Why is ethics important in accounting?
Finance and accounting are the lifeline of companies. Corporations are formed with one goal - to make money; that's it, so money and finance and proper recording of transactions is what keeps a company going.With respect to ethics, it's an integral part of the accounting profession - if a gatekeeper, the recorder of transactions allows lapses in judgement, there is nothing to be trusted about the operations of the company: contracts will be questioned, valuations will be inaccurate, revenues will be shady, and expenses cannot be compared to anything in existence.The company is as good as gone.To put it more eloquently (Accounting ethics):The nature of the work carried out by accountants and auditors requires a high level of ethics. Shareholders, potential shareholders, and other users of the financial statements rely heavily on the yearly financial statements of a company as they can use this information to make an informed decision about investment.[4] They rely on the opinion of the accountants who prepared the statements, as well as the auditors that verified it, to present a true and fair view of the company.[5] Knowledge of ethics can help accountants and auditors to overcome ethical dilemmas, allowing for the right choice that, although it may not benefit the company, will benefit the public who relies on the accountant/auditor's reporting.[6]Most countries have differing focuses on enforcing accounting laws. In Germany, accounting legislation is governed by "tax law"; in Sweden, by "accounting law"; and in the United Kingdom, by the "company law". In addition, countries have their own organizations which regulate accounting. For example, Sweden has the Bokföringsnämden (BFN - Accounting Standards Board), Spain the Instituto de Comtabilidad y Auditoria de Cuentas (ICAC), and the United States the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).[7]
Why are professional ethics important?
How do you want your doctors, nurses, health providers, dentists, cooks, waiters to act toward you? Do you want them to treat you like a human being or something else—more like an object?Professional ethics establishes a baseline for common decency, respect, fairness, and integrity in given business area. They provide a basis for positive and shared expectations about the nature of products and services. I know that particular professionals have an ethical and motivated interest in caring about how they treat their customers and community.Professional ethics build trust and relationship between employee and customer. Professional ethics serve as the invisible glue for the community of entrepreneurs, leaders, and businesses.Thats why transactions happen faster in the US than elsewhere is because of the level of trust. Other places without the rule of law and without trust end up having a much harder job conducting business.Another spillover of bad ethics is bad Google, Yelp, and Angies List reviews, which in turn undermine business. Same happens on Amazon and Ebay and any other marketplace that uses a rating system for providers.For more reasons I suggest: Nathan Ketsdever's answer to What are some good, original arguments for virtue ethics?
Why is ethics important?
First I will focus on ‘ethics’ which are moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity.We could say society shape people & people shape society it goes both ways.So we could say that our actions has an impact on other individuals as well.The role of ethics in our society is very necessary because it has a large influence on today, as well as the future. We need to learn about good ethics because they guide our decisions, make us who we are, and determine our future.The role of ethics in our society is very important because it is the basic beliefs and standards that make everything run smoothly. Ethics are involved in all organizations and institutions around us whether it be political, medical, lawful, religious, or social. Ethics are what gives us comfort knowing that we live in a country where we are able to choose. Because we believe our doctors are ethical, we feel certain we can trust their diagnoses. If ethics did not apply to medicine, some doctors may knowingly misdiagnose their patients just for the sake of money rather than for the persons' health and well-being. Ethics give us comfort that the business deal will not fall through. In today's society, laws and contracts are enforced to make sure that the business deals are fair and that the both people will hold up their end of the deal.Same goes for the engineers! Just imagine Civil engineers working just for the sake of money wont bother to take the time to plan a well structured building which might fall down killing innocents.Without ethics even the term innocents wont be there in the society.Without any application of ethics, our society would be one of dishonesty and uncertainty. Even if we do not have a perfect society, the ethics in our country is what something we could still could rely on.Ethics influence the choices that individuals make and will eventually determine their lives and who they become later in life.Our environment shapes our sense of judgement(i.e. of right or wrong)which in turn shapes our personalities,beliefs or morals & standards.
What is the use of professional ethics?
Professional ethics serves several useful purposes:It can protect the public. Professionals should know more than their clients ( and usually do in fields like law, medicine and financial planning). A professional code of ethics serves to protect the public in a relationship where one person (the professional) has much more expert power than does the other (the client). Professional codes of ethics address this fundamental power asymmetry. Thus, physicians must “do no harm;” lawyers must zealously advocate for the client’s cause (and not their own or some other larger interest).Professional ethics provides professionals with a plausible basis for “speaking truth to power.” Thus if the the government or corporation wants to to play fast and loose with a whole range of ethical issues in the realm of law, health and finance, then the profession can call “foul” and point to its code of ethics as a credible countervailing force.A professional code of conduct can help a young professional navigate ambiguous or difficult situations. The collective wisdom of the profession has seen many challenging cases and made the tough calls, and therefore it should reflect this accumulated wisdom in its professional ethics, which are often written down, published, updated and reinforced with mechanisms like continuing education. In this way, professional ethics accelerate the socialization of new professionals into their respective roles and helps maintain high standards and ethical conduct that promote the common good.