I found myself in a similar situation when I was at my last job working
as an assistant to the CFO and it is something that is not only
unethical but could have legal ramifications if audited and these
things were found.
If I was in this situation, I would let the CEO know that under GAAP,
there are rules and guidelines that need to be followed to ensure our
stakeholders are getting the most faithful and accurate financial
reports available so they can make decisions such as investing in the
company or lending money. It would be unethical for me to add part
of my salary to the expense of the building because my salary has
been accounted for already. Also, until expenses are incurred, there
is nothing to capitalize on. As far as finding overhead and adding it to
the expenses, if they do indeed tie into the expenses of the building,
absolutely but if they do not, they will not be added to it. You can't
pull expenses out of anywhere and just put them where they benefit
you. This goes back to GAAP principles and producing financial
reports that are faithfully represented.
It is important to be socially responsible and truthful to the
stakeholders of this company. The people who have put trust into
this company, expect to be able to trust our financial reports. If we
were to ever be audited and these things were to be found, it would
make the company look very bad and we would lose trust in those
who do business with us. There would also be legal ramifications that
no one wants to be responsible for.
