Finance, Banking Accounting: Accountants Need To Be Ethical (Essay Sample)

Finance, Banking and Accounting.
Do Accountants need to be ethical?
In order to properly understand the value of ethics and to assess the need of ethics in the accounting industry as well as the need for accountants to behave in an ethical manner it is important to understand the meaning of the term ethics and thereafter establish how ethics come into play in the accounting industry and if there is a need for accountants and those working within the confines of the accounting industry to behave in an ethical manner.
There are various definitions and interpretations used to define the word ethics. These definitions and interpretations vary across different industries and cultures. Some may define ethics as the difference between right and wrong. Some belief ethics have to do with ones religious beliefs. Others believe ethics are behaving in manner that abides by the law that governs, whilst others believe ethics are to do with behaving in a manner that is acceptable to society. None of these are wrong, however non are completely correct either. A basic and true definition of ethics was established to be defined as carrying two aspects. Ethics firstly refers to standards of right and wrong that determine what one is to do. Secondly ethics is said to refer to the study of one’s ethical standards. (Meyer, Shanks and Andre, 2017).
The issue and topic of ethics in the accounting profession and the finance industry is one that is been given much attention. This is for various reasons that may include the elimination of corruption and to ensure that all accountants carry themselves out in the most professional way.
Upon research, I found that there are various organizations that exist; that have tasked themselves with the responsibility of developing professional accounting ethical values; (Vitez, 2017). Such organizations are often specifically developed to meet the accounting standards of a certain country – however, in certain instances these accounting organizations operate on a cross boarder basis.
What was further established about these organizations is that they require that all professional accountants registered under their organization act responsibly when they are engaging in accounting services and reviewing sensitive financial information. (Vitez, 2017).
Based on the information that was obtained with regards to accountants and how they should conduct themselves, it is my opinion that accountants need to be ethical. Moreover, not only do accountants need to be ethical; but proper ethics and ethical behaviour are set to be extremely important in the accounting industry for a number of different reasons. (Weed, 2017)
Based on the above text there is evidence that supports that accountants need to be ethical and that ethics and ethical behaviour are extremely important. This is due to the fact that if accountants are not ethical and caution is not taken to ensure that proper ethics and ethical behaviour is followed there will be dire consequences.
The consequences of accountants not behaving ethically include;
1. Should the accountant of the company act in a manner that is unethical or should they not follow sufficient or correct methods of ethical behaviour, the organization might not be able to attract more customers as they will be known for unethical behaviour which most potential clients do not want to be affiliated with.
2. There are also known legal consequences of accountant and accounting firms not acting ethically or not follow proper ethical procedures there might be legal consequences to those actions. This will have a huge impact on the organization which will be adverse and detrime...