Personal Ethics and Financial Reporting

Ethics are patterns of behavior that define actions that are morally good or morally
bad. They are developed throughout childhood and challenged into adulthood. Ethics guide
a persons thoughts and actions. They can be subjective, socially constructed, and they have
the power to shape the behavior of our society. Ethical decisions and dilemmas present
themselves in our professional lives as well as our personal lives. Its important to not only
know how to behave rightly as a person, but to behave rightly as an employee, a boss, an
accountant, or as a person involved in any kind of business relationship.

My overall concept of right and wrong action has developed through the many social
and cultural influences that I have been exposed to. My parents taught me basic moral
principles that most children learn. They mostly stressed the importance of being honest
and treating other people with kindness. The church that I attended also encouraged the
same behaviors. The media influenced my concept of social ethics by reinforcing an
underlying moral of the story through movies and cartoons. My experiences in college have
shaped my idea of how a persons actions in the workplace affect their organization and
society at large. My business ethics course presented scenarios in which commercial
entities had made a controversial choice. We discussed as a class what we thought the right
action should have been based on our concept of ethical business practices and our own
moral guidelines. My personal ethics have been challenged by higher education, reinforced
by my religion, influenced by society, and learned throughout my childhood.

All of these influences have come together to help me determine the difference
between right and wrong. Over the years Ive tested the merit of the ethical constructs that
I grew up with, discarding some of them and adding new ones along the way. My personal
ethical code of conduct had evolved to simply consist of treating others the way that I
would like to be treated. I also apply this moral guideline to the way I conduct myself
professionally. I dont treat my coworkers, managers, or my organizations customers and
owners in a way that I wouldnt want to personally be treated. Whenever I am faced with a
dilemma at work I remind myself of what I would say or do if I were a manager that was
trying to set an example. I try to make decisions in the workplace that are wise, that protect
me as an employee, and protect the best interests of my organization.

There was one situation in particular that really challenged my ability to act in a
manner that aligned with my beliefs. I worked as a receptionist and it was my
responsibility to manage the time clock. A coworker of mine asked me if I would clock him
back in for lunch at the regular time, even though he mentioned that he would not be
coming back to work after lunch. Fulfilling his request would have been clearly wrong, but I
thought to myself that saying no might have involved a confrontation with my coworker
and an unpleasant working relationship with him in the future for as long as I was
employed there. Voicing my concerns to a manager was clearly the right decision, but I
didnt like the idea of being a tattle-tell. I thought about how serious the repercussions
would be if I failed to do the right thing, so I decided to talk to management about my
coworkers intentions. Looking back, I know that I made the right decision. If I had granted

his request, both of us would have been guilty of payroll theft. Sometimes making the right
decision isnt easy, but this was shining example of how the right decision is in your best
interests because the consequences of making a wrong one can be severe.

Throughout my Survey of Financial Accounting course, I learned that

misrepresenting numbers on financial statements is one of the most common types of
fraud. Employees can be coerced into inflating a companys financial status to deceive
creditors and investors. There are other types of accounting fraud such as forgery, theft,
and other asset misappropriations. Employees can take bribes, receive kickbacks, and
involve themselves a variety of corrupt activities. If I were working as an accounting
professional and I was confronted with an ethical dilemma, I would remember my personal
ethics and rely on them for guidance. I would not only refuse to participate, I would take
the corrective action necessary to eliminate the wrongdoing and prevent it from happening
in the future. This would align with my own personal and professional ethical code. I treat
my coworkers and superiors in the same way that I would like to be treated, imagine what
a manager would advise me to do in the situation, follow through with actions that protect
my employment, and make decisions that are in the best interests of my organization.

Personal ethics guide a persons actions when it comes to making right decisions in
accounting and financial reporting. Its important to already know what defines your own
personal code of ethics and apply those same principles to a professional working
environment. When Im faced with a challenging decision, I will already know what the
right course of action should be. The decision should be clear when I evaluate my options

based on my own idea of right and wrong. If I value honestly, then fraudulently
representing my organization or myself would be clearly not align with my ethics. Making
ethical choices involves ensuring that the right choice is made instead of the choice that
requires the compromise of integrity to make an easy profit.