business and accounting ethics - new learner（业务和会计道德u2014u2014新学习者）.pdf

BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTING ETHICS Dr. Katherine T. Smith, Business Author Dr. L. Murphy Smith, CPA, Professor of Accounting, Texas AM University INTRODUCTION Ethical values provide the foundation on which a civilized society exists. Without the foundation, civilization collapses. On a personal level, everyone must answer the following question: What is my highest aspiration? The answer might be wealth, fame, knowledge, popularity, or integrity. But if integrity is secondary to any of the alternatives, it will be sacrificed in situations in which a choice must be made. Such situations will inevitably occur in every persons life. A 1987 popular movie portrayed the unscrupulous dealings of people involved in securities trading based on nonpublic (inside) information. A key character, portrayed by actor Michael Douglas, in a dramatic scene says, Greed is good! The implication is that greed is an acceptable motivation and that business people will do anything to make money, including engage in unethical behavior. In reality, greed is unacceptable, and unethical behavior will destroy a firms ability to make money. Although the goal of any firm should be to increase its owners wealth, to do so requires the publics trust. In the long run, that trust depends on ethical business practices. In the United States and other free societies, people often have the freedom to make their own decisions about the right thing to do. Before the American Republic, a common belief was that where there was liberty, anarchy would result because people would be unable to govern themselves. Yet Americans were free and well behaved. How could this be? The great English writer, G.K. Chesterton, observed that America was the only nation in the world founded on a creed. He said that creed was set forth with dogmatic and even theological lucidity in the Declaration of Indepe