Ethics

ACCA - F1   ACCOUNTANT  IN  BUSINESS

Ethics is about doing things right. In general, ethics is a moral philosophy where a person makes a specific moral choice and sticks to it. An act in certain circumstance, which is right from one prospect may not be right from other prospect. Eg; capital punishment is seen as ethical practice in certain culture while other disagree. Rules, principles and practices defined within constitutional books are laws, acts or regulations. Law is enforceable under every circumstance and defines rights and responsibilities.

An action is series of (consequent/simultaneous) events guided by rules or principles dragged by present/future seen/unseen consequences(goal). In other way, ethics guide action to result outcome. Ethics is valued at all level in business organisation. Business ethics is the application of ethical values to business behaviour.

Different types of ethics views:

Ø  Rulebased ethics: Look at the rules and follow the rules (duty, human rights, justice)

o   Deontological ethics: based on duty, focus on adherence to rules and present obligation. E.g. Kantianism: focus on duty and the motives of person which perform duty.

o   Justice: consequences of justice override considerations about consequences and utility. E.g. Jhon Rawls: 1^st focus on equal right + 2^nd  management of social and economic inequalities to benefit least advantage group

o   Human Rights: E.g. Child rights, Equal rights for women, Employment rights, Rights for people with disabilities

Ø  Normative ethics: focus on principle

o   Teleological /Consequentialist ethics: focus on end/final cause/goal driven by inherited nature of the circumstances

§  Ethical egoism - focus on self interest

§  Utilitarianism - focus on benefit of majority

Ethics surrounds every profession and accounting is not an exemption. Accounting profession is complex with financial and regulatory issues. It requires prudential judgement and critical assessment. Accountants need to act skeptical to form any conclusion and identify issues related to creative accounting, bribes and insider trading. This increases the importance of ethics in accounting profession. The Code of Ethics and Conduct for ACCA students and members is set out in section 3 of the ACCA Rulebook.

IFAC Code of Ethics & ACCA Code of Ethics include (1)Integrity (Honesty), (2)Objectivity (Unbiased), (3)Confidentiality, (4)Professional behaviour and (5)Professional competency and due care.

ACCA Article: A QUESTION OF ETHICS