Solving Ethical Dilemmas in the Accounting Profession
Introduction
In today’s world businesses and firms are required to uphold high levels of ethical behaviors for them to run successfully. There have been an overwhelming increased number of unethical behaviors in the accounting environment where a lot of accounting environment present accountants with many accounting dilemmas. Accountants handling any financial information such as companies financial statement must be operate out rightly in an ethical manner because such information is critical to a company’s well being both legally and in a business perspective and also in the accountants own perspective as it determines his compensation and promotional opportunities.
In understanding such dilemmas that face accountants in their daily accounting duties, we study critically the case of Daniel potter, a qualified AICPA accountant working at barker Greenleaf Company. Dan has an acute familiarity with most of the professional guidelines that relate to morality as an accountant. This guideline not only defined his academic success but also his dignity as an auditor. However, he is faced with a situation where he is finding difficulty defining one of the ethical guidelines on materiality according to the AICPA guidelines. He clearly indicates that the valuation of the property has been altered and thus undervalued by up to 7% of its initial value. But as his boss, Mr. Freeman asks him to omit his subject-to-opinion proviso, Dan feels the ethical conducts are being violated and thus refuses to alter the financial statement or his recommendations. In light with his superiors opinions, Dan feels the need to be loyal but again he knows very well that the accounting profession must uphold what it believes in and in asking him to give a different opinion on his clients property valuation, he was in violation of such conduct. All accountants should at any one time in the business environment show an unwavering ethical behavior because “significant deficiencies” have been
In today’s world businesses and firms are required to uphold high levels of ethical behaviors for them to run successfully. There have been an overwhelming increased number of unethical behaviors in the accounting environment where a lot of accounting environment present accountants with many accounting dilemmas. Accountants handling any financial information such as companies financial statement must be operate out rightly in an ethical manner because such information is critical to a company’s well being both legally and in a business perspective and also in the accountants own perspective as it determines his compensation and promotional opportunities.
In understanding such dilemmas that face accountants in their daily accounting duties, we study critically the case of Daniel potter, a qualified AICPA accountant working at barker Greenleaf Company. Dan has an acute familiarity with most of the professional guidelines that relate to morality as an accountant. This guideline not only defined his academic success but also his dignity as an auditor. However, he is faced with a situation where he is finding difficulty defining one of the ethical guidelines on materiality according to the AICPA guidelines. He clearly indicates that the valuation of the property has been altered and thus undervalued by up to 7% of its initial value. But as his boss, Mr. Freeman asks him to omit his subject-to-opinion proviso, Dan feels the ethical conducts are being violated and thus refuses to alter the financial statement or his recommendations. In light with his superiors opinions, Dan feels the need to be loyal but again he knows very well that the accounting profession must uphold what it believes in and in asking him to give a different opinion on his clients property valuation, he was in violation of such conduct. All accountants should at any one time in the business environment show an unwavering ethical behavior because “significant deficiencies” have been