Ethics education in the accounting curriculum.
Date
1996
Authors
Carroll, Ray F.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Dalhousie University
Abstract
Description
An argument for the existence of accounting education in the university and the importance of an ethical foundation for business ethics is presented to justify its place in the university. As public watchdogs in positions of trust, professional accountants are strongly obligated to refrain from unethical behaviour and to ensure the highest disclosure standards. The accounting profession has responded to this concern by establishing codes of professional conduct and using its influence to promote ethics education. Various objections have been raised to the teaching of business ethics and only gradually has the concern for ethics been recognized by business educators. As gatekeepers to the accounting profession universities play a major role in accounting education. There are numerous ideals as to what is the nature and purpose of higher education. Common among these ideals is that the educated person is a moral person. It is argued that accounting education is consistent with the nature and purpose of higher education. To perform his or her social function the accountant needs both technical expertise and moral expertise. A central organizing principle is needed to ensure that the accountant develops both types of expertise. This organizing principle is integrity. Integrity is a personal wholeness that includes acquiring the dispositions of open-mindedness, sincerity, commitment, courage and taking the moral point of view. Integrity applies to individuals who act as agents of corporations. As social constructions, corporations have a duty to be responsible to the society which permits them to exist. One way of measuring this accountability is through corporate reporting systems. In this sense integrity is actually linked to accounting numbers and firm disclosure. The integration of ethics into the accounting curriculum entails developing technical expertise in an educational environment which encourages reflective thinking about the role of the profession, the exercise of moral reasoning, and integrity to exercise one's personal moral responsibility. The thesis concludes with a model for ethics integration.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Dalhousie University (Canada), 1996.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Dalhousie University (Canada), 1996.
Keywords
Business Administration, Accounting., Education, Guidance and Counseling., Education, Business.