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1、The Ethical Dilemma Accountants Face: Short Case Studies in Accounting Ethics,Peter Secord Saint Marys University,What is business ethics?,Business ethics can be defined as written and unwritten codes of principles and values that govern decisions and actions within a company. In the business world,
2、 the organizations culture sets standards for determining the difference between good and bad decision making and behavior.,What is business ethics?,In the most basic terms, a definition for business ethics boils down to knowing the difference between right and wrong and choosing to do what is right
3、. The phrase business ethics can be used to describe the actions of individuals within an organization, as well as the organization as a whole.,Why is it important?,As an accountant, you will often find yourself in situations where you must choose, or recommend choices, in cases where it is not clea
4、r that the most profitable choice for the organization is the right choice for all of the stakeholders involved.,An inherent conflict,There are two schools of thought regarding how companies should approach a definition for business ethics and the right decisions to make: the shareholder perspective
5、 the stakeholder perspective.,An inherent conflict,Shareholder perspective: Those who approach ethical decision making from a shareholder perspective focus on making decisions that are in the owners best interest. Decisions are guided by a need to maximize profits or return on investment for the org
6、anizations shareholders. Individuals who approach ethics from this perspective feel that ethical business practices are ones that make the most money.,An inherent conflict,Stakeholder perspective: Organizations that approach business ethics from a stakeholder perspective consider how decisions impac
7、t those inside and outside the organization. Stakeholders are individuals and groups who affect or who are affected by a companys actions and decisions. Shareholders are definitely stakeholders, but they are not the only ones who fall under the definition of stakeholder.,An inherent conflict,Stakeho
8、lder perspective: Stakeholders may include: employees, suppliers, customers, competitors, government agencies, the news media, community residents and others. The idea behind stakeholder based ethical decision making is to make sound business decisions that work for the good of all affected parties.
9、,Let us consider a simple case,This first case is at an individual level,You have been selected for an interview for a position as Assistant Director of Finance with the Department of Education. Although you have been able to locate information about the organization, you have been unable to find a
10、job description. You call the Administrator who scheduled your interview for tomorrow, and ask her to send the job description to you by fax. She is happy to help, and soon 10 pages of documents have arrived on your fax machine. After work, you read through these with great interest. The first five
11、pages are a detailed job description, including reporting relationships and organizational charts. You study them carefully, as this is a senior position of trust. The next five pages are headed “Confidential Interview Questions for Assistant Director.” What do you do?,A potential model for the deci
12、sion,A potential model for the decision,A potential model for the decision,A potential model for the decision,A case at the company level,Read carefully!,Company Case 1,Chantale works as a clerk for Avco Services, a small toxic-waste disposal company. The company has a contract to dispose of medical
13、 waste from a local hospital. During the course of her work, Chantale comes across documents that suggest that Avco has actually been disposing of some of this medical waste in a local municipal landfill. Chantale is shocked. She knows this practice is illegal. And even though only a small portion o
14、f the medical waste that Avco handles is being disposed of this way, any amount at all seems a worrisome threat to public health.,Company Case 1,Chantale gathers together the appropriate documents and takes them to her immediate superior, Dave. Dave says, “Look, I dont think that sort of thing is yo
15、ur concern, or mine. Were in charge of record-keeping, not making decisions about where this stuff gets dumped. I suggest you drop it.“,Company Case 1,The next day, Chantale decides to go one step further, and talk to Angela, the companys Operations Manager. Angela is clearly irritated. Angela says,
16、 “This isnt your concern. Look, these are the sorts of cost-cutting moves that let a little company like ours compete with our giant competitors. Besides, everyone knows that the regulations in this area are overly cautious. Theres no real danger to anyone from the tiny amount of medical waste that slips into the municipal dump. I consider this matter closed.“,Company Case 1,Chantale considers her situation. The message from her superiors was loud and clear. She strongly suspects
