OVERVIEW OF ACCOUNTING ETHICS

Accounting ethics is a field of professional ethics which pertains specifically to accounting. Whether accountants work in public or private practice, they are expected to adhere to ethical standards which are designed to ensure that accountants behave in a way which is ethical and consistent. For most professional organizations of accountants, in order to be members, people must agree to and uphold ethical standards, and they will be removed from the organization if they fail to do so.

The earliest documented discussions of accounting ethics appear to date to the 1400s, and many of the ethical issues which pertain to accounting continue to be the same, even if the financial world of today would be unimaginable to a 15th century accountant. One of the key issues with accounting ethics is that poor ethical behavior on the part of an accountant does not just potentially hurt a client, it can also hurt society. If, for example, an accountant colludes in falsifying financial statements, this hurts investors in a company, taxpayers who may be caught up in government bailouts