Globally, accounting governing bodies are vital societal entities overseeing organizations’ operations and performance. Accounting standard bodies help create essential guiding principles, promote company effectiveness, plummet fraud prevalence, and enhance the reliability of financial statements (Dong et al., 2018). Accounting professionals choose to adhere to ethical rules to improve their profession, preserve public confidence, and display honesty and fairness. South Carolina states currently host tens of accounting oversight bodies, predominantly South Carolina Board of Accountancy, National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, Internal Accounting Standards Board (IASB), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Professional Ethics Division. The SCBA is primarily responsible for examining applicants and issuing certificates and licenses to certified public accountants and accounting practitioners (SCLLR, n.d). Equally, the SCBA has the authority to penalize certificate and license holders, issue rules and regulations, investigate complaints, and govern the profession of accounting in the state in general. Similarly, the AICPA is a vital accounting institution establishing accounting codes of conduct. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Code of Professional Conduct has two main pillars: principles and rules. The Principles serve as a foundation for the Rules, which regulate how members conduct professional services (Jenkins et al., 2020). Additionally, the accounting standards of the SCBA and the AICPA serve as a guide for members in carrying out their professional responsibilities and represent the basic principles of ethical and professional conduct. The Principles demand an unwavering dedication to noble action, even if it means preceding personal gain. Thus, accounting oversight bodies help create a safe environment for both clients and companies, promoting accounting uniformity, preventing fraud, and improving the reliability of financial statements.
Recently, a South Carolina court convicted Bobby Cherry, 58, of wire fraud and his role in defrauding Lowe. According to court filings, Cherry and his co-accused, Russell Leroy Calvin and Michael Marcel Montgomery, defrauded Lowe’s via a scheme involving false business accounts from August 2019 to March 2020 (Turbyfill & Star, 2021). According to court documents, Cherry and his co-defendants constructed fictitious landscaping and home improvement organizations to obtain fake Lowe’s business accounts, which they then used to make repeated transactions at shops throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The court found the defendants guilty of utilizing phony company accounts to buy pricey landscaping equipment, including zero-turn mowers and other things once they were authorized and paid (Turbyfill & Star, 2021). The co-conspirators created at least 25 similar phony company accounts throughout the conspiracy, which they utilized to collect more than $450,000 in illegally bought items.
In their professional operations, professional accountants are often presented with ethical decisions and moral issues. Unethical actions may afflict a business, whether a leader takes money from the firm or an associate falsifies paperwork. Equally, unethical activity may tarnish a company’s reputation, forcing it to lose customers and eventually close down. Larger corporations have long been concerned about corruption, with smaller businesses concerned about check tampering, skimming, and payroll problems. Besides, to improve accountancy’s entire ethical policy, scholars, employers, professional associations, policymakers, and educators should collaborate more closely to establish precepts that avoid conflicts of interest emphasize highly ingrained and thus habitual ethical behaviors in professional accountants. Accountants, in general, trust their professional accounting organizations since their role in providing ethical teaching is frequently much more important than that of many institutions. Education, training, fostering social discussion, robust corporate culture are vital internal proposals to create or increase ethical capabilities. Besides, to plummet ethical accounting violations, organizations establishing a written code of conduct help provide managers and employees with an overview of company desired behaviors. Thus, outlining organization policies and creating a collaborative environment helps reduce ethical violations.
Similarly, establishing a strong corporate culture helps plummet ethical violation prevalence. Building a culture of integrity from senior to junior management enhances workplace transparency, plummeting ethical violations prevalence. Employees often turn to their bosses and supervisors for guidance on acting in the workplace. Globally, humans have a natural need to fit in and adhere to the conventions of those around them. Most people’s moral standards are quite changeable. Although most individuals desire to do the right thing, the notion of right is substantially impacted by the company they keep—culture matters. Equally, reinforcing unethical behaviors’ consequences helps promote workplace transparency and accurate financial reporting (Neesham, 2019). Company owners holding employees accountable for their unethical behaviors help set clear precedence for the repercussions for undesired behaviors. Further, recognizing employee efforts in organization performance helps culminate ethical violations prevalence. Gratitude may improve a person’s overall health and job satisfaction levels, minimizing risks of ethical violations. Besides, showing appreciation directly influences job performance and employee relationships. Similarly, organizational training is essential in minimizing ethical violation prevalence. Organizational training promotes employee astuteness, enhancing their problem-solving skills. Thus, educational training, gratitude, and strong corporate culture help plummet ethical violation prevalence.
List of References
Dong, W., Liao, S., & Zhang, Z. (2018). Leveraging financial social media data for corporate fraud detection. Journal of Management Information Systems, 35(2), 461-487.
SCLLR. (n.d.). Scllr. https://llr.sc.gov/acct/
Jenkins, J. G., Popova, V., & Sheldon, M. D. (2020). Monitoring the accounting profession under the AICPA code of professional conduct: An analysis of state board of accountancy participation. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 39(3), 106742.
Neesham,, C. (2020, June 9). Assessing and improving professional accountants’ ethical capability. IFAC. https://www.ifac.org/knowledge-gateway/building-trust-ethics/discussion/assessing-and-improving-professional-accountants-ethical-capability
Turbyfill, D., & Star, S. (2021, April 2). Man pleads guilty for defrauding Lowe’s stores. The Shelby Star. https://www.shelbystar.com/story/news/2021/04/02/man-pleads-guilty-defrauding-lowes-stores/4850803001/#
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