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.
Table of Contents
Preface to the Third Edition vii
Introduction to Accounting Ethics 1
1 The Nature of Accounting and the Chief Ethical Difficulty:True Disclosure 9
2 Ethical Behavior in Accounting: What is Ethics? 35
3 Ethical Behavior in Accounting: Ethical Theory 57
4 Accounting as a Profession: Characteristics of a Profession 75
5 Accounting Codes of Conduct 83
6 The Rules of the Code of Conduct 103
7 The Auditing Function 129
8 The Ethics of Managerial Accounting 157
9 The Ethics of Tax Accounting 177
10 Ethics Applied to the Accounting Firm 197
Appendix A: Summary of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 219
Appendix B: IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice 231
Index 235
