Numerous accounting organizations have codes of ethics governing the behaviour of their members. For example both the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Institute of Management Accountants have formulated such codes. Numerous business firms have also developed codes of ethics for their employees to follow.

Moral behaviour involves more than merely making sure you are not violating a code of ethics. Generally of us sense what is right and wrong. Yet get-rich-quick opportunities are able to tempt many of us. Approximately anyday newspaper headlines reveal public officials and business leaders who did not do the right thing.

Greed succeeds out over their sense of right and wrong. These individuals followed motto such as: ‘Get yours while the getting is good' and ‘Do unto others before they do unto you' and ‘You have done wrong only if you get caught'. More suitable slogans might be ‘If it seems too good to be true, it usually is' and ‘There are no free lunches' and the golden rule ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you'.
An accountant's most expensive asset is an honest reputation. Those who acquire the high road of ethical behaviour receive praise and honour they are sought out for their advice and services. They as well like themselves and what they represent. Infrequently accountants do take the low road and suffer the consequences. They occasionally find their names mentioned in The Wall Street Journal and news programs in an unfavourable light and former friends and colleagues look down on them. A few of these individuals are removed from the profession. Luckily the accounting profession has many leaders who have taken the high road gained the respect of friends and colleagues and become role models for all of us to follow.

Numerous chapters in the text comprise an ethics case entitled "An ethical perspective". We know you will gain from thinking about the situational ethics in these cases. Habitually you will not have much difficulty in determining right and wrong. As an alternative of making the cases close calls we have attempted to include situations business students might actually encounter in their careers.