A preliminary study of accounting professional ethics Part I "Accounting in Professional Ethics"
Based on the understanding of professional ethics, this paper further reveals the present situation and reasons of accounting personnel's professional ethics in current society, and accordingly expounds how accounting personnel should abide by professional ethics and its importance.
Keywords: accounting professional ethics; Professional ethics. What is professional ethics?
Professional ethics is the moral code, moral quality and moral sentiment that people are required to abide by in their professional activities, which is closely related to people's professional behavior. It not only embodies the requirements of the profession for employees, but also embodies the moral responsibility and obligation that the industry should bear to the society. This is the basic morality of people in their professional life.
Second, the status of accounting professional ethics
1. In the fierce market competition, enterprises are facing increasing pressure, which makes some enterprises try to manipulate their profits through the technology industry of "accounting", which provides external possibilities for accounting fraud. As we all know, accountants work for leaders. If they don't obey the instructions of leaders, they may face the threat of being laid off or dismissed, which is related to the livelihood of accountants. In such a complicated external environment,
2. In addition to the external pressure mentioned above, some accountants have low quality, poor professional ability, lack of dedication, only care about their own immediate interests, and can't stand the temptation of money from powerful people. In the dark, the whole enterprise is hollowed out and dragged down, and the enterprise without cash flow is only a skin without substance after all. Without working capital, enterprises can only face bankruptcy liquidation.
With the help of some certified public accountants, the fraud of enterprises can be covered up. Auditors are eager for quick success and instant benefit. Driven by interests, they issue unqualified opinions, turn a blind eye to accountants' overestimation of assets and underestimation of liabilities, fail to implement correct audit procedures, and enjoy high returns at high risks.
Third, explore the reasons.
A behaviorist named Kurt Levin listed a function expression B=f(P, e) according to human behavior. Among them, the letter B stands for behavior, P stands for individual psychological activities, and E stands for the environment in which individuals exist. This also fully confirms the influencing factors of accounting behavior, not only the individual quality of accounting personnel, but also their social environment.
1. Psychological factors
In the repetitive work every day, accountants must first face the most original data to record the operating conditions of enterprises, and also deal with various interest groups, which requires good interpersonal communication skills. Over time, accountants have to face various pressures, which makes some accountants in a dilemma and produces psychological contradictions. It is necessary to cater to the boss and abide by the legal bottom line. Physiological needs often lead to a series of malpractices, such as violating professional ethics, accounting information distortion, accounting fraud and so on.
2. External environment
Our country is in the period of socialist progress, and the development of market economy has created our society of material expansion and hunger. Today, with the gradual improvement of people's living standards, hedonism and money worship have penetrated into many people's minds. China has been adhering to Confucianism since ancient times, so we have to choose the latter between reason and human field. In such an environment, the professional ethics of accountants will inevitably be greatly impacted, leading to a qualitative change in the professional ethics of accountants.
3. Accounting personnel's own quality and accomplishment
In today's materialistic world, we also have to admit a fact. Accounting fraud and the subject of accounting fraud are accountants. So the quality of accountants should also be an important aspect. If every accountant can stick to his professional ethics and his own professional creed under any pressure. Then there will be no way to start the fraud case, and auditors will not have the high risk of whitewashing the company's operating conditions to obtain high returns.
4. Imperfect laws and regulations
It is always said that smart accountants have the ability to avoid taxes reasonably for enterprises. The word "reasonable" means not violating the law. Since we can avoid taxes, it is enough to show that there are loopholes in our laws. Reasonable tax avoidance, to put it bluntly, is still taking advantage of the law. With the development of economy, new economic business has emerged in the accounting industry, which requires that accounting regulations, accounting standards and other related laws or norms should be revised and adjusted in time to solve new problems and improve the efficiency of solving problems. In addition, there are still controversial points in accounting standards, such as whether fixed assets purchased at the beginning of the month should be depreciated, and how to understand the conflict between learning and practice.
Fourth, why should we stick to accounting professional ethics?
All kinds of accounts, financial statements and statement notes provided by accountants should be included in the category of public goods, because they exist for the public interest. The information provided by accountants is an important basis for information users to make risk decisions, which is related to whether creditors are willing to continue to provide loans to enterprises and whether investors are willing to continue to provide capital for enterprises, especially accounting information in basic industries related to the national economy and people's livelihood. Accounting is an economic language. If accountants do not abide by professional ethics, the harm caused by accounting fraud will be incalculable, ranging from the closure of enterprises to the fluctuation of the national economic lifeline, which will affect the economic stability of the whole society.
Fifth, how to persist?
1. Articles 17 to 23 of the Basic Standards for Accounting clearly stipulate the professional ethics that accountants should follow. The author summarizes it as follows:
(1) Abide by professional ethics, establish good professional quality and rigorous work style, strictly observe work discipline, and strive to improve work efficiency and quality.
(2) Love your job, study hard, seek answers to new problems in time, don't settle accounts at will according to your own understanding, and constantly update your knowledge at work.
(3) Accountants should be familiar with financial laws, regulations, rules and the unified national accounting system, keep up with the pace of revision of laws and regulations, and ensure that their skills are synchronized with the times.
(4) Carry out accounting work in accordance with the procedures and requirements stipulated by accounting laws, regulations and the unified national accounting system, and do not engage in malpractices for personal gain or create false accounting information.
(5) Accounting should truthfully reflect economic business and be realistic, objective and fair.
(6) Be familiar with the production, operation and business management of the unit, and use the mastered accounting information and accounting methods to improve the internal management and economic benefits of the unit.
(7) Keep the business secrets of the unit. Business secrets are often related to the life and death of enterprises. Except as provided by law and agreed by the leaders of the unit, the accounting information of the unit shall not be provided or disclosed to the outside world without permission.
2. Strengthen industry supervision
If the enterprise is small, accountants are required to have high literacy; If the enterprise is large in scale, an accounting team should be set up within the enterprise, and the members of the team should supervise and help each other to achieve the accounting objectives well.
3. Accounting professional ethics education
Education should be indispensable at any stage, and accounting professional ethics education should be timely and effective. In the teaching process, it is necessary to impart new knowledge to accounting practitioners and strengthen moral cultivation. In addition, the teaching object should be not only accountants, but also enterprise executives. (Author: Chang 'an University)
refer to
[1] Xiao Dan, On Accounting Professional Ethics, Law and Economy, No.2, 2008, P 14 1 ~ 143.
[2] Fan Chun 'e, on the status quo of accounting professional ethics and countermeasures, lishui university Journal, 2007.8+02.
[3] Li Li, on the construction of accounting professional ethics, Journal of changchun university of science and technology, No.5, 2009, P759 ~ 76 1.
[4] Xie Junping, on the lack of personality of the subject of accounting professional ethics, Enterprise Economy, No.7, 2007.
[5] Wu Xiaowei, on the causes and countermeasures of the lack of accounting professional ethics, China Commerce, 20 10. 1,No. 190, P26 ~ 27.
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