My understanding of ethics before this course was in some ways
limited. I took an ethics course in undergrad as it relates to accounting
but the context and level of information was of a much smaller scope
than this course. One of the most drastic changes for me after taking
this course is a much better understanding of how deep ethics runs in
accounting. From corporate policies, PCAOB oversight, accounting
standards, SEC regulations and so on, ethics is an integral part of the
accounting industry as a whole.
The aspect of this course I struggled with the most was corporate
governance. Corporate governance seems to me to be more of a
philosophy of ethical behavior as opposed to a set of rules, which is
how I would like to see the world run. I greatly prefer a right and a
wrong answer and I have learned that I struggle in gray areas.
Corporate governance to me is all gray. There are numerous ideas and
philosophies on the best ways to achieve corporate governance and
no one can seem to identify an explicit set of rights and wrongs.
However, with what I learned about corporate governance this term, I
believe it is an area of great importance and is worth additional study
and contemplation.
The most relevant information in this course for me was difficult to
decide as I think there were actually two of equal importance. First
was learning about all of the accountant codes of ethics. Specifically
the AICPA and IFAC codes as they relate most to me and my
preferred professional field. I begin an audit internship with KPMG
this coming January and as an auditor understanding the ethical
guidelines in which I am bound is crucial to maintaining objectivity
and independence. Second are the ethical decision-making models.
Specifically, I believe the integrated decision-making model is most
relevant for me. I enjoy the simplicity of the model and it will be
something I will continually come back to as my career progresses.
