Chapter 25 Flashcards
To determine whether a decision or action is ethical or not depends on a number of things:
Consequentialism - the end justifies the means
Motivation
Guiding principles - ‘treat others as you would like to be treated’
Duties - possibly code based
Key values - right wrong - differ between societies
Creative to determine if a decision is ethical
Legality
Comparison to company’s code of ethics
Contrary to other codes of ethics (eg ACCA)
Is action permitted universally?
Who was affected? Do they consider the action to be fair?
Consequentialist approach
Looks at a decision being right or wrong depending on the consequences or outcomes of that decision. If the outcome is right, then the action itself is irrelevant
Egoism - the action is morally correct as long as the outcome is favourable for the individual making the decision
Utilitarianism - the action is consumed to be morally correct if the outcome is favourable for the greater good
Pluralist approach
This approach tries to find an outcome for all involved which is reasonable to ensure no one party is comprised. All stakeholders will be considered for the pluralist approach.
Relativism
This approach rejects the idea that there is one moral code for all situations, and relativism is based on the idea that a situation should be assessed in a case by case basis.
Absolutism
Absolutism is the idea that some things are always morally right or morally wrong and there isn’t a context to a situation that could change that.
Threats accountants can face
Self-interest threat - financial or other interest influences judgement and causes a conflict of interest
Self-review threat - required to look again at their own previous judgements
Advocacy - promotion of a position or opinion where subsequent objectivity is compromised
Familiarity threat - sympathetic to the interests of others due to a close personal relationship
Intimidation treat - cannot act objectively due to actual or perceived threats.
