Running head: Importance of ethics in accounting and financial decision making

Importance of ethics in accounting and financial decision-making

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Contents
Abstract....................................................................................................................... 4

2
1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 5
1.0 Definition of accounting and financial decision making.....................................................5
1.1

Background of the study......................................................................................... 5

1.2

Problem Statement................................................................................................ 6

1.4

Project Objectives................................................................................................. 7

1.4.1 General Objective................................................................................................... 7

1.4.2 Specific Objectives................................................................................................... 7
1.5 Ethics and professional practices in accounting and financial decision making.......................7
2 LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................................ 10
2.0 Introduction........................................................................................................ 10
2.1 Benefits reaped from ethical accounting and financial decision making..............................10
2.2 Philosophical theories of ethics................................................................................... 11
2.2.1 The theory of utilitarianism..................................................................................... 12
2.2.2 The theory of rights............................................................................................... 13
2.2.3 The theory of Justice.............................................................................................. 14
2.3 Nature of the problem............................................................................................... 15
2.4 Relevance of the problem.......................................................................................... 15
2.5 Conclusion............................................................................................................. 16
3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY..................................................................................17
3.1 Introduction........................................................................................................... 17
3.1.1 Vignettes.............................................................................................................. 17
3.1.2 Research paradigms............................................................................................... 18
3.2 Data collection techniques...................................................................................... 19
3.2.1 In depth interview........................................................................................... 19
3.2.2 Observation methods....................................................................................... 19
3.3 Data and process analysis Tools...............................................................................19
3.3.1 Data Analysis tools.......................................................................................... 19
3.3.2 Process Analysis tools....................................................................................... 20
3.4 Coding................................................................................................................... 20
3.5 Ethical issues in the research...................................................................................... 21
4 RESULTS................................................................................................................. 22
4.1 Introduction........................................................................................................... 22
4.2 Results obtained the research..................................................................................... 22
4.3 Summary of findings................................................................................................ 23

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5 CONCLUSION......................................................................................................... 24
5.1 Introduction........................................................................................................... 24
5.2 Aims...................................................................................................................... 24
5.3 Method.................................................................................................................. 24
5.4 Recommendation..................................................................................................... 25
6 References................................................................................................................ 26

Abstract
The primary goal of the research paper is to give an understanding of the importance of ethics in
the accounting department of any organization. Businesses are accountable to a broad range of
people, and it is crucial that finances are handled with much accountability, and it is also
important that investors and employers are told the plain truth about the state of finances. This

research paper also touches on the obligation of an accountant to provide accurate information to
the employers or any other body about the organization. The paper also discusses the implication
of failing to present accurate information. The primary importance of the research paper is to
cover the importance of ethics in accounting.

1 INTRODUCTION
1.0 Definition of accounting and financial decision-making
Accounting is the description of business processes in numerical values. For an organizations
accounting to represent truly the going of its financial arena, the bookkeeping of that

organization must be accurate and honest. In accounting, honesty and accuracy are ethical in
addition to financial issues. Accountants and bookkeepers have the obligation to represent
financial information in reliable ways that represent the business progress. Failure to do this may
have consequences for the owner of the firm, the stakeholders and also the tax reporting agencies
(Association., 2005).
Financial decision making involves analysis of the financial problems that an organization faces
and deciding on the course of action to take. For financial decisions to be made, one must
identify the potential financial problems and then analyze the impacts of an alternative course of
action. As a decision maker, one should be in a position to apply the analytical techniques and
methods used in the financial analysis (Technicians., 2010).

1.1Background of the study

This project explores some aspects that include training accountants and bookkeepers to be
honest and accurate when providing a companys or organization's financial information to their
employers, managers and other bodies like tax agencies. Over the last few years, the accuracy of
financial information of firms have been on demand as this helps the government agencies to
have accurate company evaluation, the accurate number of working force and specific taxation
details.
This can be made possible by urging accountants to exercise ethics and professionalism in their
accounting and bookkeeping work and also apply honesty in their work. If all organizations
employ professional accountants who embrace honesty and ethics in their work, then accuracy
would not be a problem. This would also help them earn customers trust and maintain these
customers as a result of transparency in transaction and operations (Duska & Duska, 2003).

1.2Problem Statement
The accuracy and correctness of organization financial information are an aspect that needs to be
embraced by the management of all organizations. Organizations are responsible for a scope of
shareholders such as investors, partners and customers. Shareholders, investors, and partners
should know the reality of your organization's funds because this information is necessary to
sound investment decisions. Customers, also, may be qualified for know whether your
organization is financially solid on the off chance that they go into transactions that rely on upon
its life span. Most firms provide honest, and accurate information but some are still lagging
behind and thus, they need to embrace professionalism, accountability and ethics in a matter that
deal with accounting and financial decisions (Duska & Duska, 2003).

1.3Project Goal
The primary aim of the research paper is to develop a journal that displays the importance of
professionalism, honesty and ethics in financial decision making and accounting. It shows the
importance of maintaining customers through earning their trust by providing them with correct
and accurate data.

1.4Project Objectives
1.4.1 General Objective
The general purpose of this research paper is to explore ethical decisions made by accountants in
a professional context. Having a lower level of ethical reasoning as compared to other
professional groups may be seen as a failure. This project contributes to the practice and

knowledge regarding ethical proclivities of accountants and also those regarding their decisionmaking processes.

1.4.2 Specific Objectives

i.

Conducting a complete review of the accounting, psychological and philosophical

ii.

literature regarding ethics accounting and ethical financial decision making.

Making a positive and original contribution towards developing a theory regarding

iii.

ethical accounting and decision making on financial issues.

To heighten my personal interest in the ethical behavior of accountants.

1.5 Ethics and professional practices in accounting and financial decision

making.
It is critical for accounting experts to be ethical in their practices because of the nature of their
profession. The nature of accountants' work places them in a unique position of trust in
connection with their customers, bosses, and overall population, who depend on their
professional judgment and direction in their decision making. These decisions thus influence the
process of resource allocation of an economy. The accountants and bookkeepers are depended
upon due to their ethical standards and professional statues. Thus, the way to keeping up the
certainty of customers and the general population is ethical and professional conduct
(Technicians., 2010).
Guaranteeing most noteworthy ethical standards is vital to a public accountant i.e. one who
renders professional services, for example, certification and tax services to customers for a
charge and additionally to an accountant in business i.e. one who is employed in a public or
private sector organization for pay. Both accountants in business and public accountants are in a
fiduciary relationship, previous with the customer and recent with the company. In such a

relationship, they have the obligation to guarantee that their duties are performed in similarity
with the correct estimations of genuineness, uprightness, objectivity, due consideration,
classification, and the dedication to people in general enthusiasm before one's own. In this
manner, bookkeepers, as experts, are required to keep up a level of ethics lead that goes past
society's laws. This has made the professional bookkeeping bodies to build up a code of expert
behavior, which sets decides or principles that characterize right from wrong to guarantee that
individuals' conduct follows saw open desires of ethical models. These standards have been
created in light of the 'standards of expert behavior', which frame the premise for professional
ethics (Jeffrey, 2004).
Be that as it may, bookkeepers' contribution with substantial corporate embarrassments lately
mirrors that they have not agreed to the reasonable ethical measures. It is regularly contended
that bookkeepers' attention a lot on particular issues and need ethics affects ability to perceive
ethical problems included with their work, which would at last prompt settling on wrong choices.
Along these lines, bookkeepers ought to be prepared to be touchy to recognize the ethical
measurement of apparently particular issues. This accentuates the need to incorporate morals
training as a center segment of expert bookkeeping instruction to set up the bookkeeping experts
to face different ethical issues that they confront in doing their obligations. The 'System for
International Education Standards for Professional Accountants distributed by International
Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) of IFAC recognizes that the general goal of
accounting education ought to be to create competent professional accountants, who have the
necessary;
(a) Professional knowledge
(b) Professional skills
(c) Professional ethics, values, attitude.

In this respect, IES Professional Values, Ethics, and Attitudes of IAESB prescribes that a project
of professional accounting training ought to give potential professional accountants a structure of
professional qualities, ethical, and attitude to practice professional judgment and act in a moral
way that is to the greatest advantage of society and the calling. On the other hand, IES 4 requires
professional accounting bodies to recognize showing understudies about professional qualities,
morals and dispositions and creating moral conduct. Creating professional qualities, morals and
dispositions ought to start ahead of schedule in the training of an expert bookkeeper and ought to
be re-stressed all through the vacation. In this manner, building up a moral conduct is a piece of
long constant learning of a professional accountant (Jeffrey, 2004).

2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction
This review researches on some aspects that include developing a perspective look at ethics and
how it is connected to professional accounting and financial decision making. This, in turn,
enables an organization to maintain a positive image to its customers, shareholders, investors and
the government. It has been the aspiration of us accountants to continue improving efficiency and

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effectiveness in the management of financial data and information in all sectors (Lovell &
Scotland., 2012).

2.1 Benefits reaped from ethical accounting and financial decision-making

Ethics in accounting and decision-making about financial matters leads to accountability.
Organizations are responsible for a scope of shareholders such as investors, partners and
customers. Shareholders, investors, and partners should know the reality of your organization's
funds because this information is necessary to sound investment decisions. Customers, also, may
be qualified for know whether your organization is financially solid on the off chance that they
go into transactions that rely on upon its life span. For instance, a client taking out a mortgage
has a stake in working with a bank that is stable financially and a customer leasing a storage unit
has an interest in the capacity organization's ongoing solvency (Pierce & Scotland., 2009).
Ethics in accounting and financial decisions also help in planning. Bookkeepers and accountants
have an obligation to give the entrepreneurs with accurate that encourages sound planning. This
commitment includes giving accurate information and giving it in a prompt enough time frame
for it to be important. If the accountant takes as much time as necessary compiling the profit and
loss statements, that could let you know that your business is spending a lot on the payroll, you
might miss a chance to improve this situation before it puts your business in danger.
Perception is another benefit enjoyed from ethical accounting and decision making. Ethical
accounting and honesty make a positive image for your firm. At the point when an organization
makes news for dishonest accounting, it loses the trust of present and potential customers. This is
particularly vital for industries that rely on upon solid working relationships with their clients.
For instance, in 2002, the accounting firm Arthur Andersen surrendered its permit to practice in

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the wake of being included in the Enron scandal, and its credibility and reputation were
extremely compromised even after the surrender decision was overturned in 2005 (Association.,
2005).
Your organization has a responsibility to report financial information accurately and equitably on
the tax form. Giving inaccurate information to the tax agencies might bring down your taxation
burden. However, you will be liable to perjury charges and fines if you are gotten. Ethical
accounting practices guarantee that your tax forms will be finished in a way that keeps you out of
trouble

2.2 Philosophical theories of ethics.

Decision-making given instinct or individual feeling does not prompt the right strategy.
Consequently, ethical decision making requires a basis to guarantee good judgment. The
philosophical theories of ethics give diverse and distinct criteria to moral, right or good judgment
(Graham, 2006).
Three conspicuous philosophical theories are rights, utilitarianism, and equity. They are
standardizing theories of ethics, which give a guideline or standard on how a person should carry
on towards others by considering the right and wrong of an activity. These normative theories are
divided into two extensive classifications, consequential and non-consequential theories.
Consequential theories characterize the good regarding its results, and the best-known example is
the theory of utilitarianism. On the other hand, the non-consequential theory describes the good
not by its results or consequences but rather by its intrinsic value and the best-known examples
are the justice and rights theories (Graham, 2006).

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2.2.1 The theory of utilitarianism

Based on this theory, the ethical alternative is the one that boosts great consequences over
terrible consequences. Jeremy Bentham, who is regarded the father of utilitarian morals and
ethics, characterizes utilitarianism as the best happiness principle i.e. the rule of utility, which
measures high and terrible consequences as far as happiness and pain are concerned. He
composed as follows in his book.
According to him, Nature has set humankind under the governance of two sovereign masters,
pleasure and pain. It is for only them to bring up what we should do, and additionally to figure
out what we might do. From one perspective the standard of good and bad, a chain of
circumstances and end results, are attached to their throne. They represent us in everything we
do, in all we say, in all we think.
The terms pain and happiness have a broad meaning and encompass all parts of human welfare,
including sadness and sadness, satisfaction and disappointment, health and sickness, positive and
negative feelings, ignorance and knowledge and achievement and failure. Applying the utilitarian
rule is a procedural process including five stages:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

Problem definition
Identify the stakeholders influenced by that problem
List the alternative course of actions to be followed to solve the problem.
Identify and compute the short and long-term costs and advantages and benefits
(happiness and pain) for every alternative action.
Select the course of actions that leads to the largest sum of benefits over the costs of the
greatest number of people.

Hence, ethical code of conduct by accountants taking into account this theory results in
consideration of all consequences of a decision for all participants influenced by it.

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This theory takes a commonsense and pragmatic sound to deal with ethics. Activities are all in all
correct to the degree that they advantage individuals (i.e. events, which deliver more benefit than
harm are correct and those that don't aren't right). Subsequently, the cognitive process required
for utilitarian decision making seems like the cost-benefit analysis that is ordinarily connected in
business decisions. There are critical differences between the two ideas in connection to the way
of consequences, the measurability of the results and the stakeholder analysis (Graham, 2006).

2.2.2 The theory of rights

The theory of rights stems from the conviction that individuals have a natural worth as people
that must be regarded. Along these lines, as indicated by this theory, a great decision is one that
concerns the rights and privileges of others. On the other hand, a decision is not right to the
degree that it violates someone else's rights. When all is said in done, the rights can be separated
into two classifications:
(i)
(ii)

Natural rights (rights that exist autonomously of any legal structure)

Contractual rights and legal rights (rights that are made by general agreement).

The natural rights are regularly known as human or constitutional rights.

Among numerous natural rights, the right to the truth of the matter is critical to the function of
accounting. The financial statements users have the privilege to accurate and truthful financial
information when settling on decisions on alternative investment strategies. This right forces an
ethical commitment to the accountant and the reporting element to get ready and issue, true,
accurate and fair financial statement. Then again, legal and contractual rights are critical in the
employer of the accountant and the accountant-client relationship. These contractual
relationships imply that businesses and customers have a legal right to expect competent and
professional service from the accountants. Thus, the accountants have a corresponding legal

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obligation to perform their duties to the best of their capacity inside of the requirements of their
skill (Graham, 2006).

2.2.3 The Theory of Justice

Understanding this theory requires comprehension different ideas of justice. Justice is depicted as
fairness, which alludes to the correlation between reward and contribution. However, fairness on
its own can't characterize the term justice. There are additionally different types of justice, which
includes:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)

Equality i.e. expects that all individuals have equal worth

Procedural justice i.e. concerned with the due process.
Compensatory justice i.e. tends to address the loss from a wrongful action.

Nevertheless, a complete theory consolidating these different domains of justice has yet to be
produced. In this research, I focus on the theory of justice, which depends on the rule of
distributive justice. It concentrates on how genuinely one's choices convey advantages and
burdens among individuals from the group. The unjust distribution of burdens and benefits is
an unfair act that is, in turn, an ethically wrong action. Consequently, under this theory, an
ethical decision is one that creates the fairest distribution of burdens and benefits to all
members of a group (Graham, 2006).

2.3 Nature of the problem

Questioning the ethical behaviors of accountants and financial decision makers has raised a lot
concerns in the accounting literature. It has become hard to determine whether these accountants
and financial decision makers can be trusted to act responsibly in a free market system. These
concerns also touch on the ethical stance of accountants and decision makers when making

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professional decisions. This may be because accounting profession has been undergoing many
transitions from rule-based accounting to principle-based accounting (Pierce & Scotland., 2009).

2.4 Relevance of the problem

To understand fully the relevance of accounting ethics and ethical decision making on financial
issues, it would require a thorough analysis of the role of accounting in the society. However,
such an analysis is not in the scope of this project. The project will assume that the broadly held
functionalist view in which the accountings role concerns are providing information. Accounting
serves many economic and political systems, but the project will deal with the Westernized free
market.
Accountants have a vital responsibility of ensuring system integrity by providing reliable,
transparent, accurate and high-quality financial information. This is not an easy task. The
relationship between accounting and the world around it is complex. Accounting is a technical
skill and thus requires moral considerations that accounting should communicate a reality. The
practice of ethics would eliminate corporate scandals like it was recently witnessed. The recent
scandals have caused much crisis in global ethics. This was despite that accountants, and
financial decision makers were termed as heroes (Lovell & Scotland., 2012).

2.5 Conclusion
This project deals with the idea of ethics and its implications on the role of accounting
professionals. Ethics has turned into a critical area of concern in accounting at present inferable
from the series of corporate scandals that had occurred in the world scrutinizing the credibility of
the accounting profession. These scandals have set in uncertainty the viability and effectiveness
of current accounting, corporate governance practices, and auditing, for which accounting

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profession is in charge of. In this way, acknowledgment of the accounting profession is firmly
connected with the maintenance of the highest ethical standards. Thus, competence in ethics has
turned into a vital element of becoming a professional accountant.

3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
Among the objectives of the research is designing an appropriate research methodology that
explores decision-making processes by accountants and financial decision makers in the
resolution of ethical dilemmas. This has been a great challenge as a result of dearth guidance in
the accounting literature. I have used vignettes to elicit the participants response in addition to a
qualitative methodology that explores these responses. These two aspects are critical to the entire
research design, and thus, I will discuss them individually (Smith, 2010).

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3.1.1 Vignettes
This project tried to elicit, using means of interview, the decision-making procedures of the
participants when confronted with ethically charged accounting related difficulties. The
dilemmas were introduced to participants as vignettes. Despite the fact that there are few
itemized accounts concerning the utilization of vignettes in qualitative research, there is some
clarity in respect to what the term implies. Professional accountants allude to a vignette as a short
story about theoretical characters in determined circumstances, to whose circumstance the
interviewee is welcome to react. The three vignettes utilized as a part of this project were short
two-paragraph stories.
Inside of the situational context of the story, the vignettes were intended to evoke from
participants' reactions various builds, that is, their opinions, attitudes, beliefs and perceptions
concerning ethics in financial decision making and accounting. Using these vignette responses
participants' ethical decision-making procedures were additionally distinguished. This looked to
clarify their individual ethical positions and convey to their reports any other extraneous
variables that they accepted ought to populate their decisions. The objective here was to cater for
three further study goals i.e. to make a unique contribution to the theory by observing and
recognizing any shared patterns of meaning, to make an original and unique contribution to
practice through distinguishing the decision-making models used by participants to resolve and
determine the vignettes issues and to advance my own enthusiasm for the ethical behaviors of
accountants (Smith, 2010).
Broad use has been made of vignettes at different stages in the data collection process in research
using various methods. In any case, as this project uses a qualitative methodology primarily, the
vignettes constituted an independent technique. They were exhibited to participants in written

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structure toward the beginning of the data collection process and were kept intentionally short to
give them the chance to talk about a scope of considering the possibility that' scenarios in a
much-wished depth. Therefore short vignettes are of direct significance to the activity of
judgment, in that they require participants' enhancement of the situation (Smith, 2010).

3.1.2 Research paradigms

Daily speeches use the term research in a broad range of courses, from the gathering of necessary
facts to emotive cases by promoting individuals in support of their items. Some use the term
study when alluding to their research and research to allude to the work of others and more
general research practices. Research is more formally characterized as the efficient collection and
interpretation of data, with the clear reason being to discover something out, that is, research tries
to answer questions in this way creating information and empowering the research to gain a
comprehension of the world. In social research, the questions may be posed and answered from
various standpoints, which defers regarding researchers attitude and also the methodologies
employed (Smith, 2010).

3.2 Data collection techniques

The qualitative methods that I will be commonly used in evaluation include:

3.2.1 In-depth interview

This will be carried out by asking questions to all participants about the general conduct of
accountants and financial decision makers and the possible solutions that may be needed to
ensure the accountants in the workforce are professional and act ethically (Smart, Peggs, &
Burridge, 2013).

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3.2.2 Observation methods

This will involve physical presence in the accounting department of various organization and
observing how they perform the accounting task and how the make their decisions. It is the
common one because one will be able to collect primary information (Smart, Peggs, & Burridge,
2013).

3.3 Data and process analysis Tools

3.3.1 Data Analysis tools
This is concerned with taking all facts about the data to be used within an accounting system and
turning them into a precise, unambiguous and non-redundant data description. It involves the
collection of all entities that will interact with the system and developing relationships between
them in which each entity has its attributes.

3.3.2 Process Analysis tools

The Objective of this section is to produce a specification that accurately embodies the
requirements for future users of the system under development. This decision-making process
models often represent a networked sequence of activities, objects, transformations, and events
that embody strategies for accomplishing ethical decision making. These models may be
employed in developing more precise and formalized descriptions of ethical accounting
(Clifford, Azuaje, & McSharry, 2006).

3.4 Coding
Before beginning any coding or analysis, plus during the interviewing process, I ensured that I
gathered correctly represented proceedings. Interpretations were a particular issue as they were

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created from tape recordings by an outsider. Transcripts change over one sort of information,
from a discussion, into another, a composed account, so there is a requirement for the alert. There
was the potential for such transcripts to miss subtleties, the significance of talk previously, then
after the fact-specific remarks, and to either distort my or participants' words or for the
transcriber to just not comprehend them bringing about spaces on the transcript.
Having guaranteed the content validity, templates or layouts were then used, as codes, to sort
individually out, analyze and interpret it. Codes are fundamentally tagged that are appended to
cuts of dissected content to show their meaning to the study. As they are an essential component
of interpretation, they should exude from a very much created diagnostic methodology with the
goal that they can satisfy their assignment of speaking to the content in a way that is significant
to the study (Smith, 2010).
Codes can work at three extraordinary levels of analysis i.e. interpretive, descriptive and pattern
identification. This project uses every one of the three levels to differing degrees. Descriptive
codes require little interpretation if any. They essentially attach a word or letter(s) speaking to the
phenomena of study to the content. Interpretive codes credit a reason to a particular activity and,
in this project, were produced as I read and started to interpret the content. Pattern coding
remains once again from the beforehand coded data and recognizes developing patterns or topics,
and along these lines requires a re-perusing of that data (Smith, 2010).

3.5 Ethical issues in the research

To ensure trustworthiness, quality, and integrity, this project used some guidelines and
procedures concerning ethical research. Any research should have a possible benefit by
promoting the wellbeing and interests of other. Any research should ensure that no harm

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originates from it. This simply means that researchers behave with integrity and honesty all the
time. The wellbeing and consequences of others should be considered at all levels of the
research.
This chapter has laid out how the project accomplished its goal of developing a research
methodology to explore and study the decision-making procedures of accountants regarding
ethical dilemmas. Within this qualitative framework, vignettes were presented to the participants
in semi-organized interviews. The methodology taken was one of a kind in that those processes
have not been scrutinized in such a way some time recently (Duska & Duska, 2003).

4 RESULTS
4.1 Introduction
Ethical conduct is troublesome for any researcher to measure and analyze, particularly, in real
life situation. Results are frequently imprecise because of the difficulties characteristic in
evaluating what is ethical and what is most certainly not. A significant part of the work done is
theoretical and includes either creating or using ethical models. To reach conclusions from ethics
research, because of the numerous variables included, researchers should depend on assumption
and judgment as they research an individual's activities, responses, and reasoning for the
individual's conduct. In any case, the conclusions were drawn, and models proposed in ethics
research give significant experiences into ethical behavior (Duska & Duska, 2003).

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4.2 Results obtained the research

Recent research proposes a change in the ethical behavior of management and especially
accounting department, evidently linked to the exceptionally clear convictions of Enron officials.
Interesting changes in the decision-making conduct of management previously, then after the fact
the convictions. This research recommends a development toward a more heightened ethical
awareness state because of the greater probability of punitive consequences forced for unethical
corporate behavior given great trials for asserted corporate malfeasance (Pierce & Scotland.,
2009).

4.3 Summary of findings

Among the aims of this research paper is exploring the decision-making processes of accountants
when they are faced with business related and ethically charged financial accounting dilemmas.
The emphasis on financial accounting and business excluded thought of any standpoints or
dilemmas not inside of that ambit; for instance, life threatening issues and the potential for
typical reactions by participants had the dilemmas been seen from a non-business particular
context were excluded. The dilemmas were contained in three vignettes every covering a
different part of an accountant's work i.e. auditing, financial reporting, and public sector
accounting (Association., 2005).

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5 CONCLUSION
5.1 Introduction
The reason for this chapter is to review the study and to talk about its primary goal that was to
explore the ethical decision-making procedures accountants. All through the project, I have taken
the chance wherever conceivable to offer my perceptions at the time when those discoveries are
presented. This chapter draws conclusion and talks about the implications of the different
observations, findings, and reflections. The part serves as an end explanation that audits
concisely what has endeavored, what has been scholarly, and what new inquiries have been
raised (Technicians., 2010).

5.2 Aims
The aim of the project was exploring the decision-making procedures of the participants as they
continued to make decisions when confronted with three morally charged and business related

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vignettes. The study's significance and contemporary nature were appeared by the recently
uplifted awareness and interest for accounting ethics as a result of prominent corporate scandals,
for example, WorldCom and Enron (Jeffrey, 2004).

5.3 Method
The qualitative interpretive methodology used to explore the decision-making procedures was
likewise unique. This research was exploratory in nature and did not try to build up why
participants chose a particular ethical position and decision process. In this design, it additionally
adds to methodological knowledge in the research study of accounting ethics.
As the method used to carry out the research was unique in the context of accounting and ethical
decision making, the chance was taken as the study advanced to reflect about the study's
methodology (Smith, 2010).

5.4 Recommendation
Ethical business practices are not only your financial and legal obligation but also contribute to a
healthy bottom line. Despite the fact that organizations, for example, Enron accomplished
notoriety through unethical and dishonest manipulation of company information, honesty and
honesty can offer your business some assistance with building its reputation and acquire the
support and loyalty from the community. This is particularly true with companies whose success
and achievement relies on upon close relationship with customers, shareholders, employees and
other stakeholders like vendors (Association., 2005).

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6 References
Association., A. A. (2005). Ethics in accounting. Sarasota, Fla: The Association.
Clifford, G, Azuaje, F. K McSharry, P. (2006). Advanced tools and methods for data analysis.
Boston: Artech House.
Duska, R. F., & Duska, B. S. (2003). Accounting ethics. Malden: Blackwell Pub.
Graham, G. (2006). Philosophical theories of ethics. London: Taylor and Francis Group.
Jeffrey, C. (2004). Research on the professional ethics and responsibility in accounting.
Amsterdam: Elsevier JAI.
Lovell, A., & Scotland., I. o. (2012). Ethics in business: a literature review. Edinburgh: Institute
of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.
Pierce, A., & Scotland., I. o. (2009). Ethics and the professional accounting: a literature review.
Edinburgh: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

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Smart, B., Peggs, K., & Burridge, J. D. (2013). Observation methods. Los Angeles: SAGE.
Smith, M. (2010). Research methods in accounting. London: Sage Publications.
Technicians., A. o. (2010). Professional ethics in accounting and finance. London: BPP Learning
Media Ltd.