Toward a Convergence of Global Ethics Standards: A Model from the Professional Field of Accountancy

Given the increased globalization of business and the mandate for ethics as a component of professional orientation for accountants, recent research has focused on the need for ethics education. One research paper, “Toward a Convergence of Global Ethics Standards: A Model from the Professional Field of Accountancy” looks at foundations for an international code of ethics.

This paper examines the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants and IFAC’s ethics education framework, as advanced in InternationalEducation Standard 4: Professional Values, Ethics and Attitudes. It includes a discussion of the harmonization of US and IFAC ethics standards for the accounting profession. The paper adopts a more holistic and developmental approach to ethics education for the professional field of accountancy worldwide.

The research was undertaken by Susan T. Sadowski, Ph.D., CPA (Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania), and Professor J.R. Thomas Daniel (Webster College, New Hampshire). It was published in the International Journal of Business and Social Science (Vol. 3 No. 9) in May 2012.