Discussion question #1
Analyze the ethical principles that govern accountants’ professional conduct. Why do these principles
exist?
Accountants are professionals held to extremely high professional and ethical standards. This is not
without good reason; the accounting profession comes with great responsibilities. Becoming a
professional in the accounting field is no easy task and is not for everyone. The CPA exam is considered
one of the toughest exams in any professional field to pass, its designed that way because of the
rigorous professional and ethical standards set forth by the different agencies and regulatory boards
that oversee the accounting profession.
The primary organization that governs the accounting profession is the American Institute of Certified
Public Accountants (AICPA). The six principles are from the AICPA code of conduct, accounting
professionals at every level are governed and subject to this code. These principles of ethics are not
necessarily laws. It is possible for an individual to act and behave unethical but not illegal.
The accounting profession is a unique field, the qualifications are very rigorous, and it is one of the few
professions that relies on self-governance. There are rules that are established by certain government
agencies that make up the GAAP, generally accepted accounting principles. These rules are standard
across the accounting profession (Klein, 2015, p. 21). These rules are necessary because accountants
are still human and are prone to make mistakes, some are by accident and some are intentional.
Another aspect of the code of professional conduct is the decision tree. For example, a CPA working in
private industry would utilize the decision tree as a guide to address ethical issues. A few of the points
that are part of the decision tree are focusing on resolving the issue within your organization, always
maintain your professional skepticism and always keep documentation related to any issues that may
come up, take notes reflecting your thoughts and ideas during the process. There are many processes
and rules in place but in the end, we are all responsible for our actions, the best policy is to self-regulate
and represent ourselves, our employer and the accounting profession ethically at all levels (Eber, 2004,