Before taking this class, I understood ethics and knew it was essential
for the accounting profession. I did not realize how ingrained ethics
needs to be within accounting professionals and a firm’s culture to
promote ethical decision-making. Having heard about the big
accounting scandals of the past, it still baffles me the lengths these
individuals and companies went to in order to produce fraudulent
results that could not last. Through these ten weeks, we analyzed
cases using several ethical decision-making tools. This became my
favorite part of the class, taking a case and analyzing it through the
lens of ethics. I found the integrated ethical decision-making process
the easiest to apply to a case because it gave so many guidelines and
questions to ask yourself about the case that helped me understand
the bigger picture. I found the entire course content relevant. The
information I have gained this term will allow me to acquire more
knowledge on the subject and use it in my future auditing position.
Being in the accounting field for several years, even before the
passage of Dodd-Frank in 2010, I have not found that my
understanding of accounting ethics has changed. The aspects I found
most challenging was all the writing. Mainly because I hate to write,
and I am a very “to the point” kind of person. I found I most related to
the ethical decision-making process. I utilized this type of thought
process in making decisions and it was not until a lot of life experiences
that I realized that this is not how everyone thinks or behaves. This
understanding has made it easier for me when it comes to managing
employees and businesses. This class has given me more tools in
implementing ethical frameworks within my career.
