Accounting Ethics

A trusted resource on the complex ethical questions that define the accounting profession

An accountant’s practice depends on making difficult decisions. To achieve the best results, individual accountants and accounting firms need a clear understanding of the ethical duties and decision-making involved in the four major functions of modern accounting—auditing, management accounting, tax accounting, and consulting—as well as a strong sense of ethical conduct to guide the certification and validation of reliable financial records.

Now in its third edition, Accounting Ethics is a thorough and engaging exploration of the ethical issues that accountants encounter in their professional lives. Since the publication of the first edition in 2002, Accounting Ethics has become an indispensable resource for accounting courses and certification programs worldwide, known for its focus on real-world application, practical advice, reader-friendly guidance, and its insight into the effects of global change on the profession. Together with coverage of the contemporary regulatory environment—including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act—this revised edition features expanded pedagogical resources such as new end-of-chapter case studies and discussion questions, and includes the updated AICPA Code of Conduct.

Concise and dependable, Accounting Ethics sustains its reputation as an authoritative resource for practicing accountants, new professionals, students of accounting, and those who are considering the profession.

Preface to the Third Edition vii

Introduction to Accounting Ethics 1

1 The Nature of Accounting and the Chief Ethical Difficulty:True Disclosure 9

2 Ethical Behavior in Accounting: What is Ethics? 35

3 Ethical Behavior in Accounting: Ethical Theory 57

4 Accounting as a Profession: Characteristics of a Profession 75

5 Accounting Codes of Conduct 83

6 The Rules of the Code of Conduct 103

7 The Auditing Function 129

8 The Ethics of Managerial Accounting 157

9 The Ethics of Tax Accounting 177

10 Ethics Applied to the Accounting Firm 197

Appendix A: Summary of Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 219

Appendix B: IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice 231

Index 235

Ronald F. Duska served as the Charles Lamont Post Chair of Ethics and the Professions at the American College of Financial Services and as the Director of the Center for Ethics in Financial Services until 2011. He is currently chief executive of Duska Business Ethics and Consulting and an adjunct professor of business ethics at Villanova University and St. Joseph's University.

Brenda Shay Duska, MT, CPA, is the owner of Shay Duska & Company LLC and specializes in taxation and financial management for small businesses. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Kenneth Wm. Kury, PhD, CPA, is an assistant professor in the Family Business and Entrepreneurship program at Saint Joseph's University.

Praise for Previous Editions

"At last, a book that addresses the full range of accounting, tax, and audit issues, integrating the perspective of the accounting profession with that of a trained ethicist. This is a must-read for everyone in the accounting profession and in business ethics. Bravo Duskas!"
—Patricia H. Werhane, Darden Graduate School, University of Virginia

"Accounting Ethics offers a superb, accessible introduction to the traditions and responsibilities of individual accountants and their firms."
—Carlin Romano, The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Easy to read, informative, and provides a good base for discussion."
—European Accounting Review

An accountant's practice depends on making difficult decisions. To achieve the best results, individual accountants and accounting firms need a clear understanding of the ethical duties and decision-making involved in the four major functions of modern accounting—auditing, management accounting, tax accounting, and consulting—as well as a strong sense of ethical conduct to guide the certification and validation of reliable financial records.

Now in its third edition, Accounting Ethics is a thorough and engaging exploration of the ethical issues that accountants encounter in their professional lives. Since publication of the first edition in 2002, Accounting Ethics has become an indispensable resource for accounting courses and certification programs worldwide, known for its focus on real-world application, practical advice, and reader-friendly guidance, and its insight into the effects of global change on the profession. Together with coverage of the contemporary regulatory environment—including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act—this revised edition features expanded pedagogical resources such as new end-of-chapter case studies and discussion questions, and includes the updated AICPA Code of Conduct.

Concise and dependable, Accounting Ethics sustains its reputation as an authoritative resource for practicing accountants, new professionals, students of accounting, and those who are considering the profession.