Accounting Ethics

by Ronald Duska (Charles Lamont Post Chair of Ethics and the Professions, The American College); Brenda Shay Duska (Vice-President of Finance and Administration, Rosemont College)

• ISBN13: 9780631216513
• ISBN10: 0631216510
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-03-01
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Accounting Ethics uses real-life examples, including the Enron/Arthur Andersen debacle, to examine the ethical responsibilities of individual accountants as well as accounting firms. The book begins by investigating the nature and purpose of accounting and follows with a brief study of the nature and use of ethical principles in determining accountantsrs" responsibilities. Because accounting is governed by a code of ethics, it examines the ethical imperatives that bind professionals and the specific principles and rules that various accounting codes dictate. Next, the book explores the major types of practices in which accountants engage auditing, managerial accounting, and tax accounting and the responsibilities associated with those practices. The book concludes with an investigation into the ethical responsibilities of accounting firms, and the pressures that militate against the fulfilling of those responsibilities.

Author Biography

Ronald F. Duska is Professor of Ethics and holder of the Charles Lamont Post Chair of Ethics and the Professions at The American College, Bryn Mawr, PA.

Brenda Shay Duska MT, CPA, is Vice-President of Finance and Administration at Rosemont College, and has extensive experience both as an auditor and tax-accountant with various accounting firms, most recently Del Pizzo & Associates, PC.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Enron, Arthur Andersen, and the Financial Markets: A Chronology of Wall Street Journal Articles	xiii
And then there was WorldCom	xlviii
Introduction	1	(6)
The Nature of Accounting and the Chief Ethical Difficulty: True Disclosure	7	(17)
Ethical Behavior in Accounting: What is Ethics?	24	(21)
Ethical Behavior in Accounting: Ethical Theory	45	(20)
Accounting as a Profession	65	(9)
Accounting Codes of Ethics: The Principles	74	(19)
Accounting Codes of Ethics: The Rules	93	(13)
Ethics in Auditing: The Auditing Function	106	(34)
The Ethics of Managerial and Financial Accounting	140	(16)
The Ethics of Tax Accounting	156	(17)
The Ethics of the Accounting Firm: The Accounting Profession in Crisis	173	(26)
Appendix I: The Code of Professional Conduct of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants	199	(14)
Appendix II: Institute of Management Accountants: Ethical Standards	213	(4)
Appendix III: Statement on Auditing Standards: A Summary	217	(17)
Appendix IV: Revision of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Auditor Independence Requirements	234	(11)
Appendix V: Statements on Standards for Tax Services Nos 1--8	245	(24)
Index	269