Journal Review
Public Accountants; Adherence to Professional
Standards and Accounting Ethics
Submitted by:
Wil Mark K. Torremocha
Jayson Claveria
Submitted to:
Prof. Rex Lord Ranalan
May,2023
Uvaneswaran, S. M., & Muhammed, S. Public accountants’ adherence to
professional standards and accounting ethics.
This research article “Public Accountants; Adherence to Professional
Standards and Accounting Ethics” by Uvaneswaran, S M, Shikur Muhammed
designs to determine how closely public accountants practicing in the research
areas adhere to the accounting profession's standards. Public accountants
have a duty of care to the community, industry, and fellow accountants, and
should embrace professional conduct. These people go outside the law and
ethical standards to work as professionals today, particularly in affluent and
underdeveloped nations. It will result in tax evasion, lower tax revenue,
skepticism toward certified financial reporting, and unpredictable economic
expansion of the country. The research to evaluate the public accountants'
adherence to the ethical and professional standards of accounting may now
proceed because of this.
Many professional accountants engaged in dishonest and unethical
behavior. Conflicts of interest that caused people to put their own interests
ahead of professional norms and disregard the ethics of self-review and
familiarity were the main ethical issues these crises raised. In reaction to a
variety of ethical violations in the audit and accounting environment, nations
and professional organizations created conventions, laws, and legislation.
The purpose of this study is to address and stress the issue at hand in addition
to determining if public accountants conform to professional ethical standards
and bridging gaps in previous research on the chosen towns in Ethiopia. The
growing concern over public accountants' unethical behavior has gained
prominence due to the direct and indirect effects it has on society and the
economy, particularly in developing nations.
The seriousness of the current situation, which may call for immediate,
appropriate, and effective action in overseeing the compliance of accountants
with the ethical standards to save the reputation and integrity of the accountants
as professionals and mitigate any effects of non-compliance, is laid out in the
extent to which the public accountants from certain cities in Ethiopia adhere to
or violate the fundamental ethical standards of the accounting profession.
According to the study's findings, 66% of respondents said they worked
with colleagues who were engaged in public accounting but lacked the
necessary training, expertise, and experience; 62% agreed and said they
accepted a sizable number of clients without having enough staff or resources;
and 73% said there was discounting of public accountant fees because of a
lack of professional expertise and experience. Additionally,
60%
of
professionals claimed their fellow practitioners engage in unlawful advertising
and self-promotion to draw in clients, and 50% of professional members
validate some financial and audit reports produced by unlicensed public
accountants. Additionally, 65% of professional members oversell their services
while working with their close friends or family members.
Furthermore, 55% of the participants pretended to influence tax officials,
38% believed that preparing financial reports without sufficient evidence was
necessary for good client relationships, and 66% of respondents believed that
lack of independence was a common occurrence. Finally, 55% of respondents
heard calls for government and other professional bodies to strictly enforce
professional standards.
Pursuant to the aforementioned findings, it may be concluded that the
majority of practitioners in this study lacked professional competency and were
underqualified and ill-equipped. High levels of dangers are present in this study
as well. Many practitioners do not constantly meet the rules and regulations
governing the professional abilities and talents of accountants and other
professions, nor do they continuously uphold the professional standards
established for accountants. Threats arise as a result of self-interest, advocacy,
familiarity, and self-evaluation; nonetheless, client confidentiality should be the
first concern while resolving this issue.
In accordance with Pflugrath, Matinov-Bennie, and Chen (2007), the
presence of an ethics code has a positive impact on the caliber of decisions
made by professional accountants, highlighting that the code produces greater
levels of judgment in the context of increased general experience. It is important
to uphold accounting ethics because it safeguards accountants' professional
integrity and prevents pressure from "higher-ups" to make false reports.
Accounting professionals need to follow laws and regulations in order to work
efficiently and on time. Accountants must possess the necessary academic
background, professional experience, and training. It matters how
knowledgeable and skilled an accountant is. If an accountant doesn't uphold
professional standards, it may adversely affect the operation of the
organization.
Furthermore, accounting ethics go beyond merely safeguarding
companies, staff members, and accountants; they also focus on professional
growth and the ongoing pursuit of education and information so that they can
perform their duties to the best of their abilities.It is crucial that this dangerous
scheme was discovered since it could jeopardize the standing of accountants
in the industry. A damaged reputation is never a desirable thing because the
profession was founded on the principles of integrity and trust. By making more
information that other parties possess publicly available, the profession exists
to serve the interests of the public. Practitioners who disregard professional
norms run a chance of misleading other intended users, which wastes
resources and creates an informational imbalance.
Lastly, the regulatory board must provide a remedy that can guarantee
compliance with the ethical norms of accounting to stop this issue from getting
out of hand. A severe fine and license suspension should be vigorously
enforced to handle non-compliance with the accounting profession's standards
to reduce these occurrences. In addition, it is important to implement the proper
quality control measures, such as monitoring accounting activities to make sure
they adhere to ethical standards and regularly holding seminars and/or training
to combat ignorance and incompetence.
REFERENCES
Pflugrath, G., Martinov‐Bennie, N., & Chen, L. (2007). The impact of
codes of ethics and experience on auditor judgments.
Managerial Auditing Journal.
Uvaneswaran, S. M., & Muhammed, S. Public accountants’ adherence to
professional
standards and accounting ethics.