The accountancy profession though offers sumptuous rewards for accountants, but it also presents them with several ethical dilemmas in their day to day dealings. Owing to this increasing trend, the concept of professional ethics is becoming more prominent. ACCA has had a close eye on this area and has taken numerous steps to incorporate ethics into its qualification. Being a member of International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), it has issued a Code of Ethics and Conduct for its members and students. This presents accountants with many ethical dilemmas and how to deal with them ethically, and at the same time encourages them to use their own cognitive ability to decide on ethical issues, which makes it a principles based approach and hence, less rigid. One innovative prospect the ACCA qualification offers is the Professional Ethics Module, which every ACCA student is required to complete (those registered after Jan 1, 2007). It presents students with the opportunity of becoming aware what professional ethics actually mean; why they are important and how to apply them in practical situations. It consists of 9 areas; some containing theoretical aspects while some simulating the work environment and explaining the ethical issues involved and how to deal with them. However, no marking is done; instead each section of the module is timed as the student goes through it. Students then have to submit their opinion in the end, indicating the knowledge gained regarding professional ethics.
Accountants and auditors operate in a profession which is open to criticisms of every kind. This profession has seen a number of corporate scandals worldwide, which has been an eye-opener for the profession. As a result, Codes of Corporate Governance have been issued and every country is encouraged to adopt it or create their own, based on the principles involved.
Accountants need to be independent and also seen to be independent in every respect. That is how they will be able to give an objective view of the circumstances of a particular company, for instance, and this would lead to enhanced credibility of its financial statements and would boost shareholder confidence. Accountants are required to act in accordance with the fundamental principles of integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality and professional behaviour. For more info on these principles, have a look at the Code of Ethics and Conduct, adopted by the ACCA (Section 3 of the ACCA Rule Book 2008) by visiting this link: http://rulebook.accaglobal.com/
Accountants worldwide face several ethical dilemmas and independence issues in the course of their work life. May it be some kind of conflict of interest or a misunderstanding between colleagues, such issues hinder an accountant's progress through his/her career, until they are dealt with ethically. It is up to them how they decide to tackle them, considering guidelines of their relative accountancy bodies such as the ACCA's. Acting in accordance with ethical principles is a matter of one's own cognition rather than a rule of thumb. This is because every situation is different and needs to be dealt with accordingly, as the circumstances require. The relative application of professional ethics to a given situation is itself a subjective issue. The individual involved is in the best position to decide for himself/herself, what choices to make, in the light of ethical principles.
Professional ethics is fundamental to the credibility of any profession. For accountancy, it serves as its core and can be taken to be most important, because the users of the financial statements, have their faith in the accountant's work and on those who audit them and their economic decisions are based on the integrity of the financial statements. Every accountant shall abide by the fundamental ethical principles and tackle every issue accordingly. If anything goes wrong, at least the individual involved will be assured that he/she was not against ethics and would also be supported by his/her relevant regulatory body of which he/she is a member. By acting ethically in all situations, only then can an accountant best serve the public interest.
Recent Comments