As of January 2022, I went from working for a family-owned small
business with six full time employees to the company being bought
out by the largest Independent Title Company in the United States.
When reading the article “As Sarbanes-Oxley nears 15-year
anniversary, ethics fall short” I thought of my own personal
experiences with a small business versus a corporation. I look at the
poll by Deloitte “16.3 percent believe “lack or incentives and
repercussions around ethical and unethical behavior” is to blame for
the continuation of struggles with ethics compliance. In my opinion
this is just another example of how a corporation would have more
financial freedom to comply verses a smaller business. It would be
harder for a smaller company to not only offer incentives to an
employee with ethical behavior but also offer an employee with
unethical behavior the training needed to meet the standards set by
the Sarbanes-Oxley. Also, under the new larger corporation we have
departments that are responsible for training, this is not something
we had before. Since the buyout I believe we will be more incline to
comply with the requirements set forth by the Sarbanes-Oxley. As
previously discussed, we have the funds for compliance, as well as
staff for training and auditing.
Integrity is a commitment accountants make to society and what
foundations accountants must stand on, whether it's Sarbanes-Oxley
Act or other ethical regulations that ensure high-quality accounting
information. A professional accountant's moral code should guide
them during their work. To be considered honest, accountants must
serve their accounting information users faithfully, do their
accounting work diligently, and reflect economic facts objectively and
impartially.
Taking steps to ensure that economic information is accurate allows
lenders, investors, and owners of the company to make the most
informed decisions possible. Investors should pay close attention to
the accuracy of financial statements when they are considering
buying or selling stocks. A dependable financial statement is based on
consistency, transparency, and accuracy.
Cohn, M. (2017, July 24). As Sarbanes-Oxley nears 15-year
anniversary, ethics fall short. Accounting Today.
https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/as-sarbanes-oxley-nears-
15-year-anniversary-ethics-fall-short
