Understanding Accounting Ethics - 2nd Edition

The product of a unique collaboration between a leading forensic accountant and a distinguished expert in classical philosophy, Understanding Accounting Ethics is widely admired for its "virtue-based" approach to professionalism in accountancy. This new text, substantially expanded and revised, is well-suited to serve as the primary textbook for a course or module in ethics, or as a supplementary text to any course in accounting. New and valuable features of the second edition include: adherence to the recent IFAC four-part framework for accounting ethics education (knowledge, perception, judgment, development); fully updated discussions of Enron and WorldCom, including trials and sentencing; real-life case studies drawn from forensic practice; ample quotations from members of the Accounting Hall of Fame, emphasizing the inherently ethical nature of accounting; practical advice for "how accounting ethics can be taught" to individuals and within firms; expanded bibliographies; and helpful questions for discussion and for further research after each chapter. Understanding Accounting Ethics explores such questions as: the distinction between a business and a profession; why accounting is a profession, not a business; why accounting as a profession is inherently ethical; accountancy's essential orientation to truth; why "rules are not enough"; and how codes of professional conduct for accountants are rooted in the virtues of an accountant.