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One. The Nature of Accounting and the Chief Ethical Difficulty: True Disclosure

  1. Ronald Duska1,
  2. Brenda Shay Duska2,
  3. Julie Ragatz1

Published Online: 20 APR 2011

DOI: 10.1002/9781444395907.ch1

Book Title

Accounting Ethics, Second Edition

Accounting Ethics, Second Edition

Additional Information

How to Cite

Duska, R., Duska, B. S. and Ragatz, J. (2011) The Nature of Accounting and the Chief Ethical Difficulty: True Disclosure, in Accounting Ethics, Second Edition, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK. doi: 10.1002/9781444395907.ch1

Author Information

  1. 1

    The Center for Ethics in Financial Services, The American College, USA

  2. 2

    Del Pizzo & Associates, USA

Publication History

  1. Published Online: 20 APR 2011
  2. Published Print: 11 MAR 2011

Book Series:

  1. Foundations of Business Ethics

Book Series Editors:

  1. W. Michael Hoffman,
  2. Robert E. Frederick

ISBN Information

Print ISBN: 9781405196130

Online ISBN: 9781444395907

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CHAPTER TOOLS

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Keywords:

  • nature of accounting and chief ethical difficulty - a true disclosure;
  • Enron's collapse, as a company in 2001 - taking a $1.01 billion charge related to write-downs of investments;
  • The Wall Street Journal, saying Enron disclosed - that it shrank shareholder equity by $1.2 billion as a result of transactions;
  • Enron/Arthur Andersen collapse in 2001–2002 - a watershed moment in history of accounting, with problems, practices and conflicts;
  • accounting, technique and practice - an art or craft, helping people to monitor their economic transactions;
  • accounting practice, and Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) - of the Financial Accounting Foundation, a conceptual framework;
  • income statement, and net income - revenues exceeding expenses, with net loss when expenses exceed revenues;
  • ethics of disclosure, and ethics of truth telling and disclosure - complicated issues;
  • Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) - overseeing financial statements of corporations;
  • accountant role shift, profession of auditor - to entrepreneurial professions of consultant and planner

Summary

This chapter contains sections titled:

  • The Nature of Accounting

  • Ethics of Disclosure

  • The Financial Statement

  • Roles an Accountant can Fulfill

  • Development of Explicit Accounting Standards and Regulations

  • The Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX)

  • Recent Scandals that Provoked More Regulation

  • Conclusions

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