Chick-Fil-A Case Study

doing so paid all employees one to two dollars more than any competitor paid. Along with this, Chick – Fil – A’s corporate purpose is written as follows: To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick – Fil – A (Cathy, 2007, p. 51). On the opposing end, Ray Kroc said, “The definition of salesmanship is the gentle art of letting your customer have it your way.” It is clear that there is an undue influence on how a company’s culture operates when it is owned by either a private investment group or through shareholders.
As it has been shown with In – N – Out Burger as well as Chick – Fil – A, when God is at the center of the organization and His principles are instituted throughout the company, truly helps and organization have a sound culture. When a company’s culture is surrounded by Utilitarian ethical principles, it allows the employees to justify in making decisions that are not ethically sound. Ketz noted that ethics teaching should return to a focus on absolutes and the need for fortitude when pressure comes with its demands for ethical flexibility and compromise (Ketz,

2006, p. 380).
Once the Enron story unraveled, the government stepped in to clamp down on public company financial reporting as Sarbanes – Oxley emerged, CPA firms were now required to split off key consulting services deemed to conflict with auditor independence issues (Accountingweb.com, 2003).

Even though before this time period a company’s auditors were required to maintain an independent view since they were suppose to act as a protector to all end users it was not always the case. An environment was created with a Utilitarian approach that said company’s can offer package services that offer consulting services why at the same time audit the company’s financial statements. But when issue arose it became difficult to jeopardize the superior revenue that was obtained through consulting

services.
With the increase in regulations coming down from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and with the AICPA, a more absolute ethical approach is beginning to develop. In addition to this, with company executives actually being personally responsible for the accounting actions of their company’s many are starting to see the benefits of maintaining a stricter ethical policy.
AICPA Code of Professional Conduct
In 2013, the AICPA updated the Code of Professional Conduct to be solely viewed online. Although most of the ethical guidance remains the same, some language was changed for consistency, now, users will notice similar language throughout the Code of Professional Conduct (Tribunella, & Tribunella, 2014). Consistency is a key in strong and viable ethic systems. Because God’s word is never changing, allows for absolutes to be created for a moral ethical system to follow. Unlike a Utilitarian ethical approach which is not based on unchanging principles and rules, consistency becomes an issue for each individual using this ethical system. As the AICPA creates a Code of Professional Conduct that displays consistency throughout the whole work, will allow members less wiggle room to bend ethical principles.