Personal Ethics
There is absolutely no doubt for me that any contemporary society requires ethical values to be observed by everyone.
These values are necessary because they would serve to regulate the relationship between people and set some particular rules of accepted behavior. Besides, basic universal values are already spread all over the world.
Living in a society we are all interdependent. If I can rely on people around me, I am able to move forward without any feeling of fear or suspicion. Moreover, I am able to learn from these people how to be consistent, I learn what it means to be reliable and trustworthy, I learn how to make my life better, I learn what type of behavior might be considered acceptable or not.
Making ethical choices can help me preserve the face of the human being and remain honest with myself. In case if I had to make some unethical choice, I would have lost my own face and started feeling uncomfortable with myself.
Following the basic principles of ethics is very important in our life as it helps us to overcome difficulties, struggle with the hardships, deal with the obstacles. To be ethical does not mean to speak of ethics only but to act ethically as well. It means to avoid hypocrisy, to be sincere, trusting, reliable and trustworthy.
During the semester we have got a great opportunity to learn about various ethical theories. We learned that people can view themselves as Egoists, Utilitarians, Deontologists, etc.
Personally I belong to those people for whom it is important to know how their decisions or actions influence others.
It obviously makes me feel responsible. It makes me realize that I am in real charge for the consequences of what I think, say or do.
In case if my decisions do not arm anyone, I can feel at ease that someone’s decisions would not harm me or my dearest and nearest either.
However, it does not mean that I am supposed to ignore my own needs or interests. And this fact does not make me selfish either. To care of others and respect their expectations and needs I need to learn how to take proper care of myself first. Moreover, I believe that I have to learn to consider my personal interests and interests of others not less than equally.
We learn from our personal experience (which is the best teacher ever), from our past mistakes and even from the failures and successes of others.
Thus, for example, I often analyze how people around me act, how they react to the result of their decision-making process, how they make decisions. I observe whether they are able to take personal responsibility for the outcome of their actions or not. Truly speaking, it always teaches me a lot.
There is no doubt that the way we accept the reality varies. We are all human. To err is human. Our personal life experience full of achievements, successes or failures makes us act differently.
I am here not to judge anyone who behaves differently but to wish to be surrounded by the category of people who know what it means to be responsible for their words and deeds.
Ethical people in the workplace environment, for example, practically leave no chance for a failure as they are aware of the ways to sympathize, to support, to trust, to help the person in need out.
Working in a team of professional people possessing a moral guide of ethical values and following it may not always mean making the popular decisions but making the correct ones.
Our personal life experience teaches us throughout our entire life how to distinguish between good and evil. It continuously gives us lessons how to make choices, how to make right decisions, how to survive in the world of humans full of rules, obligations and restrictions.
Throughout the years we learn that there are principles, rules and limitations which we set for ourselves without any influence from the outside source. I believe, that is what we are used to call our personal ethics.
I do not think that I have changed anyhow over time. I have always been this way because I learned of this social responsibility from my parents and the other members of my family.
So, I prefer to stick to the utilitarianism ethical theory through my whole life. As I have mentioned above, I try to understand my personal demands and not to ignore my own interests in favor of the interests of the other people.
My choices, my decisions inevitably bring me to the circumstances of life, to the quality of life I have. In case if I really want to live the life I deserve, I have to take care of it myself first. I have no right to blame others that I have made some wrong decision. I have to chance to consider anyone responsible for the things I have undone or missed for any reason.
During all my life I continuously learn to be satisfied with that I do or have. I try my best to learn from my mistakes and do the utmost to set the right goals and go for them no matter what internal embarrassment I have to overcome.
I think, that making ethical choices on a daily basis is a standard procedure for everyone. I believe that I would not be the person I am today, or I would not be able to accomplish any goals I have set out to achieve if I had no internal guide to continuously move me forward in life. I call this internal guide my personal ethics.
I have been taught by my parents not to ignore the fact that my decisions and actions affect people around me. Also I learned that it is better not to make conclusions for the others as I might turn out to be terribly wrong. All of us should think for ourselves first.
Thus, for example, I can give a promise to work on a project and to finish doing so in accordance with some particular requirements and deadlines.
In case if I decide that there is nothing wrong with not sticking to the agreements achieved by the members of my team, I would face my personal interest ignored by them later. And it would not benefit me at all. And it would even affect our relationship in a negative way.
Also, for example, if I am just in bad mood and willing to show it off to everyone, I would spoil the relationship with others. It usually makes no good to have people play to my script. I think so because I have personally experienced the situation when one of colleagues demonstrated his selfishness to its fullest and made other people stay and work longer hours than they were supposed to.
As far as I know, the term ‘ethics’ derives from the Greek word ‘character’. That means that personal ethics would stand for the types of behavior that a person finds acceptable for himself.
Personally for me, to be ethical means to have a strong feeling of integrity in everything I do.
Passion, honesty, trust, enthusiasm, strong will and wish to live life to its fullest are among the things and traits of character I would love to be known for.
I would love to know I am able to make the people and the whole world around me, to make our planet a little bit better that they are. To do so I have to start working on myself first.
Thus, as you may see, I attach great importance to rule utilitarianism. Moral, ethical decisions come first.
Our world would become better if everyone starts thinking of others, treating people with due respect, working on making oneself better.
It is not for nothing said that we should ‘love thy neighbor as thyself’ (Mt:19:19). If we treat ourselves in a proper way, we should know how to take care of the others. If all of us contribute to the betterment of the world, our life would change; it would become better.
I believe that this approach has nothing to do with the egoism as I do not end up thinking only of myself. The way I can affect the lives of others is important for me. The consequences of my decisions or actions are of importance as well because none but me would have to reap the fruit at a later time.
There are values that I hold dear. Some of them were rooted within me in my childhood, while others have developed in different periods of my life. Among them are integrity, sincerity and competency.
These values continuously guide me throughout my life. I completely rely on them as they give me a peace of mind. They help me have my life coherent, my mind more confident.
Honestly speaking I hardly tolerate the things being half-done. I think that the saying ‘once begun, the job cannot be left undone’ works in every sphere of the human life.
There are times in everyone’s life when ethical decision cannot stay popular any longer. If you believe in the greater good, you should follow the chosen path without any doubt.
Sooner or later it will start influencing the others in a positive way; it will make them view their life from a different angle. Moreover, it will encourage them to make choices in favor of ethical decisions rather than unethical ones.
Another value that I consider important is sincerity. For me, to be sincere means to be honest with oneself first.
Honesty with others correlates with this idea but only in some way. Let me explain what I mean. In some way I feel that to be honest does not always mean to be courageous enough to admit your own mistakes or failures. To be sincere stands for the ability to remain open-minded and be free of fear to accept yourself the way you are.
Some may disagree if I consider competency to be a value, though I feel it this exact way. I want to be surrounded by competent people both in my personal and professional life.
Among the people who influenced me the most are my parents, some other members of my family, my friends, my teachers, my classmates and groupmates and even some movie characters.
They all give me some life lesson, disclose something new to me, prove my ideas to be right or wrong when being put into practice. They show the ways to overcome possible life hardships, to preserve faith and strong will not just to survive but to succeed as well.
The Cardinal Virtues
There are many virtues to be developed and adhered throughout the lifetime of every human being. As you may guess, I am not an exception either. There are things that lead me through my life as well.
I do believe that among the cardinal virtues are prudence, fortitude, temperance, justice.
If fortitude is usually given to a human at his birth time, then other mentioned virtues are to be thoroughly worked on in order to become an integral part of the human life.
It is up to the individual to give priority to this or another virtue. Though it may sound quite sad, at this particular period of my life I consider myself to experience some lack of temperance and justice.
I continuously strive to go deep in the process of finding and maintaining new information, additional knowledge, skills, acquiring new experience, working on new abilities, etc.
At the same time, I realize that the more things I am involved at a time, the worse is the result. At this point I understand the necessity of temperance. I have to lower my appetite sometimes and work more thoroughly at the things which are of certain interest and are of necessity for me.
I believe that I will be able to develop this virtue overtime; that is why I try my best to limit myself in opening new horizons at such a high speed that I used to do. Though it does not mean at all that I try to excuse myself for the decision to take a breath when learning something new.
Gaining new knowledge and experience is a great thing to be involved into. I think that the deeper I go into the subjects I am interested in, the more professional competency I acquire.
I really want to develop such a virtue as temperance because I do not want just to fill the stomach with some junk food but enjoy the process of some delicious food digestion.
I am not interested in the waste of my time as it is a very precious thing to have. I want the quality go before the quantity.
In order to develop this virtue, I would design a service project that could involve any student who wants to participate. To make sure that this opportunity would be available to all the students I would create an online planner. Let’s call it Personal Goal Organizer.
The project is to be created to help people to observe and analyze their life and their personal and professional achievements from various angles.
Working out of a plan with the clear goal-setting is of great help not just to formulate the goals or some expected results or outcomes but also to define the timing and the steps to be undertaken to achieve the desired. The steps to be followed within the project are not that complicated:
Participants of the project are to analyze what spheres of their lives seem to be incomplete and should be improved.
I do not want people just to sit and wait till the time for some indefinite time for success comes. There is no time for any waste (no time for the waste of time, money or efforts) because our life is too short.
We are to live today as our today life is not a draft. We will never be able to rewrite it. I believe none wants to regret for the things undone or the opportunities missed.
Later on participants are to set their personal goals in accordance with the classification offered by me.
Later on I would recommend to work on 2-3 projects within each mentioned sphere of the life.
If students feel uncomfortable with formulating their perspective, long-term goals, they will have the option to work on the project in teams. There will be a list of references, online sources provided as to what activities may help in attaining additional knowledge within each category.
Lastly, I can offer some interaction between the participants, for example, in the form of online webinars, forums, where they will be able to exchange their ideas, offer improvements for the project itself, discuss their personal experience matters, ask and answer questions.
We can also create an account in some social media where the participants can share their experience, decide to organize offline events, etc. This service project is a do it at one’s own pace though it is better not to put keeping your life off.
It may seem to be quite reasonable to set some particular deadlines for each goal and evaluate the progress of the undertaken efforts on a regular basis.
Best things ever can start happening now as soon as you start implement temperance in the approach to achieve your life goals.
I do believe that this approach would help to have anyone’s life complete no matter what angle you look at it from. I might be mistaken in this consideration but I would definitely feel sorry if I do not try to go this way. It will help me to change personally.
Everything I do will become more structured, easy to understand and to follow. Involvement in this project might help me understand the motives of other people, share the vision of tomorrow with people close to my way of thinking. Moreover, I would get a chance to finally put my ideas from theory into practice.
Another values I would like to add to my life in the future would be prudence and justice. I would really love to act reasonably all the time no matter how stressful or relaxed a situation might be. I want to stay objective and not to judge other people.
My parents always set an example of highly ethical behavior for me. They have always supported me in what I do. They have always given me a chance to make mistakes, to learn from them.
Since my childhood we have always discussed my ideas, plans; they have taught me to foresee the consequences and to take the responsibility for my words and actions. It does not mean that they have been ready to approve everything that happens to me but they have accepted me the way I am. Honestly speaking, I really appreciate their attitude and support. It makes me respect them more and more with every new experience of mine.
Thus, I would be really happy to make the project work for others as well as it would help me to look at the issue from a different angle.
Also if I manage to find the people who think the same way, it would be a great opportunity to create and work on some other projects.
If I become a person able to support others just like my parents do for me, it would be a great chance to change this world and to make it a little bit better. I think that every person should have someone to be accepted by the way he is.
Suggested Principles of Conduct for MY Successful Accounting Career/Life
Great many of life principles characteristic of any human being influence our daily choices. When we are children, we acquire them from our family members.
Later on we develop them from other people around us (such as our classmates, groupmates, friends, colleagues, partners, fellow, strangers, etc.). More often we do it unconsciously. Though sometimes we like something of a person and try to analyze what life principle he sticks to.
Having opportunities to learn throughout our whole life, we continuously develop ourselves, our personalities. It is of great help to know what principles influence our choices as their implementation reflects on our life.
I find it effective to develop and live by the principles of conduct to be implemented in my professional career of an accountant. I believe they will help me succeed and feel passion for what I do.
As an accountant I have to be honest, competent, trusting and trustworthy. From my point of view these are the principles to be followed by every professional, no matter what professional sphere he belongs to.
If I start working for a company, I would expect to receive the due response as it might make the relationship between the employer and me more open and sincere. If I know the person is honest and trustworthy, I am able to demonstrate the highest level of competence. It is made possible as it lets everyone to work in a relaxed, more concentrated atmosphere.
I find it important to have the principles of honesty and trust practiced on a daily basis. It is essential for all kind of relationships to be open, to keep promises, not to fail anyone, to keep deadlines, to work in a timely manner. Therefore, if I am trusted and taken seriously as an honest professional, I am motivated to achieve greater results that expected.
This might help me have updated information handy and develop professionally on a regular basis. This will give me a chance to learn of necessary certification, to learn of the licensing procedures straight from the source. Due to fact that our profession presupposes frequent changes, I find it great to have the opportunity to keep my skills updated in this way.
If I am competent in my professional sphere, my colleagues can confirm it.
If I am known as a good specialist, I have less stress and less time for any doubt on my side.
If I am confident, I am well motivated to demonstrate good results of my work, to plan my future career, to grow professionally.
In order to be considered a professional, an accountant has to be reliable in every aspect of personal or professional life.
Going back to the discussion of the code of ethics, I cannot but mention the necessity to stick to the principles of responsible behavior.
It presupposes the fact that the accountant has to make ethical choices in everything he does.
Such values as integrity, sincerity and competency can be viewed as some other principles to be developed by a professional accountant.
If you are not consistent in your thoughts and actions, there is no chance to build strong relationship with other professionals, your clients, members of your team or even with your employer.
If you are not consistent, you are not able to demonstrate good work results and continue your education.
If you are not consistent, you might fail to keep the reasonable balance between you work and personal life what might influence the overall quality of your life in a negative, destructing way. It is not less important
It might help to cooperate with others, not to react to strict, tough deadline and requirements from the side of the clients. If you are organized, you know how to prioritize.
If you know how to differentiate between more and less important things, you should know how to achieve both your personal and professional goals with the shortest possible time limit.
Before I mention the people I can be identified with according to my professional belonging, I have to speak of myself as I am the first person to find myself in the hot seat.
My principles, values define the quality of life I have; they influence the way I live; they have the impact on the way I feel.
Clients, employer, colleagues are to trust the CPA first. If they see that you understand the level of responsibility and are ready to be in charge for what you do, they take you seriously. If I am able to behave ethically, they should know about it.
A rare person has a chance to accomplish the desired goal by himself. We all need to interact with others.
The way I work, the way I treat clients, the way I communicate with others define the way I am treated by my colleagues.
Team-work is really important because if you are able to communicate with different groups of your colleagues successfully, it is easier for all of you to accomplish the goals set.
Moreover, it helps to gain experience, make the process easier and more enjoyable. That is basically the main reason why I always try to learn from the experience of others.
As I have said earlier, integrity presupposes quite a high level of personal responsibility.
Unfortunately, people who have no idea about the specifics of CPA profession are not able to define that particular area of responsibility.
Thus, it remains completely up to me ask myself first whether I am sure of and satisfied with the results of my daily routine. If I am, I would not doubt whether I am doing everything in the right way.
Professional ethics is another principle that can also characterize a person.
We all know about the cases of unethical behavior which led to inevitable negative consequences.
There is absolutely no doubt that the benefit you can get just once and later on be punished for your unethical action is not worth the candle.
I can continuously enumerate the list of other characteristics a CPA can possess but I want to mention that, first of all, a CPA (like any other professional) should love what he does.
Passion for work makes the job to be done much easier and enjoyable. That is the essential part of life. A well-known saying ‘Once you find a job you like, you will never work a day’ demonstrates this idea to the fullest.
All the above mentioned principles are closely tied up with each other:
If I want to be treated right, I have to treat others the same way.
I have to be honest, trusting, trustworthy, reliable, motivated, consistent and even passionate.
In order to efficiently carry out the work that I’ve to do, I have to be competent or, in other words, I have to possess the necessary skills and capabilities.
If I am competent, I should experience no difficulty with performing my professional duties.
If I am honest, if I have nothing to hide and if I behave ethically, I should feel confident of myself and results of my work.
If I have positive results at work, I motivated to move forward and continue improving my skills.
If I continuously improve my professional performance, I become more competent, more reliable, trustworthy and more satisfied with myself.
Therefore, the principle I acquire, the value I possess might make the process of decision making a tough one. Nevertheless, once it is made, I should never regret for.
In the nearest future I see myself working in a company in a position of a senior auditor who is responsible for
conducting assigned audit engagements,
supervising junior auditors assigned to engagements providing guidance and overall review of deliverables,
developing audit programs and testing procedures relevant to risk and test objectives, etc.
I feel really inspired by this profession because it can offer wide varieties of career path what is important if I decide to change the direction.
For this reason, I am seeking a professional accounting program that will help to reach my professional objectives and make my educational expectations and requirements fulfilled.
At this point I am still not sure of the industry to work in though I find the possibility of moving from one industry to another to be nothing but a good challenge.
However, if to speak honestly, it does not matter what particular CPA position you occupy, you are to be responsible for doing your work in a professional way in any circumstances.
This paper has made me think of many aspects of my personal and professional sides of life.
This paper helped me to identify what is of real importance to me and how to go on with planning my future career.
It is really of great use to understand the core values and principles that rule our life. It turned out that I prefer to rely on my principles and have the majority of my personal judgements based on them.
If there are people to guide me away from right, ethical decisions, my personal principals and moral values are to give my enough strength and support my choice for the greater good.
Also this paper helped me to find out that the present (not the future) plays a significant role for the way I feel myself, for the way people see me, for the way I comprehend the reality, for the way I plan my future, for the way I analyze my previous life experience no matter how negative or positive it might be.
I tried to understand how it is better to work at developing the virtues I find important. I also managed to choose the specialization and to formulate the step to be undertaken in the future development of my professional career.
