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Personal Code of Ethics Personal Code of Ethics I believe that my personal code of ethics compares to the professional code of ethics very similar. I believe that no matter what profession a person is in that they should always be honest and trustworthy as well as have good morals and ethics. My code of ethics is very similar to the professional code of ethics. One of the differences between my code of ethics and the professional code of ethics is that I would not do anything for the profession that would ruin or tarnish my reputation.
I have somewhat high standards and I do not like to be thought of in a wrong manner. I have good strong morals to support my ethical thinking. For the most part I believe my personal code of ethics is similar to the unwritten code associated with this career of my choice. Forensic accountants have to be honest and trustworthy. Many people depend on these forensic accountants to do the right thing and to solve any mysteries that have arrived. Forensic accountants are depended upon to solve cases that involve missing finances or reports that just do not add up.
The ethical dilemmas that my personal code of ethics helps to resolve is for example my ethics would make sure that I reported finances that were missing or misplaced so that the finances can be accounted for. My morals and ethics would also prevent me from taking finances and stealing them as well as not taking bribes from clients to keep information quiet. There could be so many ethical dilemmas to face in this career and I am sure some of them can be difficult to decide on but with the right morals and ethics all dilemmas can be resolved.
Forensic Accountants investigate frauds of all natures. I have found an example of such kind of case. For example; “In 1996, a city manager in California’s Contra Costa County became suspicious when a local disposal service company asked for help keeping itself afloat. Orinda-Moraga Disposal Services wanted to raise rates on its customers and needed the Contra Costa Sanitation Districts approval. However, the company had recently stated its desire to lower rates. The wary city manager hired forensic accountant Dan Ray to uncover the truth.
After examining Orinda-Moraga’s records Ray discovered that the company sent checks to non-existent people at several companies that had fake addresses. The disposal company’s owner deposited the checks into an account. He had created these companies to illegally siphon money from Orinda-Moraga, and inflated its business costs to justify the rate increase. Ultimately, Orinda-Moraga’s owner and his partner were found guilty in civil and criminal suits” (Freeman, 2010).
This is a perfect example of what kind of work is involved in forensic accounting. This is just one of many stories that has peeked my interest in this career. As far as characterizing the ethical framework used to construct my personal code of ethics goes, that would be a difficult decision for me because I have seen a little bit of each of the frameworks in all of my decisions I have ever made. I do believe that my personal code of ethics seems to match the ethical standards required for the career that I have chosen to be interested in.
I believe this because I believe I have what it takes to be an honest, trustworthy citizen that can handle any ethical dilemmas that come my way. One reason why it is so important to have good ethics is because forensic accountants sometimes have access to sensitive information pertaining to the clients such as social security numbers and bank account numbers, which is easy to get access to. When something unethical happens in a career field gets a closer look at. The trust is usually gone after that.
A lot of the time forensic accountants get hired in cases that are being processed through the courtroom and therefore have to be trusted. Forensic accounting is more than accounting and more than detective work it’s a combination of both. Characteristics of any forensic accountant are simple to identify. “There is a definite need for forensic accountants in the business world today, but not everyone possesses the many characteristics and qualities that compromise a high quality forensic accountant.
Forensic accountants need to possess strong written and oral communication skills. In this profession it is imperative to have a strong accounting background; a thorough knowledge of auditing, risk assessment, and control and fraud detention; and a basic understanding of the legal system. It is important for forensic accountants to possess the ability to interview and effectively elicit information from people who may not be willing to give truthful answers. Therefore, it is important for forensic accountants to be skeptical of those people that they deal with.
Knowledge and experience in financial planning and management techniques, as well as advanced computer skills, including an ability to understand and apply various information technology and accounting systems, are also key characteristics of forensic accountants” (Crumbley, 2003) One of the most common issues that forensic accountants face is misstatements of a company’s financial position. Some areas of expertise that forensic accountants have are: mortgage banking, securities trading, and insurance fraud just to name a few.
After the scandal with the company Enron, there are many companies out there that want to protect themselves and hire forensic accountants to investigate or even prevent fraud in their company. Forensic accountants have liability claims involving ethical violations or complaints that result when a forensic accountant does not comply with professional, regulatory, or legal standards. Fraud can be defined as intentionally misrepresenting or omission of a material fact that is relied on by the clients and can cause damage. Fraud has been put into two different ways: actual or constructive.
Forensic Accountants owe a duty to clients to use knowledge, judgment, reasonable care, and skill. If a forensic accountant does not follow accounting standards then they can be sued for malpractice or negligence. Forensic accountants and clients enter into a contract and each party must follow the rules of the contract exactly. If the contract is broken between the forensic accountant and the client then the person that broke the contract could be sued for damages to their case. When a forensic accountant acts with no regard for the truth or the consequences of their actions this is considered constructive fraud.
This is the worst kind of forensic accountant to be involved with. These forensic accounts have no respect for anyone but themselves and do not have very good morals or ethics. The forensic accountant is a very important job that government agencies depend on when they need help trying to figure out such things as bank records for suspected terrorist. If the forensic accountant can get into the suspects bank records and find out that their finances are paying for terrorist supplies then the terrorist would be caught and brought to justice.
Through countless research online I have discovered an amazing discovery. A forensic accountant is the person that found out about the Al Capone case that made history. Forensic accountants have been around for awhile now but it was not until recently that they have made public news. With the whole Enron scandal, accountants have been the highlight of many news programs. That is just another example of corruption in a career that makes the rest of the profession look bad. There have also been other examples of corruption and unethical issues. The Bernie Madoff case is a perfect example of that.
He was a very corrupt man and took money from innocent people that trusted him to invest their money wisely. It is all about the ethics with situations/dilemmas like this. I have watched news reports where the victims of the Bernie Madoff scandal are older citizens who entrusted their life savings with this man and he stole and manipulated his way through all of these victims and left them broke. It was just heart breaking to watch their faces as they talked about how hard they worked to make this money and how many years it took them to save it up.
I do not understand how his conscience did not kick in and feel bad for what he had done to all of these people. This was just a sign of how his morals and ethics are all screwed up. Bernie Madoff and his wife tried to pay off a bribe to the forensic accountant to hide the money that they had stolen from all of these victims. The smart things that the forensic accountant did were turning them down and report them for the scandal that they were trying to commit. If he would have taken the bribe then so many people would have been so hurt and lost and felt no justice for the crime that had been committed.
It would have to take someone with terrible ethics and morals to do what Madoff did to these innocent people especially with the way the economy is now a days. This is definitely an example of ethics and morals gone wrong in the work environment. With all of the interesting facts and stories I have read about forensic accountants, that is what has gotten me so interested in this specific career. I would love to be able to investigate something and then use my knowledge of numbers to help solve this particular crime.
These are my two favorite things in life: to work with numbers and to investigate crimes. I love the crime shows and I love to practice math with my children. We are a family of math wizards. I love the television shows like CSI and other shows similar to this. The television show that was called Numbers was a show about forensic accountants that worked for a government agency. In conclusion, with the right knowledge and good moral ethics in mind, one can go as far as they want in a career of their choice.
There are dilemmas no matter what career you choose but as long as you have good moral ethics and have a good head on your shoulders one can make it through any problem. If a person is looking to start a career as a forensic accountant, they must be willing to investigate and work with numbers and law enforcement. It is an evolving career that has been around for a while now and it does not look like it is going anywhere. It is a very important career that can help many people. References AICPA. (N/A). Professional code of ethics for accountants. Retrieved from http://www. icpa. org/Research/Standards/CodeofConduct/pages/sec100. aspx Crumbley, L. (2003). Characteristics of Forensic Accountants. Retrieved from http://www. cluteinstitute-onlineJournals. com/pdfs/2006325. pdf Freeman, S. (N/A). How stuff works. Retrieved from http://science. howstuffworks. com/forensic-accounting. htm N/A. (2009). Professional code of ethics. Retrieved from http://www. aiic. net/ViewPage. cfm/article24. htm Weed, G. (2010). Why are ethics important in accounting? Retrieved from http://www. ehow. com/how-does_4571925_why-ethics-important-accounting. html