Aicpa Code of Professional Conduct

589 Words3 Pages
The AICPA was founded in 1887 and is the world’s largest association to represent accountants; they have over 350,000 members in 128 different countries ("About The Aicpa", 2006-2012). It is considered to be foundation of ethical reasoning in accounting because it covers everything from independence to due diligence and acts as a guideline for accountants to follow. After reading over the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct I feel that the three most important purposes are; to protect the investor, to protect the creditor, and to protect the employee. On the AICPA website one can find versions of the Code of Professional Conduct that date back to June of 2008 however, portions of the code have different dates such as January 12, 1988 that is listed as the date of adoption on the ET section 91-Applicability (AICPA 2006-2012). Although confusing, portions of the code have been around for longer than the code itself and is known as the foundation of ethical reasoning. Accountants everywhere are required to follow this code in order to even be a member in the AICPA and should follow it even if they are not. Building the trust of the public is not an easy task in light of all the scandals that have been uncovered even under close scrutinization from the AICPA. This code provides rules and explains the meaning behind what “ethics” really means and is therefore referred to as “the foundation” of ethical reasoning. The most important purposes behind the Code of Professional Conduct are to protect the investor, the employee, and the creditor. These are important because it is these people that make the company what it is. The people that see the financial statements for a company deserve to know the truth about how the company is doing and these rules are put into place to ensure that. If financial information is misstated the investors may think a company is

More about Aicpa Code of Professional Conduct

Open Document