Accounting ethics

This new edition of Accounting Ethics has beencomprehensively updated to deal with the significant changes withinthe accounting profession since 2002; the authors systematicallyexplore the new range of ethical issues that have arisen as aresult of recent developments, including the financial crisis of2008. Highlights the debates over the use of fair-value accountingand principles- versus rules-based standards Offers a comprehensive overview of ethics in accounting, aswell as an examination of and recommendations for solving thecurrent crisis in this field Investigates the nature and purpose of accounting Uses concrete examples and case studies, including currentsituations Examines the ethical responsibilities of individual accountantsas well as accounting firms

Author Notes

Ronald Duska is The Charles Lamont Post Chair of Ethics and the Professions at the American College as well as the Director of the Center for Ethics in Financial Services. He is the author and editor of several books including, Contemporary Issues in Business Ethics, Ethics for the Financial Services Professional (with Julie Anne Ragatz, 2008), and Moral Development: From Piaget to Kohlberg.
Brenda Shay Duska MT, CPA, is currently a manager at Del Pizzo Associates, specializing in taxation. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Society for Financial Service Professionals. She serves on the boards of the non-profit, MusicWorks and the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the Society for Financial Service Professionals.
Julie Anne Ragatz is Assistant Professor of Ethics at The American Colleges and the Associate Director of The Center for Ethics in Financial Services. She is currently finishing her PhD in philosophy at Temple University where she concentrates on ethical theory and applied ethics.

Acknowledgments	p. x
Preface	p. xii
Introduction	p. 1
1 The Nature of Accounting and the Chief Ethical Difficulty: True Disclosure	p. 9
I The Nature of Accounting	p. 10
II Ethics of Disclosure	p. 14
III The Financial Statement	p. 17
IV Roles an Accountant can Fulfill	p. 20
V Development of Explicit Accounting Standards and Regulations	p. 22
VI The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)	p. 27
VII Recent Scandals that Provoked More Regulation	p. 29
VIII Conclusions	p. 30
2 Ethical Behavior in Accounting: What Is Ethics?	p. 31
I What Is Ethics?	p. 34
II Ethics: The Intellectual Enterprise	p. 35
III Actions	p. 35
IV Social Practices, Institutions, and Systems	p. 36
V Why Study Ethics?	p. 36
VI Being Ethical: How to Determine What to Do	p. 38
VII Questions to Ask to Justify an Action: The Basis of Ethical Theory	p. 42
VIII Using the Reasons	p. 46
IX Ethical Dilemmas	p. 47
X Some Classic Moral Dilemmas	p. 48
3 Ethical Behavior in Accounting: Ethical Theory	p. 51
I Egoism	p. 52
II Utilitarianism	p. 57
III Kant and Deontology	p. 61
IV Deontological Ethics	p. 62
V The First Formula of the Categorical Imperative	p. 64
VI The Second Formula of the Categorical Imperative	p. 65
VII Virtue Ethics	p. 66
4 Accounting as a Profession: Characteristics of a Profession	p. 69
5 Accounting Codes of Conduct	p. 77
I AICPA Professional Code of Conduct	p. 79
II Code Principles	p. 80
III Criticisms of the Code of Conduct	p. 92
6 The Rules of the Code of Conduct	p. 93
I Section 100 - Independence, Integrity, and Objectivity	p. 94
II Section 200 - General Standards Accounting Principles	p. 99
III Section 300 - Responsibilities to Clients	p. 102
IV Section 400 - Responsibilities to Colleagues	p. 103
V Section 500 - Other Responsibilities and Practices	p. 103
7 The Auditing Function	p. 109
I The Ethics of Public Accounting	p. 113
II Trust	p. 115
III The Auditor's Responsibility to the Public	p. 116
IV The Auditor's Basic Responsibilities	p. 118
V Independence	p. 122
VI Independence Risk	p. 127
VII Professional Skepticisrn	p. 131
VIII Reasonable Assurance	p. 133
8 The Ethics of Managerial Accounting	p. 135
I Reasons Used to Justify Unethical Behaviors	p. 140
II Blowing the Whistle	p. 144
9 The Ethics of Tax Accounting	p. 151
10 Ethics Applied to the Accounting Firm	p. 167
I Accounting as a Business	p. 169
II The Social Responsibility of Business	p. 170
III Good Ethics is Good Business	p. 175
IV Ethical Responsibilities of Accounting Firms	p. 177
V The Accounting Profession in Crisis	p. 177
Afterword: Current Debates on Accounting Issues	p. 185
I Fair Value and Principles vs. Rules	p. 185
II Fair Value Accounting	p. 189
III Arguments for and Against the Fair Value Approach	p. 193
IV Summary	p. 198
V Principles vs. Rules	p. 199
VI Introduction	p. 199
VII Isn't GAAP Already Principles Based?	p. 200
VIII An Example: The Continental Vending Case	p. 204
IX Recent Developments of ôPresent Fairlyö	p. 206
X A Better Question	p. 207
XI Argument for a Rules Based Approach	p. 208
XII What Would a Principles Based Approach Look Like? The True and Fair Override	p. 211
XIII Argument for a Principles Based Approach	p. 212
XIV Conclusion	p. 215
Appendix A Summary of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002	p. 217
Appendix B The IMA Code of Conduct for Management Accountants	p. 230
Index	p. 233

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