The Ethical Values Held in Accounting, A Literature Rewiew

Every profession faces a multiple of ethical challenges on a daily bases, this can be clearly witnessed in the accounting profession. The main focus of this literature review is to discuss the ethical values held in this profession and to also explore the ethical challenges that they face. Professional ethics for accountants is all about making sure that accountants carry out their duties to the highest standard possible and in a very professional manner. A code of ethics is designed to make sure that ideal behaviour is being carried out and it must be enforceable and realistic. From reading a variety of literature the core principles of the code of ethics are as follows: integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality and professional behaviour. Although there are a large amount of ethical challenges that could arise when the professionals are complying with the code of ethics, this review will focus on some of the major ones.
The IFAC has set out the five fundamental principles in order to achieve a common understanding. Firstly there is integrity, this principle is there to make sure that all accountants are being truthful and honest at all times. Next there is objectivity, this is where the accountant must remain impartial at all times while carry out their duties this will therefore result in a fair and correct result in relation to their accounts. Next there is the principle that is the professional competence and due care, this is where the accountant must carry out their work to the highest possible standard and in a very profession manner in order to avoid possible mistakes and therefore lead to future issues. Next we have confidentiality in place to make sure that accountants are aware t...

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...: The view from the top. Journal of Business Ethics [Online], 7(8), pp. 605-615 Available from: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00382793 [Accessed 27 April 2014]
 Taylor, E. and Curtis, M. 2010. An Examination of the Layers of Workplace Influences in Ethical Judgements: Whistleblowing Likelihood and Perseverance in Public Accounting. Journal of Business Ethics [Online], 93(1), pp. 21-37 Available from: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-009-0179-9 [Accessed 29 April 2014]
Websites
 IFAC 2006. Code Of Ethics For Professional Accountants [Online]. Available from: https://www.ifac.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/ifac-code-of-ethics-for.pdf [Accessed 22 April 2014]
 Business Dictionary 2014. Conflict of Interest [Online]. Available from: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/conflict-of-interest.html [Accessed 27 April 2014].