AICPA code of conduct, professional ethics, and other standard setting bodies

AICPA code of conduct, professional ethics, and other standard setting bodies

Professionals in accounting play a major role in the society. Professionals in accounting could enhance their role in the accounting profession by abiding by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ code of conduct and professional ethics. Their responsibilities goes to all those make use of their services and therefore the need to act professionally and under guidance of specific ethical behaviors is of great importance. Other than the professional code of conduct and professional ethical behavior, other bodies enhance the accounting profession in the US and across the globe. This paper analyses the AICPA code of conduct, professional ethics, and other standard setting bodies. In the paper, an instance of ethical dilemma would be established alongside ethical decision-making models.

In the accounting profession, one has to understand the constituents of the profession and working terms. A professional accountant would encounter clients, grantor, the government, employees, employers, investors, business community, the financial communities, and other participants who benefits from the accounting services (AICPA, 2010). A collaboration of all these players act as one to promote, define, and maintain an orderly functioning of commerce. Again, the interest of the public is collectively integrated with the community wellbeing.

An ethical dilemma would come in some case. An example of ethical dilemma in the accounting profession is during the discharging of professional responsibilities of accountants. In this case, members may encounter some conflicting pressure from the various groups, which benefit from the profession. A solution is however available for any conflict arising due to the cases discharging the professional responsibilities (AICPA, 2010). The solution only comes in from the side of the members in which case they should act under guidance from perspectives that whenever members make fulfillment of their responsibilities specifically to the public, employees and clients are served in the best way possible.

Relying on public accountants happens with expectations of the accounting professionals to discharge their responsibilities guided by much integrity and based on certain objectives. This happens due to the professional care that is always requires in accounting that goes hand in hand with a genuine interest of serving the public. Accountants are always expected to provide high quality accounting and auditing services (Allen, 2011). In the same profession, accountants are expected to enter into various fee arrangements while offering a range of services. While this is the requirement from the public and all those benefiting from the accounting profession, adjustments is being initiated in the profession to develop better values, codes of conduct and ethical practices of accountants.

Changes in the AICPA code involve rewriting as well as restructuring the code of conduct and ethical issues surrounding the accounting profession. Changes in this case are happening to the AICPA code just like the case of FASB in creating its own Accounting Standards Codification (Allen, 2011). This project by AICPA is however in a smaller scale and is aimed at making user access simpler through establishment of ways of reorganizing the authoritative United States GAAP .............