Characteristics Of Professional Skerity

718 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Professional skepticism analysis

What Lies Beneath Essay

Professional skepticism is an important attitude to have as an auditor and accountant in gathering and evaluating audit evidence. Hurtt developed a scale to measure the auditor’s level of professional skepticism. Hurtt identified six traits of professional skepticism: questioning mind; suspension of judgment; search of knowledge; interpersonal understanding; autonomy; and self-esteem.

The first trait of professional skepticism is to have a questioning mind. This trait is important to have as an auditor because it is the attitude of an individual relating to curiosity and interest. In this case, the audit team at Betty’s firm questioned Toby regarding the large miscellaneous expense. However, Toby would give Betty a response that will explain the issue without further investigating. Betty did not question Toby further since having a large miscellaneous expense account should be an indicator to auditors to prepare for questions. Betty did not have a questioning mind after Toby provided an explanation. In this situation, the best approach to Betty is to question Toby’s explanation of the large miscellaneous account balance. Auditors should contentiously ask questions until they are certain that they the evidence contains no errors.

The second trait …show more content…

This is one of the characteristics that make skeptical actions based on skeptical thoughts. If an individual is obedient, they are more likely to agree with other’s ideas and accept the way things are. However, as an auditor, the most important trait is to always be determined to obtain additional evidence or perform additional research. Betty and her audit team accepted Toby’s explanation because they trusted him without any doubt. She did not perform the level of skepticism in that she went along with Toby’s response. Even though she has requested the reconciliation of the expense, but she did not complete

Show More
Related

  • Case Analysis: The Unscrupulous Partner: Ethics Case

    704 Words  | 2 Pages

    Andrea may decide not to inform the limited partners about the misrepresentation of Skyline Views’s financial statements; to avoid conflict, this decision permits Ed to deceive the company and limited partners. In addition, by deciding not to inform the limited partners of Ed’s deceit, Andrea would be disregarding the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Code of Professional Conduct in her being unreliable, dishonest and deceitful. Andrea has the responsibility of protecting her client, which involves encouraging the correction of financial statements in order to prevent suspicion during audits that could lead to fines and imprisonment. Andrea’s second option is to inform the limited partners about how misrepresentations of Skyline Views’s financial statements are permitting Ed to claim a higher management fee; this decision will fulfill her due diligence obligation to the limited partners while maintaining her integrity as a certified public accountant in supporting the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Code of Professional Conduct.

    Read More

  • Engagement Risk Case Study

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    Auditors do not provide audit opinions for different levels of assurance. Therefore, auditors consider providing more or less assurance when modifying evidence for engagement risk to be unnecessary. However, auditors should be professionally responsible to accumulate additional evidence, assign more experienced personnel, and review the audit more thoroughly, particularly when a client poses a higher than normal degree of engagement risk. The auditor should also modify evidence for engagement risk when high legal exposure and other potential actions affecting the auditor

    Read More

  • Professionalism Case Study

    813 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this scenario, Margaret is a newly hired medical assistant for this very busy medical practice. Margaret had good intentions with wanting to leave a good impression. However, she should have thought more about patient care and her ability to perform a procedure on her own. Fortunately, even though the office seemed to need the extra help. Margaret being a new hire and having not much time with blood draws, or the way that the office is run. Should have consulted with one of the experienced staff members of RN’s, Medical assistants and seven providers. She should have also asked about their policy and the procedures that the practice uses.

    Read More

  • Williamson's Response To Skepticism

    1026 Words  | 3 Pages

    Skepticism: What is it and how does it challenge the idea that knowledge is justified, true belief?

    Read More

  • Professionalism In The Health Field

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    Professionalism is an adherence to a set of values comprising both a formally agreed-upon code of conduct and the informal expectations of colleagues, clients and society. The key values include acting in a patient's interest, responsiveness to the health needs of society, maintaining the highest standards of excellence in the practice of medicine and in the generation and dissemination of knowledge. In addition to medical knowledge and skills, medical professionals should present psychosocial and humanistic qualities such as caring, empathy, humility and compassion, as well as social responsibility and sensitivity to people's culture and beliefs. All these qualities are expected of members of highly trained professions.

    Read More

  • Accounting Case Study: The AICPA Code Of Professional Conduct

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct defines independence as consisting of independence of mind and independence in appearance. According to the AICPA Code of Conduct, Section 55 Article IV, An accountant member should maintain objectivity and be free of conflicts of interest in discharging professional responsibilities. Moreover, a member who practices their accounting work in a public firm should be independent in fact and appearance when providing auditing and other attestation services (aicpa.org). According to the case study What Lies Beneath, I think that Betty did not show her professional skepticism since she built trust on her client, which she could not have as an auditor. As an auditor,

    Read More

  • Examples Of Professionalism In The Workplace

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    The nursing health field didn’t start as professional and organized as it is today. It started long away in the 19th -20th century; with a lady named Florence Nightingale. She was well known for her night rounds to help assist the wounded soldiers. She was known as, “Lady with the Lamp” (Potter & Perry, 2015 pg.106). What we are learning in school today is about the fundamental of patient care, cleanliness, and management is the legacy of Florence Nightingale. According to Fundamentals of Nursing by Yoost and Crawford, it stated that nursing profession has elevated to a higher degree of professionalism and respectability. I believe that professionalism is required in the working place. As a professional nurse, I’m expected to

    Read More

  • The Importance of Professionalism at Work

    1018 Words  | 3 Pages

    Professionalism is defined as one's conduct at work. The quality of professionalism is not restricted to those in occupations with high level of education or high earnings. Any worker regardless of their level of education or occupation should demonstrate a high level of this trait (About.com, 2013). Acting professionally at workplace makes others think of you as reliable, respectful, and competent.

    Read More

  • Definition Essay - Defining Professionalism

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    Academics believe that professional occupations are those that are full-time occupations, have a commitment to a calling, have formalized organization, are based on specialized education of exceptional duration and difficulty, exhibit a service orientation, and are autonomous. Students feel that a professional is anyone who acts in a professional way and has creditable knowledge of their field. The two are vying for increased recognition in the elite group known as professionals. The academic community wishes to restrict the values of professionalism’s definition. Society wishes to let itself into the professional community by broadening those values. Each side seeks its own best interests in an eternal power struggle.

    Read More

  • Healthcare Professionalism Essay

    623 Words  | 2 Pages

    Professionalism can be defined as the competence of skills and principles of an individual in a profession. A professional must be knowledgeable in their profession, committed to improvement of one’s knowledge and skills, service oriented, covenantal relationships to patients/patrons, creative, innovative, ethical, accountable and a leader. These competencies are essential for a professional to perform and excel in their profession.

    Read More

  • AICPA Code Of Professional Conduct

    1359 Words  | 3 Pages

    With every business activity come opportunities for fraudulent behavior which leads to a greater demand for auditors with unscathed ethics. Nowadays, auditors are faced with a multitude of ethical issues, and it is even more problematic when the auditors fail to adhere to the standards of professional conducts as prescribed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The objective of this paper is to analyze the auditors’ compliance with the code of professional conduct in the way it relates to the effectiveness of their audits.

    Read More

  • Competency 1: Demonstrate Ethical And Professional Behavior

    508 Words  | 2 Pages

    1.1 Demonstrate awareness of the impact of vicarious trauma on one’s own practice with families and other population

    Read More

  • Ethics In The AICPA Code Of Professional Ethics

    1226 Words  | 3 Pages

    Proverbs 10:9 states: “People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will slip and fall” (New Living Translation).” This Scripture suggests that individuals who do not walk in integrity follow “crooked paths.” They walk in ways that are not morally sound, pure, and honest—but in ways that are corrupt. Clients want accountants with integrity. Thus, integrity is critical to the public trust. As a matter of fact, one of the general definitions of integrity provided by the AICPA Code is that it is a quality from which the public trust derives. Also, it is an element of character fundamental to professional recognition, and it requires members to be (among other things) honest and candid within the constraints of confidentiality (Duska, Duska & Ragatz, 2011). Integrity in the accounting profession involves adhering to the rules and principles of the profession. This includes remaining free of conflicts of interest and maintaining client relationships in which the accountant can remain objective in discharging his or her responsibilities. This requires independence in fact and in appearance as mandated under section 1.200.001.01, Independence Rule the AICPA Code. In other words, no one should be able to view the accountant as being biased with respect to a client’s financial reporting due to an improper client relationship. Lack of integrity in accounting practices has been, and continues to be, a key element in the downfall of many institutions which has hurt the public trust in the accounting

    Read More

  • Audit Expectations Gap

    1324 Words  | 3 Pages

    Various definitions have been proposed for the audit expectation gap. Humphrey, Moizer and Turley (1992), suggest that the common element in the various definitions of the gap is that auditors are performing in a manner that is at variance with the beliefs and desires of others who are party to or interested in the audit.

    Read More

  • The History of Auditing

    3399 Words  | 7 Pages

    The evolution of auditing is a complicated history that has always been changing through historical events. Auditing always changed to meet the needs of the business environment of that day. Auditing has been around since the beginning of human civilization, focusing mainly, at first, on finding efraud. As the United States grew, the business world grew, and auditing began to play more important roles. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, people began to invest money into large corporations. The Stock Market crash of 1929 and various scandals made auditors realize that their roles in society were very important. Scandals and stock market crashes made auditors aware of deficiencies in auditing, and the auditing community was always quick to fix those deficiencies. The auditors’ job became more difficult as the accounting principles changed, and became easier with the use of internal controls. These controls introduced the need for testing; not an in-depth detailed audit. Auditing jobs would have to change to meet the changing business world. The invention of computers impacted the auditors’ world by making their job at times easier and at times making their job more difficult. Finally, the auditors’ job of certifying and testing companies’ financial statements is the backbone of the business world.

    Read More

More about Characteristics Of Professional Skerity

Open Document