Expository essay- Ethics Assignment

Ethics Assignment Due Sunday, November 15 at 11:45 p.m.

Required Read the attached case study, “Carolyn’s Dilemma,” and write a one-page, single-spaced essay that answers the questions at the end of the case in the context of the essay. Expository Essays The type of essay you will be writing is often referred to as an expository essay. One of the key elements of expository essays is conciseness. This essay is limited to one page in length. I will stop reading after one page, so only include what really needs to be said. Do not attempt to circumvent this requirement by using narrow margins, small fonts, etc. One-inch margins are required, and a standard font (such as Times New Roman 12) must be used. Make sure your line spacing is single space with no additional spacing between lines. Skip a line between paragraphs. Please note that you must submit an essay that answers the questions at the end of the case, not a list of answers to the questions. Purdue Owl provides a good resource for writing these essays. Their section on expository essays (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/685/02/) explains some of the important parts of this type of essay. I also recommend looking over the sections on “Conciseness” on the left side of the page. These resources can help if you find yourself having difficulty keeping your essay to one page. Another excellent resource is the Saunders Writing Center in 323 Plant Hall. You can get more information about the center, including its hours, at http://www.ut.edu/academic- support/saunders/. Submission Instructions Your document must be saved as a Microsoft Word file (“.doc” or “.docx”) that is named lastname_1.docx. For example, I would name my submission Pennington_1.docx. You must submit your completed assignment to both of the “Ethics Assignment” links on the Blackboard site for our course no later than 11:45 p.m. on Sunday, November 15. I will not grade late assignments under any circumstances. This is an individual assignment. I will use Turnitin.com to check the originality of your submission. Failure to do your own work or to protect your document from others is a violation of the University of Tampa’s Academic Integrity Policy.

Carolyn’s Dilemma

Carolyn Jones was a recent Accounting graduate who was preparing to take the Uniform Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Exam. Like many others studying for the CPA exam, Carolyn was looking for resources to help her prepare. Unfortunately, the companies that provided review programs charged a hefty price for their services, with the most expensive from Becker Professional Education costing more than $3,000. Carolyn was concerned about the cost. Her parents paid for her tuition when she was in college and continued to provide support to her as she prepared for the CPA Exam. The cost of the Becker course represented about one month of her parents’ income, and paying for it would create a significant hardship for them.     Carolyn knew that she could not possibly be the only person struggling with the cost of these programs, so she decided to see how her classmates from accounting courses that she took in college were coping with the cost. She found that some of them were sharing the expense of one program among themselves to lower the cost to each of them. Some others were using materials that they purchased from auction sites and other sources. One of her classmates was able to get the Becker resources, which retailed for almost $3,400 on Becker’s website, for $800 (“Becker”).     Based on Carolyn’s research, Becker seemed to be the best program available, with the high price being the only deterrent. At only $800, Becker’s materials would be a bargain. However, she was having a problem justifying preparing for the most important certification in her professional career by using materials that someone else had used in the past or that might be counterfeit.    

The CPA Exam     A uniform CPA examination was first administered in 1952, and the exam has been taken more than one million times since then (“The Uniform CPA Examination”). According to the American Institute of CPAs, “The examination currently consists of four sections: Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Business Environment and Concepts (BEC), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), and Regulation (REG). These four sections represent a total of 14 hours of testing” (“The Uniform CPA Examination”). In 2014, only the Business Environment and Concepts section had a pass rate of greater than 50% (“The Uniform CPA Examination”).     Not all accountants are CPAs, but many public accountants complete the requirements for becoming a CPA—including passing the four sections of the CPA exam—because of the increased opportunities it provides within the profession. Accountants who pass the CPA exam earn an internationally known credential that they are competent in the practice of accounting. The CPA designation is the “gold standard” in the profession and is often used to differentiate candidates applying for jobs. In addition, the CPA designation gives accountants access to other professionals, professional resources, and guidance when faced with professional and ethical dilemmas. Finally, for those accountants who wish to perform public accounting services, such as auditing and tax preparation, a CPA license is a necessity.    

Exam Preparation Services     Those preparing to take the CPA exam can purchase the services provided by one of the companies providing review courses. All of the courses provide sample exam questions as well as other resources, such as lectures and reviews. These services tout the successes of their customers: Roger and Yaeger boast 88% pass rates among their customers ("Roger CPA Review"; "Yaeger CPA Review"), while Becker claims that those “who prepare with Becker pass the CPA Exam at double the rate of non-Becker candidates” (“Becker”). For many CPA candidates, it is easy to justify investing in resources that can increase the chances of passing.     The ability to purchase Becker’s services at a discount would make it even easier to justify the investment. Becker provides discounts to its hundreds of corporate, government, and alliance partners (“Becker”). However, individuals like Carolyn are unable to take advantage of these discounts and often find it difficult to afford more than $3,000 for the services Becker offers. Becker’s website warns about the dangers of purchasing its materials from other sources, especially through online auctions. Aside from the fact that reproducing the materials violates a copyright, purchasing them from an unauthorized source could expose the user to spyware, malware, or other computer viruses (“Becker”).    

The Dilemma     Carolyn knew that purchasing materials from other sources would be risky. They could be out of date. Even worse, if they were counterfeit, she would not get the preparation she needed and would be supporting someone who was engaging in illegal activity. However, companies like Becker were making enormous profits selling the resources at the prices they charged.     “What am I supposed to do? I want to try to save my money and my parents’ money, but I don’t want to do something that is not ethical.”  

Questions

1. Based on the information provided about this situation, explain why it would not be

ethical for Carolyn to purchase the resources at a deep discount from online auctions or other sources, as some of her former classmates did.  

2. Explain why you think it would be justifiable for Carolyn to purchase the materials from an online auction or other source.  

3. What would be the most negative consequence from purchasing the resources from an online auction or some source other than the vendor? Explain your answer.  

4. Other than Carolyn, Becker, and other sellers, identify three stakeholders who would be impacted by the decision that Carolyn makes, and explain how each of the stakeholders would be affected.  

References     Becker Professional Education | CPA Exam Review Courses. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2015,

from http://www.becker.com/cpa-review/courses.     Roger CPA Review. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2015, from

http://www.rogercpareview.com/cpa-course-benefits-results.cfm     The Uniform CPA Examination: Purpose and Structure. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2015, from

http://www.aicpa.org/BecomeACPA/CPAExam/ExamOverview/PurposeandStructure/Pages/ default.aspx.  

  Yaeger CPA Review. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2015, from

http://www.yaegercpareview.com/    

Grading Rubric for Evaluating the Ethics Assignment (35 points) Topics

Did not complete

Does not meet expectations

Meets Expectations

Exceeds Expectations

Question One: Ethics of purchasing from online auctions or other sources (7 points)

Did not provide an answer, or provided an answer with no explanation (0 points)

Provided an explanation that was either weak or incorrect (3 – 4 points)

Explained why it would not be ethical for Carolyn to purchase from other sources with a moderately persuasive explanation (5 – 6 points)

Explained why it would not be ethical for Carolyn to purchase the resources from other sources with a strongly persuasive explanation (7 points)

Question Two: Justifications for purchasing from online auctions or other sources (7 points)

Did not consider why it might be justifiable to purchase resources from other sources (0 points)

Provided an explanation that was either weak or incorrect (3 – 4 points)

Provided moderately persuasive justifications for Carolyn to purchase the resources from other sources (5 – 6 points)

Provided strongly persuasive justifications for Carolyn to purchase the resources from other sources (7 points)

Question Three: Most negative consequence of purchasing from online auctions or other sources (7 points)

Did not identify or discuss any negative consequences (0 points)

Identified a negative consequence but provided a weak or incorrect explanation of why it was the most negative (3 – 4 points)

Identified a negative consequence of purchasing the resources from other sources and moderately explained why it was the most negative (5 – 6 points)

Identified a negative consequence of purchasing the resources from other sources and strongly explained why it was the most negative (7 points)

Question Four: Identify three stakeholders and explain impacts on them. (7 points)

Did not correctly identify any stakeholders (0 points)

Correctly identified one stakeholder and the impact the decision would have, or correctly identified two or three stakeholders but did not identify the impacts (3 – 4 points)

Correctly identified two stakeholders and the impact the decision would have on them, or correctly identified three stakeholders but did not correctly identify all of the impacts (5 – 6 points)

Correctly identified three stakeholders and the impact Carolyn’s decision would have on them (7 points)

Grammar and Spelling (4 points)

Essay had at least six spelling or grammatical errors that significantly detracted from content (0 points)

Essay had three to five spelling or grammatical errors that detracted from the content (1 – 2 points)

Essay had one or two spelling or grammatical errors that did not significantly detract from the content (3 points)

No grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors (4 points)

Organization and Mechanics (3 points)

The essay was longer than one page, and questions were not answered in the context of the essay. (0 points)

The essay was longer than one page, or questions were not answered in the context of the essay. (1 - 2 points)

The essay conformed to the one-page limit, and questions were answered in the context of the essay. (3 points)