ITC331 | Ethics and Practice | The Various Codes Of Business Ethics

The questions asked for the face to face interview

• How aware is the accountant of their professional body’s codes?
• Are the accountant aware of the of their organization’s policies and procedures?
• What influence do these codes have on their own behavior and that of their peers and supervisors?
• What are the possible consequences if they breach their professional body’s code?
• What are the possible consequences if they breach organization’s code/s?
• How does the body communicate the need to be ethical to its members?
• Do members have to complete continual professional education?
• In what areas do members have to complete continual professional education
• What barriers are there to adhering to the code/s?

The interview

Compliance with the professional body’s codes:

Response:

As per the interview response, the Professional Accountants has confirmed that the company follows the APES 110 Code of Ethics, for this company the APES 110 Code of Ethics   provides a frame to guide professional accountant in the actions to take in the public interest when they become aware of a suspected illegal act, committed by a client or employer. The code is ethics the Australian professional body for ethics APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants Code that is issued by the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board (APESB). According to the code, the members practising in Australia or abroad must comply with the Code unless they are prevented from doing so by applicable laws or regulations. In the interview with the financial accountant of the company the compliance of this code has been expected.

Compliance with the organization’s policies and procedures:

Response:

The procedures and policies are framework to impact and understand all vital decisions and actions, and all actions take place within the boundaries set by them. The Procedures are the particular methods employed to express policies in action in daily organization operations (Eriksson & Kovalainen, 2015). I am aware of the company policies and procedures. Since the company deals with retail operations the organization’s policies and procedures includes the broad guidelines that outline the general practices to be followed by all workers to get the goals.

Influence do these codes have on their own behavior and that of their peers and supervisors:

Response:

As per the norms of the company, I try to maintain the ethical rules and norms of professional conduct in the organization. I also try to avoid the actions that may hinder the company’s integrity and objectivity. In addition to that, being an employee, I have to prove myself to the management. I always try to do my job with due care and professional competence. I even try to defend the organizations confidentiality of the financial data I deal with and I also apply rules to avoid doing anything which may discredit my profession as well as position. 

The possible consequences if they breach their professional body’s code:

Response:

In the context of Non-compliance with Laws and Regulations as per the code is ethics the Australian professional body for ethics APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants Code, the employee has to face legal action in our company. The company can face many severe consequences to due to this. Therefore the internal control is quite strong in our company in order to make sure that there is no violation of the ethical code of conduct. The severity of the consequences can also result in bankrupts; therefore our company is quite alert regarding the violations.

Consequences if they breach organization’s code/s:

Response:

There is a penalty for breach of the code of the company.  The codes are necessary to be complied with the Office of Ethics and Compliance. The members who are working in the company are severely penalized in case of any misconduct of the company rules (Garegnani,   Merlotti  & Russo, 2015). The punishment which is suitable is decided in the severity of the misconduct. In case of a breach which is very nominal we are given a warning and are supervised for some time. However in case the violation is a major one, the situation is taken to the management level and the level of punishment is decided accordingly decided that may include suspension to expulsion.

Process of communication of the organizations to be ethical to its members :

Response:

In our company there exists clearly defined procedures for the process of reporting and unethical or behaviors that are illegal taking place in our organizations. We have variety of resources that can point out and communicate the ethical requirements of the company (Mladenovic,   Martinov-Bennie  and Bell, 2017). Our organization has the Office of Compliance and Ethic for overseeing these matters. One to one discussion takes place by the HR in order to make us understand the ethical codes that are applicable. Proper information are given to all of us to make us aware of the codes.

Continual professional education:

Response:

The training for ethics is given on a timely basis to us since the ethics education of accounting is seen by the management of our company as a remedy that is promising for the address of the ethical crisis  that are being faced by us accountants (Shaw, 2016). In spite of having a code of ethical conduct of APES 110, we also face ethical issues in the course of operations and therefore the provision of ethics training is very important in our company.

Reward for complying with the Ethical conduct

Yes, in our organization, there is a a systeetic way of rewarding the employees who comply with the ethical conduct of the orgainastion. A good qulaity work s always appreciated in our compny. In addition to that theindivitauls who inform the mangement reguading the unethical miscobducts are slo given benefits (García-Sánchez,   Rodríguez-Domínguez & Frías-Aceituno, 2015). However, the identification of the information giver is kept private and therefore no one can know reported the issue. The person is definitely appreciated by the admistration, and this thing is considered during the evaluation of performance. Therefore, it is not completely the case that there is no motivation behind reporting the behaviours that are unproffessional.

The Barriers to adhering with the code

While working in this company I do feel that there exists a lot of pressure in this company for engaging in any activity that is unethical or against the code (Sethi, 2016). This is because the working environment me are also operating ethically with full moral and there is always the fear of violation that may fresult in negetive outcome both for me and the organaisation (Trevino & Nelson, 2016).

Ethics in Professional Accounting Bodies

The Professional Accountants has confirmed that the company follows the APES 110 Code of Ethics, for this company the APES 110 Code of Ethics gives a framework to guide professional accountant in the actions to take in the public interest when they become aware of a distrusted unlawful act, committed by a employer and client. The code is ethics the Australian professional body for ethics APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants Code that is issued by the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board (APESB) (Leipziger, 2017). According to the code, the members practising in Australia or abroad must comply with the Code unless they are stopped from doing so by applicable regulations and laws.

Differences and Similarities in Expectations

In the current discussion with the professional accountant of the company, I got to understand the important of adhering to the ethical codes of conduct in the organization. However, there is variation of response from the interviewee from my expectations.

While conducting in the interview threre are some differences found that in the professional bodies along with the people working in accounting profession have to follow the code of conduct, however, there are also a lot of similarities. I found out after the interview that in an working environment with an ethical culture, every accountant are needed to be immensely effective in doing their job. They need to concentrate on both their training of professional ethics and comprehension (Chao, Li & Chen, 2016). In addition to that their abilities are needed to be efficient in the process of assessment acquirement, and response on various financial transactions in order to help their clients as well as the company to make them achieve a long-run sustainability (Crane  & Matten, 2016). It may happen that few of the accountants may get involved in some unethical act. In such cases the professional bodies are very strict in maintain the rules for them. The compliance with these codes has been their priority, and there exists effective measures for the various wrongful conducts in the work place.

On the other hand,   there are areas that has been identified after my investigation that some of the accounting professionals may not keep their interests first before that of their profession and hence they do not follow the ethical path (Ferrell,   & Fraedrich, 2015). However, for accountants with high integrity, they owe it to their career, profession, and community to react to breaches they may find rather than being complicit in illegal activities.

The identified barriers to proper adherence to codes of professional conduct arev as follows: a) the organization does not have a well-documented and communicated code of standards and ethics;

b) The code of ethics are not always advocated by the management (King, 2018)

c) The person does not understand the code of ethics and has ethical dilemmas

d) Despite of all the awareness of code of ethics, the person at times chooses to give priority to self-interest.

Reflection

Taking in hand my carrier option as an accountant, it can be said that as per the information obtained from the interview, I have come to realize that as an Accountant, I will be handling a wide range of privileged and sensitive financial data of the organization where I will be working. In addition to this, since as professional accountant, I will be have to operate with the data that have an impact on stock prices and bonuses, therefore, I may face several ethical issues. Due to this, I must ensure that I never let such dilemmas get to me and I always follow the path of ethics. Considering the consequences I have to avoid such situations. This is because, if during the very start of my career, I indulge in fraudulent activities or get induced, I may face major repercussions like being even expelled or suspended. For operating in the organization in the most effective and efficient way, I face any kind of issue or dilemma, I must find out the wither I have followed the ideal code or law and act accordingly. As per the interview I conducted I got to know that as a professional accountant, I must follow the code that is established by the APESB that is APES 110 Code. Along with the various organizational policies and procedures. As an accountant I would also consider the various stakeholders who are associated with the company that will be affected by the decision or the issue to take or not take a particular action. As per the information I obtained from the interview I need to report in case of any unethical or illegal conduct of my fellow colleague or employer.

Conclusion

A business must delegate its operation to the individuals who comply with the authorized code of ethics of the business, and reinforcing the same with the defined work behaviors.  This would also help to build a strong team, and it also enhances productivity and maintains a healthy workforce. In the current discussion a face to face interview is to be conducted in order to make sure whether the employees of a business is aware of their codes and their organisation's policies and procedures. The Professional Accountants has confirmed that the company follows the APES 110 Code of Ethics, for this company the APES 110 Code of Ethics   provides a framework to guide professional accountant in the actions to take in the public interest when they become aware of a suspected illegal act, committed by a client or employer. The code is ethics the Australian professional body for ethics APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants Code that is issued by the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board (APESB). According to the code, the members practising in Australia or abroad must in compliance with the Code unless they are stopped from doing so by applicable regulations and laws. In case of a breach of the ethical codes in the organization warning are given at first and are supervised for some time. However in case the violation is a major one, the situation is taken to the management level and the level of punishment is decided accordingly decided that may include suspension to expulsion.

References

Chao, M. C. H., Li, F., & Chen, H. (2016). Perceived ethicality of moral choice: The impact of ethics codes, moral development, and relativism. Nankai Business Review International, 7(2), 258-279.

Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2016). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.

Dion, M. (2017). Corporate citizenship as an ethic of care: corporate values, codes of ethics and global governance. In Perspectives on corporate citizenship (pp. 118-138). Routledge.

Donaldson, T. (2016). Values in tension. Business in Ethical Focus: An Anthology, 198.

Eriksson, P., & Kovalainen, A. (2015). Qualitative methods in business research: A practical guide to social research. Sage.

Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. Nelson Education.

García-Sánchez, I. M., Rodríguez-Domínguez, L., & Frías-Aceituno, J. V. (2015). Board of directors and ethics codes in different corporate governance systems. Journal of Business Ethics, 131(3), 681-698.

Garegnani, G. M., Merlotti, E. P., & Russo, A. (2015). Scoring firms’ codes of ethics: An explorative study of quality drivers. Journal of Business Ethics, 126(4), 541-557.

King, A. (2018). NOCLAR: What it means for you. Australian Restructuring Insolvency & Turnaround Association Journal, 30(1), 20.

Leipziger, D. (2017). The corporate responsibility code book. Routledge.

Mladenovic, R., Martinov-Bennie, N. and Bell, A., (2017). Business students’ insights into their development of ethical decision-making. Journal of Business Ethics, pp.1-13.

Sethi, S. (2016). Globalization and self-regulation: The crucial role that corporate codes of conduct play in global business. Springer.

Shaw, W. H. (2016). Business ethics: A textbook with cases. Nelson Education.

Trevino, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2016). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. John Wiley & Sons.