Off the Ledger
Your days as a college student are almost numbered. The working world is calling. As you get ready to embark on your career, you have to be thinking, “What am I going to do when I graduate?” “Is a job in public accounting right for me?”
Where do you want to go?
You have so many options. Big firm or small? How do you decide? Where can you go to get the real, honest look at a career in public accounting? What is it REALLY like to be an intern? What will my life be like as a staff accountant?
See your future...
At Porter Keadle Moore, LLP (PKM) we’re here to help. We’ve created this blog site just for you! To help you find answers to these and other questions about working in a public accounting firm. Real interns and brand new staff accountants chronicle their experiences with our firm. Read what they have to say. Ask questions, share your opinions and we’ll respond.
Ethics and the Accounting Profession
Arvil Stanford - Audit Principal
Ethics play a major role in the accounting profession. They are the basic principles of good conduct that help people decide whether an action or decision is morally right or wrong. Ethical behavior in business not only defines an organization’s image, but also protects its financial “bottom line,” helps it avoid scandal, and prevents it from facing governmental intervention in the form of fines, penalties and, in extreme cases, imprisonment.
When thinking about ethics, it is important to remember that just because something is legal, it isn’t necessarily ethical. Laws outline minimum society standards, but do not address ethical behavior. Individuals need to be ethically responsible and think beyond the law and consider how the consequences of actions affect themselves as well as the well-being of others.
Within the CPA profession, practitioners agree to abide by rules that were established more than 100 years ago and that are governed by state regulatory bodies. There are three characteristics of ethical behavior:
Independence - Is the decision free from conflict of interest or control of others?
Objectivity - Is the decision based on verifiable facts and uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudice?
Integrity - Does the decision adhere to the profession’s code of conduct?
A CPA must be independent, objective and act with the highest degree of integrity. Violation of any of these three characteristics deems the action unethical. For more information about ethics visit the AICPA website.
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