Auditors are experts trusted to give their opinions. When it comes to matters related to
the job, there is no room for liars; this includes lying directly to your superior. While Walker
may have thought that it was no big dealt to hide her personal information, she lied to her
Senior while on the job – this makes it a big deal. Knowing that she lied about one thing, begs
the question what else will she lie about? The trust between Walker and Vaughn was broken,
simply because she wanted to avoid potential embarrassment.
While I can understand that Walker may not want everyone to find out about her test,
should she fail. There are better ways to approach the situation to avoid lying. She could have
admitted to Vaughn that she did take the test following graduation, but ask her to keep this to
herself, as she was nervous she wouldn’t pass all of the parts. This would have been an honest
approach to the situation, that would not have cost Walker to lose her job.
Had this event occurred off company time, as a conversation between friends, I don’t
think the lie would have been as disastrous. This is where the thin line of acceptable lying
comes in to play. I believe that if you are not lying about matters pertinent to the job, then it is
acceptable from a professional standard. It is not unbelievable to think that you would become
friends with your coworkers – both peers and superiors – and that situations may arise where
you would not necessarily want to be truthful. As long as all parties can keep their personal and
professional lives separate, I think these are the only cases that lies can be tolerated in an
industry such as auditing.