The Ethical Challenges of Professional Practice
The Ethical Challenges of Professional Practice
Prepared by:
Malgorzata Delimat
Introduction In recent months, a sense of chaos has prevailed in Ireland. Scandals, which emerged in banking sector, have done horrendous damage to credibility of accountancy profession and reputation of Irish financial system. In these difficult times, it is very important to understand what the ethical challenges of accountancy profession are.
As professionals, accountants are required to act with integrity and professionalism. They need to understand that ethics and compliance are very important in their professional life. Corporate collapse of Enron, WorldCom, and recent banking scandals have shown that unethical accounting practices and ill-judged decisions can have devastating consequences for a firm, individuals, investors and, in the case of audit work, the capital markets. Unfortunately, we are likely to see more corporate scandals.
This report discusses the ethical challenges of professional practice. First section examines the role of accountancy profession in serving society and the importance of ethical values such as integrity, objectivity and independence. Second section briefly discusses unethical practices in Anglo Irish Bank, whistleblowing, and the need for strong ethical culture.
Accountancy profession and public interest Professional accountants are individuals who have the knowledge and expertise recognized and valued by society. They play a key role in ensuring public trust in financial reporting and business practices. Because of the complexity of accountants’ role, clients and the public at large must rely on their professional judgement and expertise. Professional expertise must be applied with honesty, integrity, professional scepticism, and avoidance of misinterpretation.
Accountancy profession is self-regulated which means that quality of service is judged
Prepared by:
Malgorzata Delimat
Introduction In recent months, a sense of chaos has prevailed in Ireland. Scandals, which emerged in banking sector, have done horrendous damage to credibility of accountancy profession and reputation of Irish financial system. In these difficult times, it is very important to understand what the ethical challenges of accountancy profession are.
As professionals, accountants are required to act with integrity and professionalism. They need to understand that ethics and compliance are very important in their professional life. Corporate collapse of Enron, WorldCom, and recent banking scandals have shown that unethical accounting practices and ill-judged decisions can have devastating consequences for a firm, individuals, investors and, in the case of audit work, the capital markets. Unfortunately, we are likely to see more corporate scandals.
This report discusses the ethical challenges of professional practice. First section examines the role of accountancy profession in serving society and the importance of ethical values such as integrity, objectivity and independence. Second section briefly discusses unethical practices in Anglo Irish Bank, whistleblowing, and the need for strong ethical culture.
Accountancy profession and public interest Professional accountants are individuals who have the knowledge and expertise recognized and valued by society. They play a key role in ensuring public trust in financial reporting and business practices. Because of the complexity of accountants’ role, clients and the public at large must rely on their professional judgement and expertise. Professional expertise must be applied with honesty, integrity, professional scepticism, and avoidance of misinterpretation.
Accountancy profession is self-regulated which means that quality of service is judged
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