Case 1-7
Eating Time
Kevin Lowe is depressed. He has been with the CPA firm Stooges LLP for only three months. Yet the
partners in charge of the firm—Bo Chambers and his brother Moe Chambers—have asked for a “sit-down.”
Here’s how it goes:
“Kevin, we asked to see you because your time reports indicate that it takes you 50 percent longer to
complete audit work than your predecessor,” Moe said.
“Well, Bo and Moe, I am new and still learning on the job,” replied Lowe.
“That’s true,” Bo responded, “but you have to appreciate that we have fixed budgets for these audits.
Every hour over the budgeted time costs us money. While we can handle it in the short run, we will have to
bill the clients whose audit you work on a larger fee in the future. We don’t want to lose clients as a result.
“Are you asking me to cut down on the work I do?” Lowe asked.
“We would never compromise the quality of our audit work,” Moe said. “We’re trying to figure out why
it takes you so much longer than other staff members.”
At this point Lowe started to perspire. He wiped his forehead, took a glass of water, and asked: “Would
it be better if I took some of the work home at night and on weekends, completed it, but didn’t charge the
firm or the client for my time?”
Bo and Moe were surprised by Kevin’s openness. On one hand, they valued that trait in their employees.
On the other hand, they couldn’t answer with a yes. Moe looked at Bo, and then turned to Kevin and said:
“It’s up to you to decide how to increase your productivity on audits. As you know, this is an important
element of performance evaluation.”
Kevin cringed. Was the handwriting on the wall in terms of his future with the firm? he wondered.
“I understand what you’re saying.” Kevin said. “I will do better in the future—I promise.”
“Good,” responded Bo and Moe. “Let’s meet 30 days from now and we’ll discuss your progress on the
matters we’ve discussed today and your future with the firm.”
NOTES
This case has students explore the pressure to cheat or lie. It is also deals with how the culture of a firm
(i.e., eat time) should affect one’s actions when trying to act ethically. This case is good case to discuss
slippery slope of ethical situations.
Ethical Issues
Rights Perspective: Working a regular overnighter is setting one up for burn-out, if not a health safety
threat. Employees have the right to receive a competitive wage. However, working twice the hours without
being paid overtime is working for half the pay.
Kevin should consider the short and long run consequences. In the short run, Kevin does not hurt anyone
but himself and his family if he doubles up on work and sacrifices family responsibilities. In the long run
the client gets a cheaper audit and a worse audit as Kevin starts cutting corners; the partners get higher
profit than if they paid for actual hours worked. The long term effect to Kevin is that he learns secrecy,
deceit, and lies.
Six Pillars values include trustworthiness, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.
Questions
1. Given the facts in the case, evaluate whether Kevin should take work home and not charge it
to the job using deontological and teleological reasoning.
Kevin might be tempted to work off the clock automatically. Kevin might feel that he has no choice to do
otherwise or else he will be fired. The pressure to lie about doing the work may add more pressure to Kevin
and add to the possibility of burn out. If Kevin were to take the work home, he may start cutting corners
and performing at a less than optimal level. Likewise there may changes with the client personnel or
accounting issues that are causing the extra work. For instance, the area of capital expenditures may have
changed dramatically during the year. The company may have expanded facilities or changed to leasing
2. What would you do if you were Kevin and why? How would you explain your position to Bo
and Moe when you meet in 30 days?
Kevin should try to track his time over two weeks to determine what is causing the excess time. Is he taking
too long trying to figure things out? Should he be asking questions sooner in his work to ensure that he is
on the right track and for clarification before he has invested too much time? Is there a supervisor or senior
at the client’s that can answer his questions and provide guidance? When Kevin runs across something that
he considers unusual, does he check with the supervisor or senior to see if it is really unusual and what the