Accounting Ethics

The many accounting scandals involving high-profile companies, such as Enron, WorldCom, Arthur Andersen, and Parmalat, have called into question accounting practices and have undermined public confidence in the accounting and auditing professions. Accountants in professional practice face many technical and ethical challenges and in order to act appropriately, they need both technical and ethical competences. Accountants are guided by standards and supported by professional societies, legislation, and regulatory bodies. Adherence to these principles and compliance to the rules of practice include both a technical and an ethical dimension; Accounting Ethics will help prepare students for their future careers by developing both of these skills. This textbook helps students to: develop both technical and ethical competences through a mixed process of reading, mentored dialogue, and exercises; apply technical competences and knowledge through the provision of exercises and cases; identify moral issues in accounting situations and subsequently demonstrate moral reasoning and make moral judgments (act ethically); and navigate the process of ethical decision making by use of a decision model to structure the chapter material. The textbook is an ideal resource for undergraduate or graduate courses in accounting ethics. It has a strong pedagogical framework that includes study questions, chapter "take-ways", and checklists of key ideas.