Every business entity has the code of conduct that guides the actions of its employees. It is crucial for the management of the companies to ensure that the letter, as well as spirit of the principles, are observed. However, various employees still engage in unethical behaviours that have the potential to affect the reputation of a given institution or profession. The field of accounting has been one of the most affected sectors (Smith, Merlone, & Duffy, 2016). The employees often break most of these ethical guidelines willingly. The impacts of unethical behaviour in the accounting sector are far reaching. This paper is set to examine the reasons that make management pressurise accountants into performing dishonest acts in institutions.
Ethical behaviour refers to an expected or good type of conduct by a professional. On the other hand, unethical behaviour means an unexpected conduct (Smith, Merlone, & Duffy, 2016). In the professional world, professional bodies as well as civil society organizations often condemn unethical actions (Smith, Merlone, & Duffy, 2016). When an accountant performs an unethical task, the impact is felt from the stakeholders to the consumers. The field of accounting has a distinguished characteristic that keeps its professionals on track. They accept to work in the interest of the public. Transparency is also an essential feature of the field. However, the vow is broken on several occasions.
There are several reasons for behaving in an unethical manner. Some of them (reasons) include self-interest, conflict of interest among the stakeholders, as well as the pressure from the management to report false information. In most cases, the accountants perform unethical duties due to the pressure from their bosses (Duska, Duska, & Ragatz, 2011). This is often done to protect the company from certain sanctions by the regulatory authorities. Besides, the management may also pressurise the accounts department to release false information regarding the losses suffered by the firm. The release of actual company losses may affect the reputation of the business.
Accounting ethics require submission of correct records of the company's financial standing to the regulatory authorities (Smith, Merlone, & Duffy, 2016). When an accountant is pressured by the management to give false information, the company is regarded to have committed an offence. Besides, the accountant may suffer the consequences of breaching the accounting ethics. Therefore, it is crucial for accountants to act according to the guidelines provided in the code of conduct.
After graduation from the college, I worked as an accountant at a private hospital in Florida. In the second year of operations, the company realized a profit of approximately five hundred and fifty thousand United States dollars. I was instructed by the management of the hospital to file a profit of US $250,000. The main aim of this unethical act was to avoid paying taxes to the government. Every company is often required to file tax returns to the regulatory authorities. Submission of false information is against the code of conduct of accounting.
In most institutions, unethical behaviours are often driven by self-interest. Certain individuals have an immeasurable urge to embezzle the funds of the companies. They indulge in unaccepted acts purely for self-greed. It is often hard to deal with these unethical behaviours since several individuals are often involved. Moreover, individual accountants are often aware of unethical situations they face. In most cases, these situations present themselves in the form of dilemmas (Duska, Duska, & Ragatz, 2011). For instance, an accountant may be directed by the employer to conduct a given task that s/he feels is unethical. In such a situation, s/he must protect his or her job as well as the interest of the employer.
In conclusion, the accounting field has several ethical dilemmas. It is essential for the accountants to maintain the professional guidelines even in the face of these difficulties. The code of conduct should be their constitution to guide them throughout their jobs. In this way, they may drive away certain testing situations.
References
Duska, R., Duska, B. S., & Ragatz, J. A. (2011). Accounting ethics. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Smith, R. H., Merlone, U., & Duffy, M. K. (Eds.). (2016). Envy at Work and in Organizations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
