This course is a broad view of accounting’s role in providing information to external users of financial information. Topics include concepts and methods used in preparing the four basic financial statements from a corporate perspective. In addition to the accounting cycle, this course covers accounting for various current and long-term assets, current and long-term liabilities, and stockholders’ equity.
How Does Fraud Connect With Personal Ethics?
It is very important to establish your personal ethics and expectations of yourself early off in your career. There is no doubt that you will be put in situations throughout your career where your personal ethics will be tested, the sooner you set them in stone the less likely you are to break them. Fraud and Financial Reporting are perfect examples of a time in your career, if you are in a financial position, where you may steer away from what you know is right. Almost everybody goes through financial hardships in their lifetime, but what would you do if you had access to commit fraud when you are personally in a bind financially? Would you take advantage of the situation?
Everybody has their own personal ethics, but those that actually stick to them when they get stuck in a bad situation is a different story. Money has taken over our adult life. We need it to buy food, pay for shelter, put clothes on our bodies, etc. Without money we feel like we are nothing, worthless. Most people would say that fraud is bad, but what would you do to survive? I’m not saying that at that point it is a good idea to commit fraud, but it is a lot harder to say no in the moment when it seems like a solution to your financial hardships.
So how do you come up with strong ethics to keep you accountable in a hard situation? First, think about what you truly believe in. You are more likely to stick to something that is personal and means something to you. Second, write down what you want your personal ethics to be. It is proven that when you write things down you are more likely to stick to them. Lastly, post them somewhere that you will see them every day. The more you remind yourself about the promise you have made with yourself the more likely you are to stick to it. Once you have established this promise with yourself and decided what you would do in a situation where your personal ethics are tested it is a lot easier to make the right decision when the time comes.
Now, imagine you’re an accountant, your family is struggling financially which is causing stress at home. You are going on with your daily tasks at work and a situation comes up where you have the chance to lie on a report and put some money in your pocket to take home and go buy groceries for you family. How do you decide what to do? You look over at your list that you have written of your personal ethics and you remind yourself what is right and wrong to you. You decide to not lie on the report. The next day your boss pulls you into their office and tells you that they want to give you a raise for all the hard work you have been putting in during the busy season. Sticking to those personal ethics and the promise you made to yourself paid off, literally. In conclusion, you should think of what is right and wrong to you before you get stuck in situations where you have to make those kinds of decisions. Stick to those ethics, not only for you but for your reputation in a company and the rest of your career. Making the right decision will always come back in a good way for you. Don’t only think about your financial standings but also the company’s. What would it do to the company if you pocketed a couple hundred dollars? Maybe it wouldn’t hurt them or maybe it will, but is it really worth seeing just to have a couple hundred dollars in your pocket? Always stick to your personal ethics and what you know is right, it will always pay off.