. They chose to have a combination of the two program orientations. To have an effective compliance and
References: http://www.inc.com/articles/2000/10/14404.html Brooks, L. J., & Dunn, P. (2012). Business & Professional Ethics for Directors, Executives & Accountants (6th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning. Matthews, T. 2008, Developing A Company Ethics Program, NRF 2008 Loss Prevention Conference & Expo