The Code of Professional Responsibility for AICPA Members is Ineffective and Should Be Superseded by Government Regulation

The Code of Professional Responsibility for AICPA Members is Ineffective and Should Be Superseded by Government Regulation

Introduction

The greatest influence on the Chartered Accountants provides their national professional organization - American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, or AICPA, which sets professional standards for Chartered Accountants, conducts research and publishes materials on subjects related to accounting, auditing, consulting services for the administration and taxes. AICPA members are chartered accountants, currently numbering over 318 people CCD. Many have previously worked for audit firms, and are now working in government, industry and education. AICPA has three main functions: setting standards and regulations, research and publications, continuing education.

In the complex and complicated world of the third millennium, in which the phenomenon of corruption is increasing dangerously, many sectors of society appeal to the Ethics as one of the most important mechanisms for fighting corruption. Why people act unethical? Generally people act unethically, for two main reasons:

Because the ethical principles of one person differ from those of society at large.

Because the person decides to act selfishly.

People often must quickly resolve ethical dilemmas that modern life presents us. An ethical dilemma is a situation faced by a person, and in which a decision on the adequate or appropriate behavior. Generally, ethical dilemmas involve situations in which the welfare of one or more individuals affected by the outcome of the decision (Dennis, 2004).

The ethical dilemmas faced by auditors which often have an effect on the welfare of a number of individuals or groups. For example, if an auditor makes a decision unethical about the content of an audit report, the assets of thousands of investors and creditors may be affected. The ethical dilemmas that occur most frequently in the practice of public accounting profession and the audit are associated with the following:

Professional competence

Individual and professional association

Professional care and diligence

Quality control

Professional objectivity

Tax consulting

Customer Resources

Privacy

Fees and commissions

Advertising and promotion

Customer requests

Several frameworks have been proposed to solve ethical dilemmas, but the most recommended and used is the general framework for decision-making, which involves the following steps:

Identify the problem.

Identify possible courses of action.

Identify the limitations associated with the decision.

Analyze the likely effects of possible courses of action.

Select the best course of action.

Discussion

The accounting profession is first and foremost a self-regulating profession, the life of a public accountant who has ethics is necessarily different from those who do not, their behavior, their habits, their way of thinking, judging the situation, to decide, are different because they are conducted in the light of ethics and because they have different levels of meaning. Professionals, particularly CPAs have a wide range of principles and ethical standards. Alvin says that ethics can be defined broadly as a set of moral principles or values; Ray O. Whittingthon defines ethics as the study of moral judgment and standards of conduct, and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) defines it as a normative science whose object is the study of goodness or badness ...