He blew the whistle on a USD1.7 billion fraud, despite knowing it would cause personal hardship.
Maximises net positive benefits to the greatest number of people.
Virtue ethics does not always provide guidance when faced with a genuine ethical dilemma, as it emphasizes personal attributes rather than specific actions.
Commonly recognized human rights include the right to life, freedom of choice, right to the truth, right to privacy, and freedom of speech.
Maximises net positive benefits to oneself.
The costs and benefits for all who are affected by the proposed decision or action.
Utilitarianism prioritizes actions that serve the greater good of the majority, even if a minority is adversely affected.
The 'AUST' prefix denotes Australian-specific ethical requirements that have been incorporated into the APESB Code of Ethics.
A distinguishing feature of a profession is its commitment to promote and preserve the public interest even if it comes at the expense of its members’ and its own self-interest.
Professional accountants act as moral agents and may use various ethical theories when making decisions involving ethical dilemmas.
Accountants have a duty to clients, employers, shareholders, and the accounting community.
Integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality, and professional behaviour.
Acting in accordance with the requirements of an assignment, carefully, thoroughly, and on a timely basis.
Students acquire virtues by behaving ethically in context, similar to how athletes or musicians develop their skills through practice.
The APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants is a set of ethical standards that includes amendments made over time, guiding accountants in their professional conduct.
IFAC defines public interest as ‘the sum of the benefits that citizens receive from the services provided by the accountancy profession, incorporating the effects of all regulatory measures designed to ensure the quality and provision of such services’.
The intention behind the act itself.
The term 'enlightened self-interest' is used to highlight such situations.
Attaining and maintaining professional knowledge and skill to ensure competent professional activities.
NOCLAR requirements allow members to report actual or suspected non-compliance with laws and regulations by a client or employer when such disclosure is in the public interest, without breaching confidentiality.
Safeguarding the public interest is the overriding responsibility that underpins all professional duties and obligations.
The APESB Code of Ethics emphasizes the responsibility of accountants to act in the public interest and outlines fundamental principles applicable to their work.
Egoism evaluates the rightness of an action from the perspective of the decision maker, while utilitarianism evaluates it based on consequences for others.
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The case illustrates the tension between confidentiality obligations in employment agreements and the publicizing of sensitive information.
Utilitarianism focuses on the greatest happiness for the majority, while ethical egoism prioritizes the interests of the individual.
Virtue ethics focuses on understanding and developing virtues that make individuals better people.
Virtues are defined as attitudes, dispositions, or traits of character that enable ethical behavior and become habitual through consistent practice.
The three virtues are expertise, courage, and integrity.
Kant is a central theorist in the deontological school of thought.
Each philosophical standpoint offers a different perspective on how to deal with ethical dilemmas people confront daily.
Objectivity refers to the state of being true, outside of individual feelings or interpretations.
A moral agent is a decision maker who can make moral judgments based on notions of right and wrong and is held accountable for their actions.
Virtue ethics focuses on how a person should be rather than what a person should do.
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Accountants should be impartial, honest, and free from conflicts of interest.
Aristotle argued that fairness does not mean treating everyone the same but recognizing individual differences and allocating resources accordingly.
An entitlement that a person may have by virtue of a particular characteristic, role, or condition.
Understanding different ethical viewpoints helps individuals recognize that two people may arrive at different conclusions about what is ethical in a given situation.
1. Identify the ethical problem(s). 2. Identify available courses of action. 3. Determine foreseeable costs and benefits. 4. Compare and weigh outcomes. 5. Select the option that produces the greatest benefit for the greatest number.
Rights and justice are two key theories in the deontological category.
The hierarchy has the Code of Ethics at its apex, supported by standards covering specific topics and guidance notes.
Ethical egoists evaluate the rightness of a proposed action by choosing a course of action that maximizes the net positive benefits to themselves.
A transaction that occurs when an organization deals with others who cannot be seen as independent, potentially compromising objectivity.
The difference principle allows for unequal distribution of resources only if it benefits everyone, including those in inferior positions due to the inequality.
The two categories are teleological (or consequential) and deontological (or duty-based) theories.
Egoism is an ethical approach that centers on the idea that a person is right to pursue actions in their own self-interest.
It includes the pursuit of excellence for the benefit of others, integrity, objectivity, independence, confidentiality, adherence to standards, competence, and ethical behaviour.
Yes, the Code applies to all members, including those in not-for-profit organizations.
Ethical egoism suggests that the accountant should provide full and accurate advice and allow the client to choose their professional adviser, as it is in the accountant's long-term interest and the interests of those relying on their advice.
Teleological theories determine right from wrong based solely on the results or consequences of the decision or action.
Ethical egoism assumes that it is right for a person to pursue an action in their own self-interest, assuming that everyone else is entitled to act in their own self-interest as well.
A sense of duty to do the right thing.
Accountants are trained in ethical frameworks and are accountable for their actions, understanding the standards and regulations that apply to their profession.
They may justify actions that harm minority stakeholders, such as closing down a loss-making segment.
The accountant’s primary duty is to the public, not to the client or employer.
Integrity entails the disposition to do the right and just action without regard to personal gain or advantage.
A utilitarian analysis focuses on the greatest good for the greatest number, while a cost-benefit analysis is typically weighed in economic terms and relates only to the decision maker and the employing organization.
Responsibilities include providing sound financial and business reporting, facilitating comparability of financial reporting, applying high standards of ethical behavior, specifying educational requirements, and contributing to sound corporate governance.
Distributive justice commands that individuals performing the same job functions to the same level should receive equal benefits.
Respect for the human dignity of all involved.
Integrity is essential to the maintenance of public trust and is linked with concepts such as trust, honesty, and reliable behaviour.
Restricted egoism is an ethically more acceptable form of egoism that sanctions corporate self-interest and encourages competition to maximize utility while considering the interests of society as a whole.
Legal rights are defined and enforced by the legal system, prescribing entitlements and duties to protect those entitlements, which is crucial for the accounting profession.
The gender gap, where men often receive higher wages than women for equivalent roles.
A good decision is one that respects the rights of others.
Accountants shall not knowingly be associated with information that contains materially false or misleading statements, is provided recklessly, or omits required information that would be misleading.
Contractual rights arise from agreements and relationships between individuals, such as an accountant's duty to provide professional services that a client has a right to receive.
Benefits may include pleasure, health, life, satisfaction, knowledge, and happiness, while costs may include pain, sickness, death, dissatisfaction, ignorance, and unhappiness.
They enforce disciplinary processes and guidelines to ensure practitioners understand their ethical and legal obligations.
There is a close correlation between a person's rights and the duty of another not to interfere with or abuse these rights.
Examples include courage, courtesy, compassion, generosity, fairness, fidelity, friendliness, honesty, integrity, prudence, and self-control.
The utilitarian principle states that the right action is the one that produces the greatest benefit or pleasure for the greatest number of people, and if harm is inevitable, it should minimize harm to the greatest number.
1. Difficulty in measuring non-economic outcomes. 2. Uncertainty in identifying all stakeholders and predicting outcomes. 3. Focus on results rather than intentions. 4. Justification of decisions that may harm minorities.
A limitation is its inability to address conflicting rights and obligations, particularly when respecting one person's rights contravenes another's.
Ethical egoism contends that the pursuit of self-interest should not knowingly come at the expense of one's wellbeing or that of others and should be constrained by law and fair play.
Accountants must be straightforward and honest in professional and business relationships.
The Guide highlights how the Code of Ethics should be read and used, ensuring members understand its rationale.
The letters 'R' and 'A' indicate different requirements or recommendations within the Code.
Ford decided not to repair the Pinto cars based on its cost-benefit analysis, which indicated that the cost of repairs was higher than paying damages for injuries, but later was ordered by the court to pay damages for negligent behavior.
The two types are procedural justice, which focuses on the fairness of the process, and distributive justice, which concerns the fair distribution of benefits and burdens.
The principles include equality (equal share), merit (reward for effort or ability), and needs (share based on need rather than ability).
The principles deal with the fundamentals of ethical behaviour expected of members, regardless of their practice location.
It is divided into four parts: compliance requirements, application for members in business, application for members in public practice, and independence standards for assurance services.
The terms indicate different levels of obligation: 'shall' denotes a requirement, 'may' indicates permission, and 'might' suggests a possibility.
