Summary

A trusted resource on the complex ethical questions that define the accounting profession

An accountant's practice depends on making difficult decisions. To achieve the best results, individual accountants and accounting firms need a clear understanding of the ethical duties and decision-making involved in the four major functions of modern accounting--auditing, management accounting, tax accounting, and consulting--as well as a strong sense of ethical conduct to guide the certification and validation of reliable financial records.

Now in its third edition, Accounting Ethics is a thorough and engaging exploration of the ethical issues that accountants encounter in their professional lives. Since the publication of the first edition in 2002, Accounting Ethics has become an indispensable resource for accounting courses and certification programs worldwide, known for its focus on real-world application, practical advice, reader-friendly guidance, and its insight into the effects of global change on the profession. Together with coverage of the contemporary regulatory environment--including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act--this revised edition features expanded pedagogical resources such as new end-of-chapter case studies and discussion questions, and includes the updated AICPA Code of Conduct.

Concise and dependable, Accounting Ethics sustains its reputation as an authoritative resource for practicing accountants, new professionals, students of accounting, and those who are considering the profession.

Choice Review

Many believe that "ethics are caught, not taught." However, major accounting misrepresentations of the last five years along with corporate greed and malfeasance have led to a rebirth of ethics education. While the problem is not new (see Abraham Briloff's The Truth about Corporate Accounting, 1980), the knowledgeable authors (a professor of ethics and a financial administrator, respectively) believe it is imperative to present a methodology for evaluating what accountants "ought" to do in this environment. They begin with narrative chronologies of Enron, Arthur Andersen, and WorldCom. An introduction framing the issues and three excellent minicases follow. Subsequent chapters cover the nature and purpose of accounting, what ethics is, current ethical theories, and accounting as a profession; intensively examine the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Code of Ethics; address specific ethical issues in auditing, management and tax accounting; and provide an overview of the ethical crisis in accounting. The authors emphasize ethical principles and their application to realistic and challenging situations. While several issues are not discussed, namely consulting and social responsibility issues, the authors' clear, practical, and jargon-free presentation makes this book a valuable resource for nonaccountants and required reading for every accountant and student of accounting. ^BSumming Up: Essential. Academic and professional accounting collections. Highly recommended. Public library collections. D. C. Daly Metropolitan State University