I agree with you that there have been various corporate scandals. It is unfortunate that accountants and auditors have either been part of the scandals or failed to blow the whistle on time. Accountants are at the core of these scandals because they are steers of financial resources and are knowledgeable about accounting practices. Therefore, engineers of corporate fraud have to include accountants in charge of those funds. Besides, accountants are the ones who can know how to arrange financial affairs in a way that can hide the fraud. However, you fail to realize that there are also upright accountants and auditors who have refused to be compromised. It is not a matter of profession but personal beliefs, values and convictions. There have been cases of unethical behavior in almost all professions. If you refuse to be compromised and stand for the truth, then you can stand out as one of ethical accountants.
There are also concerted efforts to solve the ethical issues that face the accounting profession. For instance, after the WorldCom and Enron saga in 2012, International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) conducted a research and published its findings in a report that was titled “Rebuilding public confidence in financial reporting – an international perspective.” The report provided recommendations on how ethical standards can be improved in the accounting profession. Most importantly, the report revealed that the scandals are as a result of much deeper issues such as the inadequate financial management, audit quality, reporting mechanism and governance regimes. If you join the accounting profession you can contribute to the change in the profession. The structural issues that will bring about change requires people who are knowledgeable about accounting and have the zeal to ensure sanctity in the profession. I believe you can be among those people. This will only be possible if you join the profession.
References
Senaratne, S. (2016, March 6). The role of ethics in accounting. Retrieved from http://www.cimaglobal.com: http://www.cimaglobal.com/Thought-leadership/Newsletters/Regional/The-CIMA-Edge-South-Asia-and-Middle-East/20111/July--August-2011/The-role-of-ethics-in-accounting/
