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In the world of accounting, one of the best ethical systems to use is utilitarianism and
virtue ethics, as they suit the profession well in terms of working with integrity. Utilitarianism is
a moral theory that encourages actions to cultivate a sense of happiness and opposes things that
cause harm to others but do not account for emotions or inner thoughts (Tardi, 2023). Virtue
ethics focuses on the person doing something and the action they are taking, which evaluates not
only what is moral, but also what a person of good character would do (Mintz et al., 2019, p. 28).
Although both systems have differences, they can still play a large role in accounting since ethics
is important for professionals to embrace and pull into their work lives to excel, and I believe
that we can always meet in the middle of a storm to come to a resolution because for every
problem there is a solution.
Utilitarianism originated with philosophers Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, who
created the theory saying that our actions are right if they make us happy, but that our choices
can also be bad if it makes us or everyone else sad. One of utilitarianism’s generally accepted
principles states that happiness and pleasure is the only thing that contains an innate value and
that everyone’s happiness is just as important as our own. In business, we consider this theory as
the most ethical choice that will ensure the greater good for the highest number of costs and
benefits. In corporate workplaces, a lot of companies have their code of ethics that they base on
their culture, values, and laws. Some people do not realize this, but if we want to see businesses
grow, they need to set up a reputation of being socially responsible and dependable while also
cultivating their bottom line, meaning that companies must keep the promises they make and
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look for trustworthy employees. However, one downside is that if you make a morally wrong
choice at work, regardless of if it is not illegal, your and your co-workers’ happiness will
plummet (Tardi, 2023).
One ability utilitarianism has displayed in business is having tiered pricing for different
services and products for numerous customers. For example, planes in the airline industry offer
first, economy, and business class seats where people who fly first or business class pay more
money than the passengers in the economy and receive more services. So, the ones who fly in
economy class benefit from the rates that come from it, producing a higher good for a lot of
people. The airline also benefits from that because the expensive seats ease the financial troubles
the airline made when they open more economy seats. Another example of utilitarianism is in
healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic when professionals applied the theory to an
emergency time by saving the most lives by putting the patients who will benefit from treatments
first as well as the younger patients who have a whole life to live. I believe in this more or less
because if the doctors have reviewed a patient’s history and know how much treatment they can
handle, then they will be willing to invest time in them. However, I do not think it would be fair
to not try to help someone else who may not have long to live because they can die knowing that
no one cared about them enough to help them a little bit (Vearrier & Henderson, 2021).
As for benevolence, it is very rare for utilitarian corporations to show this side of
themselves because they claim to do things for the greater good, but they are really trying to
decide what their definition of the greater good is. Subsequently, numerous studies have
discovered that business practices targeting servant leadership have a purpose to create healthy
work environments with productive employees. Still, there is not always a clear distinction
between benevolence and other moral values and motives for wanting to create profits as you can
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never know someone’s true intentions (G. Moodie & Mitra, 2020). These actions contradict what
others may believe about business, that they only care about making money or maintaining their
reputation instead of looking out for their employees because not everyone lets their greedy
nature get the best of them, which is something that virtue ethics seconds since that system
involves people who care about others’ well being too in working, not just their own as God
chooses to look out for us even though we do not deserve it (Mintz et al., 2019, p. 28).
Virtue ethics is an essential factor in which professionals must project their morals on the
judgment of their organization. Virtue theorists focus more on good habits of character like
showing kindness to everyone instead of only focusing on learning the rules and following them.
Plato explains that the virtues of courage, wisdom, temperance, justice, sincerity, and so on are
examples of how our characters should grow into because by putting these into practice, we can
avoid becoming insensible and cowardly. Later in life, adults have the responsibility to instill
good virtues in young people if they want the next generation to live their life the right way
(Mintz et al., 2019, p. 28). Surprisingly, several surveys say that employees are more likely to
use ethical reasoning when their company clearly explains why that topic is crucial showing that
99% of American workers who work in a strong ethical workplace are more than ready to handle
any issues that may attack their integrity. To do this, companies create their own ethics program,
which covers human resources, operations, and other business practices. The rules of the
program would include defining their mandate, establishing policies, handling misconduct, and
providing training (Schroeder, 2021). Galatians 1:10 says that we do not seek approval from
mankind, but from God as we now live our lives for Him, meaning that we must consistently
walk in His footsteps when it comes to making tough decisions and facing trials because, without
God, we can never be free of our issues (New International Bible, 1978/2011, Galatians 1:10).
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People often believe that we do not apply virtue ethics in business because they think
companies only care about making money and not about how their actions affect others.
However, moral awareness is not enough to succeed in the workforce because you also need to
put it into practice if you want people to trust you. For example, if an analyst shows up to work
every day and does their job diligently but also has employees present to help them ensure their
integrity is an example of implementing virtue ethics because it shows that you care about your
colleagues’ well-being (Mei, 2021). On the other hand, there are consequences to teaching ethics
and virtues as we consider a good teacher to be someone with a high range of professional
competency and knowledge for teaching ethical practices. The reason for this is that the lessons
people learn from their instructors will enable them to be good or bad decision-makers. The
public also expects these teachers to maintain their personal values because how they behave will
strongly reflect on their students’ character traits and school performance. Hence, teachers
consistently receive additional training on how to further educate their students to help them be
the best versions of themselves for the rest of their lives because who they are today will shape
them into their future selves (Platková Olejárová, 2017).
For utilitarianism and virtue ethics, integrity plays a vital role in helping others do the
best they can and establishing a reputation for having a strong work ethic. The dictionary
commonly refers to integrity as being honest and having firm moral principles or being whole in
the sense that we do the right thing, even when no one is looking. In business, everyone has an
obligation, to be honest, maintain every commitment, treat all your peers the same, and show
respect to everyone they work with. Unfortunately, not many companies keep up with their
integrity policies because they want to make themselves look better, but those who follow the
rules by having a strong desire to build a stronger reputation, better quality, employee
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satisfaction, and better performance results. The scary part is that when you break trust, it will
take a long time to get it back because of all the effort and hard work to complete to earn it
because you do not have the room to make mistakes in business with so many people watching
and depending on you to lead them (Briscoe, 2021).
Professional judgment comes into play with utilitarianism and virtue ethics when there
are questions about how auditors can improve their audits and how different careers manage their
employees. Accounting professor Regan Schmidt explains that psychology has a part in these
questions because professional judgment is integral in audits and financial statements because, in
the auditing process, auditors make a lot of complicated judgments that ultimately affect the
report. So, by reviewing these judgments, we can explain why auditors have complex judgments
when problems come up and how they can improve their common sense. As for managing
employees, companies need to find ways to report misconduct and make sure everything is
working smoothly because if they do not, they may end up in trouble publicly and ethically
(Leader, 2019).
Lastly, the AICPA Code of Conduct is a list of rules for CPAs to follow to live up to their
professional responsibilities: responsibilities, integrity, objectivity, due care, objectivity and
independence, public interest, and scope/nature of services. Independence only applies to CPAs
who do attestation instead of tax services, and due care demands that accountants fulfill their
responsibilities with a genuine concern for their clients. As for objectivity, CPAs have an
obligation to keep a positive mental attitude of honesty and avoid any conflicts of interest to
meet their expectations Like many codes of conduct, the AICPA expectations also advocate and
require CPAs to do their jobs the right way and not the wrong way. The Bible is also a living
example of a spiritual code of conduct as it contains many lessons and teachings from Jesus on
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what to do in specific situations (Mintz et al., 2019, p. 35). In conclusion, the Bible coincides
with accounting principles in more ways than one when we apply utilitarianism and virtue ethics
to doing business because the systems care about doing the job well and honoring others,
themselves, and God with their hearts.
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References
Briscoe, K. (2021, July 1). Integrity in business - a priceless essential for success. Integrity in
Business - A Priceless Essential for Success. Retrieved May 1, 2023, from
https://www.cfoselections.com/perspective/integrity-in-business-a-priceless-essential-for-
success
G. Moodie, D., & Mitra, N. (2020). Business and benevolence: A cross-disciplinary intervention.
Journal of Human Values, 27(1), 7–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/0971685820970067
Leader, J. (2019, February 27). Professional judgment: Examining how auditors, accountants
and professional committees make decisions. Edwards School of Business. Retrieved May
1, 2023, from https://www.edwards.usask.ca/news/2019/professional-judgment-examining-
how-auditors,-accountants-and-professional-committees-make-decisions.aspx
Mei, T. (2021). Incorporating virtues: A speech act approach to understanding how virtues can
work in business. Philosophy of Management, 21(1), 15–29.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40926-021-00171-3
Mintz, S., & Morris, R. (2019). Ethical obligations and decision-making in accounting. (5th ed.).
McGraw-Hill Education.
New International Bible. (2011). Zondervan. (Original work published 1978)
Platková Olejárová, G. (2017). Virtues and consequences in teaching ethics. Human Affairs,
27(3), 273–288. https://doi.org/10.1515/humaff-2017-0023
Schroeder, K. (2021, October 5). 3 reasons why business ethics is important: University of
Redlands. Redlands. Retrieved May 1, 2023, from
https://www.redlands.edu/study/schools-and-centers/business/sbblog/2019/may-2019/3-
reasons-why-business-ethics-important/#:~:text=Business%20ethics%20enhances%20the
%20law,such%20as%20investors%20and%20consumers.
Tardi, C. (2023, April 28). Utilitarianism: What it is, founders, and main principles.
Investopedia. Retrieved May 1, 2023, from
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/utilitarianism.asp
Vearrier, L., & Henderson, C. M. (2021). Utilitarian principlism as a framework for Crisis
Healthcare Ethics. HEC Forum, 33(1-2), 45–60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10730-020-
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