Professional Ethics Essay

449 Words2 Pages
1. Explain why it is essential that all professionals behave ethically. Because professionals are expected to conduct themselves at a higher level than most other members of society, people feel more disappointment than when the same thing happens to people who are not labeled as professionals. The reason for an expectation of a high level of professional conduct by any profession is the need for public confidence in the quality of service by the profession, regardless of the individual providing it. For the CPA, it is essential that the client and external financial statement users have confidence in the quality of audits and other services. If users of services do not have confidence in physicians, judges, or CPAs, the ability of those professionals to serve clients and the public effectively is diminished. 2. Explain why the ethical requirements of the CPA profession differ from those of other professions. Because CPA firms have a different relationship with users of financial statements than most other professionals have with their customers. They are usually engaged by management for private companies and the audit committee for public companies, and are paid by the company issuing the financial statements, but the primary beneficiaries of the audit are financial statement users. Often, the auditor does not know or have contact with the financial statement users but has frequent meetings and ongoing relationships with client personnel. It is essential that users regard CPA firms as competent and unbiased. If users believe that CPA firms do not perform a valuable service (reduce information risk), the value of CPA firms’ audit and other attestation reports is reduced and the demand for these services will thereby also be reduced. Therefore, there is considerable incentive for CPA firms to conduct themselves at a high professional level. 3. Explain

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