Accounting Ethics Courses: Optional or Necessary

Ethics and high morality are in high demand today especially among corporate America, and specifically within the accounting profession. After the ethical failures of Enron and WorldCom, a public outcry for future preventative measures resonated throughout the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and the accounting community at large. Consequently, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the overseeing government board of the AICPA, released the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, otherwise known as SOX. The act requires a higher performance standard for accounting firms and the audits they perform to prevent future accounting scandals. SOX, which has been extremely beneficial, doesn’t change the ethical standards of an individual but instead takes away most of the opportunity to commit a scandalous act. The basic character of the fraudulent individual remains corrupt, even with legislation in place. The question is then posed: Can ethics be taught, and if so, what accounting or business ethics courses are available? The answer is not ironclad as the word ethics describes the morality of an individual, which is hard to measure. There are also very limited courses offered on ethics, however ethical education should be a required course in college and a prerequisite to new employment for all accounting firms.

Most higher education institutions, and some high school level institutions, are implementing brief ethical materials into their curriculum, but very few offer courses on the subject. The basic argument against incorporating a required accounting ethics course is that there isn’t any proof that individuals who take a course would be any more ethical than they already are. If this is truly the singular obstruction to imposing an accounting course in ethics, than why aren’t other courses in the curriculum subject to examination from proof. Many audits, specifically those at Enron and WorldCom, have failed because of poor functional accounting knowledge, not just ethical queries. Most other curricular accounting courses would fail a proof assessment required by those who oppose an accounting ethics course. It is necessary to have an accounting ethics course to properly prepare students for any future ethical temptation they may experience within the field. Without experience in fraud recognition or ethical righteousness, many new timid accountants are susceptible to fraud or ethical dilemmas. A recommendation would be to add not just one course on ethics into a curriculum, but possibly three or four. A course in ethical theory could tie into another ethics course involved in spotting frauds and ethical dilemmas while a third course could focus on answering these ethical uncertainties.

The need for an accounting ethics course is also very apparent in how much destructive attention financial catastrophes attract to the profession. The recent big company accounting scandals all brought negative publicity to the accounting field. The burden of the economic failures in today’s society must be placed somewhere, and many people look at accountants as an outlet to place that burden. All of these events from big companies provide a negative perception of the accounting field, and that’s not to mention the small business owners who have encountered other accounting mistakes or unethical occurrences. This is not to say that legitimate and honest mistakes will not be made by new students, but the ability to recognize the mistakes and evaluate ethical problems can be reduced with the addition of an ethics course. The more education and experience that new accountants have and acquire the fewer mistakes that will occur, and ultimately the less negative publicity the profession will receive. It is extremely important that in the accounting profession, clients feel secure and trusting of those who they employ.

Another need for an ethics course comes from a common stereotype of accountants. The stereotype is that accountants are known to simply follow the rules, or do just enough to meet the basic criteria. To correct ethical dilemmas, it is required to go above and beyond the norm to investigate and solve uncertainties. A class in the area of ethics could help prepare and motivate new accountants to become more proactive when evaluating a possible unethical or fraudulent scenario. Clients will feel a greater sense of security with a proactive accountant, and ultimately bring more profit to the profession.

Society can not function without ethical people. The business world and accounting profession can not function without ethical people. It is for this reason that an accounting ethics course or courses are imperative. The elimination of stereotypes, fewer mistakes, and a heightened sense of awareness is exactly what could be acquired from an accounting ethics course. It is important to add ethics courses immediately, and for employers to require that their new hire’s be educated in ethics knowledge. If an employee is not educated and courses are not offered, employers should take measures to offer a mandatory ethics course within their organization.

A junior accounting major at West Chester University

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Add to the Profits of Your Business by Opting for Accounting Outsourcing

A business is like the culmination of the dreams and vision of an entrepreneur and it is natural for the individual to put in the best efforts and resources to make it a successful and profitable venture. Now, a business needs the strong inputs of multiple divisions in order to make it into a profit making organization and some of the crucial divisions are the human resource, marketing, planning and strategy, finance and of course accounting. Every business needs to keep track of each minute expenditure of the organization on a day to day basis. If the business employs in-house staff to manage such day to day accounting, it will be an expensive affair to provide the salaries and other employee benefits to the accounting division. Many businesses have therefore, developed the smart alternative of the accounting outsourcing process.

Many third party vendors have introduced the concept of accounting outsourcing services which they offer to organizations that require their accounts to be maintained in an accurate and systematic manner on a daily basis, but would not like to devote an entire division to maintaining such accounts. The reason behind more and more companies opting for accounting outsourcing services from vendors are the multiple benefits which it offers to the business. The primary benefit is the financial advantage which a business owner gains by outsourcing their accounting work. The vendors offering such services usually are from countries like India or China, where the cost of labor is much cheaper than that in the western countries. Hence, a business owner would have to pay a lot less to the vendor than he would have to otherwise pay if he had an in-house staff for an accounting division.

The vendor providing the accounting outsourcing services hires qualified professionals to handle the accounting work of the client. The professionals are trained to use every kind of accounting software that is available in the market and hence, the client has no problem in specifying the kind of software which he would like to vendor to use to maintain the company accounts. Also, since the accounts are maintained on a day to day and in a systematic manner, the client can get instant access to the accounts, as and when he requires.

When the business owner opts for accounting outsourcing services, he has the instant access to accounts, whenever the need arises. Such systematic accounting helps the business in crucial times like company audits, tax filling and tax returns. The auditors, clients, customers, vendors, suppliers and the general public always have more faith in any company which maintains its accounts in an accurate and transparent manner and outsourcing a company accounts helps the business gain this faith from all and sundry. However, the only concern that a business should have is about the vendor's reliability and competency as the vendor would be handling financial accounts of a business, which are highly confidential in nature. A little groundwork and basic research over the Internet or through the yellow pages can however, help a business select a reliable vendor and keep his accounts in place.

Michelle Barkley is a CPA who advises people on tax preparation and tax calculation. She specializes in bookkeeping outsourcing and outsourced accounting. To know more about accounting outsourcing, accounting business outsourcing process and small business bookkeeping outsourcing to use the services visit www.ifrworld.com

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Things That You Should Know From Your Wedding Videographer

In purchasing services, we always want to make sure what we will be getting what we are paying for. In every service-oriented entity, they will be different packages or styles in rendering products or services. No matter what it will be, it should be clear in to your understanding what will be rendered or covered so that there will be no disagreements later on. It is also your responsibility to know more about it and ask what you cannot understand with the agreement.

In events like weddings, it is important to have everything run smoothly. Most of the time, everything that makes this event successful is done through hiring services that will cater your food, maintain the venue and render entertainment. One of the services that you will be surely hiring (which is very common today) is video services. This kind of service is not necessary for the celebration but it is a great add-on making your wedding memories extra special. It is actually your perfect gift for each other. It is also needed for you to have your marriage documented properly. Therefore, with the money that you will be paying for it and the intricacy of making it, you should know exactly what your service provider could give.


Wedding videography is one of the counterparts of your photos wherein it allows you to relive the memories of your special day by seeing everything that has transpired. Professionals have different ways of charging them depending on the quality and the style that you want to have. Therefore, to make sure that it meets what you expect and that there will be no overcharging, know what they can give to you.

Explanation of the Price

Note that there are certain packages that might seem to have the same service but prices are slightly different. Ask them what makes this deal special compared to the other one. You might not want to miss great services. On top of that, this will allow you to make a decision to get the best service for your special day.

Explanation of what will be covered

Talk to them and ask them what they can cover with a particular film. You will also know what equipment will be needed to make it happen. This will also be an opportunity for you to know how they will cover these scenes. You can also remind them to get particular shots that you want that can be a bonus on your part.

Additional Charges

Sometimes there will be things that you want to be covered on the wedding videography that is not part of the package. If you in case you change your mind, know the additional charges so that you will be prepared for it.

What kind of video file they will be using

The video file is important so that you will have a basis on what equipment or players these files will be compatible with. As much as possible, know if they can make these files accessible from your IPODs or other equipment at home.

Summary

As much as possible you want everything for your wedding to run smoothly. In terms of the services you have paid for, particular videography, make sure you know everything that will be given to you. This way you will get the value of what you have purchased.

By: William B Cotter

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Bill Cotter is an author about phoenix wedding photographers. Bill writes about wedding photography phoenix for www.memoriesputtomusic.com.

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