According to an article published in the CPA Magazine, the big themes of morality, the public good and what it means to act with integrity are hot topics for business schools charged with teaching ethics and professional judgment to the next generation of accountants. So, what is the next generation of business leaders being taught about ethics and professional judgment?
Traditionally, at the undergraduate level, they were taught
only what is required by the profession’s code of conduct. Newer courses at
some schools involve critical/ethical decision-making frameworks. Students
learn what not to do using case studies of old and new ethical breaches that
highlight what can happen when judgment/ethics is lacking. They learn about the
pressures they’ll face to stay quiet and do nothing if they want to keep a job,
protect a gold-standard brand or maintain a steady revenue flow for the
company.
Is this enough when, in many cases, professional
judgment and ethics don’t become a key focus until students have entered a
master’s degree or a CPA professional education program? The article suggests
that “The objective is to make
professional accounting students aware of ethical issues and failures so they
can advise colleagues and executives on these matters and how to use ethical
decision-making in other areas of the organization. They don’t teach business
ethics in law school and they don’t stress it in marketing or anywhere else.
Because the profession is based on ethics and because CPAs are preparing
financial statements and auditing them, they have a lot at stake or should. If
you want a culture of integrity, the profession has a big role to play.”
To learn more, read the article Teaching Ethics by Mary Teresa Bitti
in the CPA Magazine, January/February
2016 edition. Also,
look at other views on the topic of ethics.
