Complete the problem statement for your course project. You should discuss the topic problem for your term paper and a minimum of three to five problems that you intend to research related to your top

Integrity References

Metzger, L. (2011). The Keys to Integrity and a Sense of Well-being for Accounting Professionals. CPA Journal, 81(3), 10–12. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.devry.edu:5050/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=65030829&site=ehost-live

This article defines integrity and discusses briefly the barriers or stumbling blocks that place an accountant’s independence, objectivity and integrity in danger. More importantly, the author defines integrity and observes that a person who chooses to act with integrity in situations which demand a choice will create a “sense” of well-being. The key areas that are discussed are as follows: sense of agency, sense of the appropriate, sense of wholeness, sense of positive influence, sense of creativity, sense of purpose, sense of character, sense of trust, sense of self and sense of happiness. The intent of this reference is to examine how a deeper understanding of one’s inner desire for truth, purpose and influence can guide an accountant through critical decisions they may encounter, especially when deciding whether to report the discovery of fraud or to participate in fraud.

Stephens, W., Vance, C. A., & Pettegrew, L. S. (2012). Embracing Ethics and Morality. CPA Journal, 82(1), 16–21. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.devry.edu:5050/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=73784983&site=ehost-live

This article looks beyond the standards, principles and laws that were disregarded in accounting scandals of yesterday; such as Enron, WorldCom, AOL and Lehman Brothers. Instead it unpacks the failed morality of the accounting profession and society as a whole. In particular, it delves into the ethical behavior and ethical readiness of accounting students of tomorrow (the next generation) and the present accounting profession. The authors search for the reason’s morality has declined and assert the purpose of morality training should be about ethical behavior which seeks the good of others and doing what is right because it is RIGHT verses behavior modification based on fear of breaking a rule and losing professional credentials. The intent of this reference is to further the underlying theory that integrity is the cornerstone of ethics. Honesty, truth and the decision to do what is right is the super power needed to battle fraud.

Professional Conduct References

Melé, D., Rosanas, J., & Fontrodona, J. (2016). Ethics in Finance and Accounting: Editorial Introduction. Journal of Business Ethics, 140(4), 609-613. doi: 10.1007/s10551-016-3328-y

The author of the article evaluates the recent financial crisis the nation, as well as the globe experienced in 2007-2008 and states that it is vital for the relationship between finance and accounting to be reflected upon as well as their ethics and efficiencies. Moreover, in order to apply proper ethics and efficiencies, they have to both motivate and empower practitioners in the financial industry. As a result, the practitioners will commit their activities to adhere to the law, fairness, and enhancement of understanding and improvement of personal veracity. The author of the article further introduces works that can be used by various financial and accounting companies to control and measure ethical behaviors and misconduct in the financial sector and overall professional. This is without excluding ethical investments and coverage. This article performs an analysis on the essentials of ethics and partisanship in the financial sector and demonstrates, through examples, how those factors can affect the domestic fiscal environment as well as external economies. Ethics is a necessity when it comes to professional conduct, such as the handling of monetary assets. By understanding how professional conduct and other dependent systems relate, the article identifies the importance of ethics in accounting and finance.

Bobek, D., Hageman, A., & Radtke, R. (2015). The Effects of Professional Role, Decision Context, and Gender on the Ethical Decision Making of Public Accounting Professionals. Behavioral Research in Accounting, 27(1), 55-78. doi: 10.2308/bria-51090

In this article, the applied study investigates the scale to which professional roles, decision perspectives, and gender affect ethical decision making of governmental accountants. Considering they are in the same profession as other financiers and accountants; the outcomes of the study can still be implemented in the paper. Nevertheless, the study consisted of over 130 public accountants and concluded that the accountants had a lower probability of conceding with clients in an antagonistic situation. Moreover, they were also less likely to recommend yielding when they were auditing as compared to calculating taxes. It was also identified that, in the context of auditing, public accountants were less likely to yield to clients. When the data was broken down to their basic gender-based analysis, women seemed to demonstrate better decision-making abilities. Overall, the study was designed to estimate the likelihood of public accountants compromising their ethics and conducting activities that can be deemed illegal. By understanding the dynamics that result in unethical behaviors, policies could be developed to curb the probability of unethical professional conduct taking place.

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Shawver, T., & Miller, W. (2015). Moral Intensity Revisited: Measuring the Benefit of Accounting Ethics Interventions. Journal of Business Ethics, 141(3), 587-603. doi: 10.1007/s10551-015-2711-4

The authors of this study were determined to understand whether accounting students’ acuity of moral strength could be improved with the aid of ethical interventions in one of their advanced classes. This article plays a critical role in the overall understanding of ethics in accounting as it determines if students from school can perceive ethics and its importance. Nonetheless, from the study, it was identified that ethical decision-making is influenced heavily by the moral strength problem. The controlled experiment measured the change in perception of moral intensity utilizing pre and post-testing instruments. The authors also appreciated the results of other studies stating that they identified moral intensity determined ethics, but the class experiment noted additional data. Depending on the ethical content being presented to the students, it affected their acuity of moral intensity. This information is important as it could be utilized to create a trace to the source of unethical conduct. In general, the study was set to determine if unethical behaviors can be limited through school education thereby having the overall effect of limited unethical behaviors in the financial sector. The data from the study provided the students with a learning opportunity to understand how education can impact ethical professional conduct.

Autonomy References

CPA, C. R. (2018, 12 1). A New take on Ethics and Independence. Journal of Accountancy.

Vig, R. (2019). Automation is the future of fraud risk management. Delotte. Retrieved 03 13, 2019, from https://www2.deloitte.com/in/en/pages/finance/articles/automation-is-the-future-of-fraud-risk-management.html

The foundational standards of an audit engagement require autonomy and independence. The audit must be independent and free of bias to render an objective opinion on the financial statement based on the evidence gathered. While the financial statements are the responsibility of management, the auditor has a responsibility to perform the audit according to Generally Accepted Audit Principals. After Enron and other accounting scandals the accounting profession was blamed for not disclosing irregularities.

The prevention of fraud and abuse should be the concern of every organization. In a simplistic sense the prevention of fraud should begin with the implementation of strong internal controls. Test of internal controls are required to assess effectiveness of those controls and the risk of potential fraud. However, “Successful fraud risk management efforts tend to go beyond strong internal controls or the presence of policies. Employees can play an influential role in the success of fraud risk management efforts, as indicated by a majority of respondents to our working professionals’ fraud survey. Perhaps it is time organizations—large and small—nurtured a community of employee influencers who can reinforce ethical behaviors and mitigate the risk of fraud” (Vig, 2019).

“Professional accountants are required to apply the conceptual framework to identify, evaluate, and address threats to independence. Independence "of mind" and "in appearance" requires adherence to the fundamental principles of integrity and objectivity. New and improved provisions help accountants apply the conceptual framework when dealing with threats to independence in various contexts” (CPA, 2018). Development of a friendship, multiple referrals from client and conflict of interest are some of the threats to independence. There is no independence if safeguards are not in place to eliminate the threat. Some safeguards are to avoid accepting gifts, conflicts of interest prevent accepting engagement, use professional skepticism to ask follow up questions and disclosures. While there are minor updates to the” International Ethic Standard Board of Accountants, the code has consistently reminded accountants to identify, evaluate and address threats to compliance with fundamental principles” (CPA, 2018).

Confidentiality References

Snyder, H. (2011). Client Confidentiality and Fraud. Fraud Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.fraud-magazine.com/article.aspx?id=4294968847

Lawyers, medical professionals, and anyone with access to sensitive information should recognize the necessity for not divulging information about the client without permission. However, the accounting profession is different because independence has broken the accountant-client privilege. The US Supreme Court have affirmed the lower court decision of failing to see the accountant-client relationship as privilege when the first assertion about the relationship is independence. “Changes in professional standard regarding confidentiality are necessary to better serve the public and the investor whose interest are unprotected by current statement of responsibility (Snyder, 2011). We provide the service to our client knowing they would provide their opinion of the financial statements to third party users. According to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountant, the code of ethical standard requires the protection of sensitive client information. However, in cases of fraud a greater damage is done when suspected fraud is not reported because of the fear of breaching client confidentiality.

Fraud References

Burcham, John. “Business Ethics From the Top Down Can Prevent Fraud.” Fighting Identity Crimes Powered by EZShield, 6 Aug. 2015, www.fightingidentitycrimes.com/business-ethics-from-the-top-down-can-prevent-fraud/.

This article revolves around the idea of “Tone at the Top”. The way executives portray ethical behavior manifests how the rest of the employees behave. Unfortunately, we all know that in life it is so important to have a job. One works so hard to keep their position once they have that job. When the executives are doing unethical tasks, it ends up trickling down to the rest of the employees as they are afraid to do something about it. Everyone fears the thought of standing up to the CFO or even trying to tell someone about what is happening. The article goes on to list what steps should be taken in a workplace to create an ethical environment.

Kirsch, L. C. (2018). Why Good People Do Bad Things: How Fraud Can Happen to Any of Us. Benefits Magazine, 55(2), 24. Retrieved from http://proxy.devry.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=url,cookie,ip,uid&db=f5h&AN=127638556&site=eds-live

Leslie Kirsch does an excellent job of explaining everything one needs to read about fraud. This article includes statistics of fraud and it goes into detail of why people commit fraud. The topic of fraud prevention is covered as well. Leslie Kirsch makes you understand that there is not one perfect way to prevent fraud. On the other hand, it is just crucial to at least try to prevent fraud and take the proper steps in the direction of fraud prevention.

References

Bobek, D., Hageman, A., & Radtke, R. (2015). The Effects of Professional Role, Decision Context, and Gender on the Ethical Decision Making of Public Accounting Professionals. Behavioral Research in Accounting, 27(1), 55-78. doi: 10.2308/bria-51090

Burcham, John. “Business Ethics From the Top Down Can Prevent Fraud.” Fighting Identity Crimes Powered by EZShield, 6 Aug. 2015, www.fightingidentitycrimes.com/business-ethics-from-the-top-down-can-prevent-fraud/

CPA, C. R. (2018, 12 1). A New take on Ethics and Independence. Journal of Accountancy.

Kirsch, L. C. (2018). Why Good People Do Bad Things: How Fraud Can Happen to Any of Us. Benefits Magazine, 55(2), 24. Retrieved from http://proxy.devry.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=url,cookie,ip,uid&db=f5h&AN=127638556&site=eds-live

Melé, D., Rosanas, J., & Fontrodona, J. (2016). Ethics in Finance and Accounting: Editorial Introduction. Journal of Business Ethics, 140(4), 609-613. doi: 10.1007/s10551-016-3328-y

Metzger, L. (2011). The Keys to Integrity and a Sense of Well-being for Accounting Professionals. CPA Journal, 81(3), 10–12. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.devry.edu:5050/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=65030829&site=ehost-live

Shawver, T., & Miller, W. (2015). Moral Intensity Revisited: Measuring the Benefit of Accounting Ethics Interventions. Journal of Business Ethics, 141(3), 587-603. doi: 10.1007/s10551-015-2711-4

Snyder, H. (2011). Client Confidentiality and Fraud. Fraud Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.fraud-magazine.com/article.aspx?id=4294968847

Stephens, W., Vance, C. A., & Pettegrew, L. S. (2012). Embracing Ethics and Morality. CPA Journal, 82(1), 16–21. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.devry.edu:5050/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=73784983&site=ehost-live

Vig, R. (2019). Automation is the future of fraud risk management. Delotte. Retrieved 03 13, 2019, from https://www2.deloitte.com/in/en/pages/finance/articles/automation-is-the-future-of-fraud-risk-management.html