Integrity is the trait that an accountant needs to have in order to be completely honest, integrity is the act of knowing right from wrong and following through with doing the right thing, and being honest is one of the ways that an accountant can insure that they are following the AICPA Code of professional conduct. Due care is the last purpose of the AICPA. Due care is the act of making sure that the accountant is up to date on the most recent code of conduct, and have the training and education needed to be the best accountant that the public needs. My conclusion is that in order for an accountant to fully uphold the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct they must know the
Generally Accepted Auditing Standards Generally accepted auditing standards are defined as a systematic set of guidelines that are used by auditors when conducting audits for a company’s finances, these standards are used to ensure accuracy, consistency, and verifiability of the auditors reports (Investopedia, 2013). This paper is going to discuss the elements of generally accepted auditing standards and how these standards apply to compliance, financial and operational audits. There will also be discussion about the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and the effect they have on auditing publicly traded companies, and the requirements that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) have placed on auditors. There are ten generally accepted auditing standards that are the most recognized in regards to auditing in the accounting profession. The ten generally accepted auditing standards are broken down into three categories as follows general standards, standards of field work, and standards of reporting.
Accounting: Accounting error or fraud? Introduction: Accounting profession all over the globe has developed its own principal based professional ethics where integrity, objectivity, diligence, loyalty and professional behavior are the five virtues professional accountants should have all the way. Integrity: it means simply, that you have to be honest and straightforward in all professional and business relationships. Objectivity: it is that professional accountant shouldn’t be influenced by others in a way that affects his professional or business judgment or opinion. I.e.
A CPM SHALL MAINTAIN A HIGH LEVEL OF PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY A CPM shall: 2.1 Exercise all due care and diligence in undertaking their duties. 2.2 Advise the proper authority of any knowledge of any dishonest or fraudulent acts committed against their employer by any person pertaining to the handling and/or accounting of funds, securities or other assets. The authority to whom the report is made shall depend on the nature and circumstances of the matter. Failure to report such knowledge is in itself misconduct and shall be treated as such under these rules. 3.
It is also a branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and outcomes of such actions. The three sources of professional ethics and values I am going to discuss, are professional integrity, academic integrity, and personal values. Professional integrity is often used in business settings to describe the manner in which employees should act or conduct themselves. Professional integrity is demonstrating practical ethics and professional responsibilities within the work environment. Professional integrity involves being an ethical person.
1 requires that "in all matters relating to the assignment, independence in mental attitude is to be maintained by the auditor...he must be without bias with respect to the client. "26 Because a principal purpose of auditor independence is to provide assurance to investors, the accounting profession has long required independence not only in fact but also in appearance. SAS No. 1 states, "Public confidence would be impaired by evidence that independence was actually lacking, and it might also be impaired by the existence of circumstances which reasonable people might believe likely to influence independence. "27 Accordingly, "Independent auditors should not only be independent in fact; they should avoid situations that may lead outsiders to doubt their independence.
How might this code of ethics affect your professional behavior in the future, either positively or negatively? I believe this code will affect my professional behavior positively due to "the rules of professional conduct embodies ethical standards, in which, it goes so much deeper than the study of external actions" (Howard, Korver 2008). It explores an employee's thoughts and feelings. It requires that man desires what is good and act accordance with that desire. 3.
The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct covers everything that is expected of an individual in an accounting position and covers six main principles: responsibilities, public interest, integrity, objectivity, due care, and scope or services. Of the principles outlines by the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, arguably the three most important for accountants to be familiar with are public interest, integrity, and objectivity. For any accountant to remain ethical in their job, all six of the AICPA principles must be followed at all times. Most importantly, accountants need to be familiar with what is expected of them in terms of public interest, integrity, and objectivity. According to Ethical Reasoning, AICPA’s principle for public interest is meant, “to include clients, credit grantors, governments, employers, investors, the business and financial community, and others who rely on the objectivity and integrity of CPAs to maintain the orderly function of commerce,” (p. 14).
By the same vein, the values of a person need to be in line with those of the organization with which they are affiliated, or function and efficiency cannot be optimized. Professional ethics are equally important, as they are the moral compass of a person or organization’s way of thinking. They are the code of conduct and standard by which a person or organization practices their craft. Career success depends on a person’s ability to obtain and maintain a high standard of professional ethics, while blending them with a solid set of values that pertain to their field of work. Professional ethics and values also help define and comprise a person’s level of integrity.
Corporate governances Corporate Governance is the interaction of the management, shareholders and Board of Directors to help ensure that all investors—both shareholders and creditors—are protected against managers acting solely in their own best interest. Corporate Governance consists of laws, policies, procedures and, most importantly, practices that ensure the well-being of the assets of the Company. Corporate Governance is at its highest levels when management acts as if they are long-term investors in the Company. Unilever Transparency and accountability are the two basic tenets of Corporate Governance. Responsible corporate conduct is integral to the way Unilever do business.