Ethical Conflicts in Professional Accounting Services
We will continue to explore ethical accounting by examining the intersection of business and accounting practices. We will examine the ethical responsibilities of accountants as they encounter company procedures that impact the accounting function and its related responsibilities.
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:
Discuss when ethical conflicts arise in the performance of professional accounting services? How should a CPA go about resolving ethical conflicts?
Can a CPA auditor be independent without being objective and impartial? Can a CPA auditor be objective and impartial without being independent? Explain your answer in the context of recent rule changes by the SEC discussed in the chapter that loosened independence requirements. Provide two reasons to support your answer.
Ethical Accounting Discussion
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Ethical Accounting Discussion
Discuss when ethical conflicts arise in the performance of professional accounting services? How should a CPA go about resolving ethical conflicts?
Accountants face ethical conflicts during their professional accounting services and may jeopardize the compilation and reporting of financial statements. One ethical issue is the conflict of interest, which occurs when an accountant has a personal relationship or is a beneficiary of company transactions, affecting their objectivity (Decker, 2019). Accountants may be influenced due to the relationship and hence prepare biased financial statements that do not reflect the true and fair view of the company's performance. Another ethical conflict is confidentiality. Accountants must exercise confidentiality in the cause of their duty and should not disclose any company information to a third party (Decker, 2019). However, there comes a time when they are forced to do so, especially when the government is involved. They must consider the superiority between the government and their professional ethics.
Another ethical conflict is the issue of whistleblowing. Accountants must raise the alarm when they suspect something fishy is happening, which may affect company performance. A CPA can resolve ethical conflict issues in various ways. Fi...