Ethics jh 129

Introduction

Ethics refers to the discipline of moral conduct which basically means doing what is right. It is concerned with what is wrong or right and what is morally bad or good which guides human conduct. In this case, my field of study is accounting.

Describe how ethics will be important in the field that you are studying;

In my field of study, ethics is important since it will enable accountants to exercise and maintain high levels of integrity, this means, being honest and candid in any of their dealings such as financial transactions with a client. It will guide accountants to be honest in dealing with the financial information of clients and restricts them from benefiting from any use of confidential information which may compromise their integrity levels.

Ethics will enable accountants to be objective and independent. This will guide and direct them to be free from any conflicts of interest with the shareholders and other stakeholders and other questionable business dealings when conducting accounting services.

Ethics will further enhance exercise of duties with due care and diligence. It requires accountants to observe and review all the accounting principles and standards so as to improve their competencies and their understanding of financial information.

Discuss how ethics should guide the actions of organizations in the field;

Ethics guides organization’s activities such as planning. Since ethics enables accountants to be honest and candid, this will facilitate them to release accurate financial information in a timely manner which is objective in making sound firm decisions such as planning.

It further enhances accountability. This is because ethical principles such as independence, fairness, competence, credibility etc. guide the conduct of all the accountants in a professional manner and in accordance with the existing accounting standards. This minimizes fraud cases and loss of funds hence enabling the company to be accountable for its resources.

Discuss how ethics should guide the actions of individuals working in the field;

Ethics makes individuals within the accounting field to be ethical, fair and honest to customers and other parties. Since these are the basic human needs that a customer requires, it will enable them satisfy all their customer needs within the organization.

Individuals driven by moral values within the organization will develop proper behaviors that enable them achieve good leaderships skills that are necessary in running the organization. This will help them in making sound key decisions such as financial and investment decisions.

Discuss the implications of not making ethics a priority in the field. 

It will lower the credibility of the accounting information. The organization will not be respected by the general public especially those who use the information in making their key decisions since it is not driven by moral values thus poor governance and social responsibility initiatives.

Since decisions to be made by the accountants are also driven by moral and ethical values, the organization will end up making poor investment decisions if it will not make ethics a priority within their internal and external structures as a whole. For example, if the organization does not value competition, it will therefore be fierce in its efforts and operations aimed at wiping out competitors and gaining the large market share.