Professional Accounting Ethics Chapter 2
Professional Accounting Ethics Chapter 2
Professional Accounting Ethics Chapter 2
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SUMMARY CHAPTER 2
Ethical Behavior in Accounting: What Is Ethics?
I. What is Ethics?
The words ethics and moral have several meanings. Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
provides 4 basic meanings of ethics:
1. Discipline deals with what is good and bad with immoral responsibilities and obligations .
2. A set of moral principles or values .
3. Theory or system of moral values.
4. Principles of behavior governing individuals or groups
Etymology, derived from the Greek "Ethos", means the character of decency or customary
customs. Ethics is usually closely related to the moral word which is a Latin term, namely "Mos"
and in its plural form "Mores", which means also customary habits or ways of life of a person by
doing good deeds (decency), and avoiding bad things.
Ethics according to the Great Dictionary of Indonesian is the science of what is good
and what is bad and about moral rights and obligations. Based on this understanding, ethical
behavior can be interpreted as behavior that reflects a person's beliefs and generally accepted
social norms with respect to right and good actions.
Ethics, in all its forms, relates to right or wrong, good or bad. It is a set of principles held
by an individual or group or discipline that studies ethical principles. The task of discipline is the
analysis and evaluation of human actions and practices.
Business ethics has almost the same definition as professional ethics, but in more
detail. Business ethics is ethical or unethical behavior committed by the leadership, manager,
employee, agent, or representative of a company.
II. Ethics: The Intellectual Enterprise
Everyone has a set of ethical beliefs or ethical principles. For example, most people have
some beliefs about adultery, abortion and the law is good or bad, right or wrong, acceptable or
unacceptable. Most people think cheating and stealing is wrong, a promise to keep, and so
on. Each of these opinions is a moral belief. If you were to write down what you believe about
each of those actions or practices, that would constitute part of your ethic.
III. Actions
In personal ethics there are five main approaches that can help a person to make the right
decisions both legally and ethically.:
Utilitarian or benefit that assumes that the action taken must provide what is best for the
environment and yourself.
b. the rights approach that emphasizes that ethical action is when one can maintain attitude and
respect for the rights of others.
c. the fairness or justice approach that stated that ethical actions will put humans in the same
position or not the same according to their respective capabilities. Examples of companies
give salaries to each employee whose number is not the same adjusted to their position, type
of work, or contribution to the company.
d. The common good approach refers to relationships that occur in society based on rational
ethics and a sense of respect or mutual respect and compassion towards each other.
e. the virtue approach which states that ethical actions must at least be consistent with the ideal
good that can develop a sense of humanity in people's lives..
IV. Social Practices, Institutions, and System
Human action is not the only subject of ethics. In addition to actions, ethics are ethical
and evaluate social practices. One of the most basic and minimal ethical acts to be done by the
company is to fulfill its responsibilities to the parties associated with the company, including
customers, investors, employees, society and its social environment. Ethics also devalues the
organization of institutions, and even social, political, and economic systems. Individuals who
say "capitalism is a system of corruption", they evaluate the system.
V. Why We Should Study Ethics?
There are several reasons why accountants should study ethics:
1. First, some of the moral beliefs that individuals have may not be enough because they have
only simple beliefs about complex issues. The study of ethics can help sort of individuals get
out of complex issues by looking at what principles operate in those cases.
2. Second, becauseethics is very important to create the accounting culture of an
organization. An organization uses ethics to decide how it wants to report the results of its
profession as an.
3. Third, individuals may not have enough knowledge of ethics, just as we often assume
sometimes what we do is right, when ethically it is not necessarily acceptable. Studying
ethics can increase a deeper understanding of awareness to act and act in accordance with
generally accepted moral principles.
4. Fourth, a very important reason to study ethics is to understand what and why our opinions
play such a valuable role. The philosophy of Socrates says that a tested life is not worth
living. Have we ever tested our lives? As an accountant, what is your basic goal? Is that goal
in line with the values you have and hold dear? If you had to choose between keeping your
job and violating your professional responsibilities, what would you do? When your
responsibilities to your family conflict with your work responsibilities, how will you resolve
the conflict?
VI. Being Ethical: How to Determine What to Do
Being ethical is how we set a good example and example for those around us, as
accountants, we have an obligation to do the work that has been assigned to us in accordance
with established procedures, work in the public interest, respect public trust and demonstrate a
commitment to be professionalUsingresponsibly for the benefit of the Company and not for
personal interests or certain parties.
Conclusion
Of all the studies and practices that have occurred in business life, the purpose of
business ethics is to arouse moral awareness and provide limits for business people to run a good
business and not do things that can harm many parties involved in the business.
Business ethics invites business people to realize the image and management of good
business (ethical) so that the business deserves to be entered by everyone who believes in the
existence of an ethical dimension in the business world. This at the same time eliminates the bad
things of the business world as dirty, cunning, and gimmicky activities. Business activities have
ethical implications, and therefore bring with them ethical responsibility for the perpetrators.
Business Ethics is the art and discipline of applying ethical principles to the study and
solving complex moral problems in business.