McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
Chapter 16
Professionalism, Ethics, and Career Planning
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Outline
• Expected outcomes
• Professionalism
• Ethics
• Certifications and licensure
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Expected outcomes
• List and discuss characteristics of a professional.
• Explain how those characteristics apply to the accounting profession.
• Define ethics.
• Discuss various models / schools of ethical decision making.
• Explain how to resolve ethical dilemmas.
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Professionalism
• Bell– Communicates
effectively.– Thinks rationally,
logically and coherently.
– Appropriately uses technical knowledge.
– Integrates knowledge from many disciplines.
– Exhibits ethical professional behavior.
– Recognizes the influence of political, social, legal, economic and regulatory forces.
– Actively seeks additional knowledge.
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Professionalism
• McDonald– Specialized knowledge base
– Complex skills
– Autonomy of practice
– Adherence to a code of ethical behavior
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Professionalism
• Lecture break 16-1
Think of someone you know that you consider
“professional” based on the ideas just
presented. With a partner, discuss that person,
pointing out how they exemplify the
characteristics of a professional.
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Ethics
• Moral philosophy
• Three areas– Meta-ethics: Where do ethical principles
come from? What do they mean?– Normative ethics: What moral standards
regulate right and wrong conduct?– Applied ethics: How should people respond
to specific controversial issues?
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Ethics
• Ethical issues in accounting– Earnings management– Performance evaluation– Use of estimates– Decisions involving human judgment– Taxation– Structuring transactions to meet certain
accounting rules
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Ethics
• Schools of ethical thought– Utilitarianism
• The end justifies the means• The greatest good for the greatest number
– Rights and dutiesIndividuals have certain rights; others should not interfere with them.
– Justice• People should be given
what they deserve.• Hamlet: If everyone gets what they deserve,
who will escape whipping?
– VirtuesPeople should do what is right, moral and virtuous
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Ethics
• Lecture break 16-2
Joe is frequently in
conflict with his
supervisor, Jill. Jill is
considering giving Joe a
poor performance review
in an effort to get him
terminated.
– Choose one of the four schools of ethical thought.
– Explain how Jill might justify her decision based on the school you chose.
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Ethics
• Models for making ethical decisionsLangenderfer and Rockness
• Identify the facts.• Identify the ethics issues & stakeholders involved.• Define the norms, principles and values related to
the situation.• Identify the alternative courses of action.• Evaluate the consequences of each possible
course of action.
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Ethics
• Models for making ethical decisionsLangenderfer and Rockness (continued)
• Decide the best course of action consistent with the norms, principles and values.
• If appropriate, discuss the alternative with a trusted person to help gain greater perspective regarding the alternatives.
• Reach a decision as to the appropriate course of action.
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Ethics
• Models for making ethical decisionsMintz and Morris
• Frame the ethical issue.• Gather all the facts.• Identify the stakeholders and obligations.• Identify the relevant accounting ethics standards
involved in the situation.• Identify the operational issues.
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Ethics
• Models for making ethical decisionsMintz and Morris (continued)
• Identify the accounting and auditing issues.• List all the possible alternatives you can or cannot
do.• Compare and weigh the alternatives.• Decide on a course of action.• Reflect on your decision.
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Ethics
• Lecture break 16-3– Mike has observed what he believes to be
fraud in his company. Employees paid through a government grant are doing less than 1% of the work for which they are contracted.
– Use one of the two ethical decision frameworks to analyze Mike’s options in this situation.
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Certifications & licensure
• The purpose of an accounting degree is not to prepare a student to pass a particular certification / licensure exam.
• The purpose of an accounting degree is to teach a student how to think and behave like an accountant.
• Nevertheless, certification / licensure is a worthy goal in our profession.
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Certifications & licensure
• Certification: mastery of a body of knowledge– Certified Fraud
Examiner– Certified Internal
Auditor– Certified Management
Accountant– Certified Information
Systems Auditor
• License: permission from some authoritative body to perform a particular taskCertified Public
Accountant
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Classroom assessment
• This chapter has focused on:– Professionalism
– Ethics
– Certification and licensure in accounting
• On your own, prepare a diagram or write a paragraph that connects those three topics to one another.
• Discuss your work with a partner or in a small group.
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