Synonyms
Accounting profession; Professional ethics; Code of ethics
Introduction
Traditionally, the distinguishing features of a profession include its ability to self-regulate and maintain its own ethical standards. Given recurring high-profile corporate failures related to accounting misstatements and/or fraudulent reporting, unethical practice by accounting professionals has become an issue of considerable concern, with significant societal consequences. This entry provides an overview of how the accounting profession addresses ethical issues through the promulgation of its code of ethics, which includes some consideration of the “public interest.”
As of December 2016, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) represented close to 3 million professional accountants in over 130 different jurisdictions, through over 175 professional accounting bodies that are members or associates of IFAC (2017). Through several dedicated standards boards, IFAC develops standards for its...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
AICPA (2016) AICPA code of professional conduct. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Durham, NC
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (2017) CIMA code of ethics. Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, London
Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes (2009) SMO action plan. Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes. https://www.ifac.org/about-ifac/membership/members/compagnie-nationale-des-commissaires-aux-comptes. Accessed 8 Dec 2017
IFAC (2012) IFAC policy position 5: a definition of the public interest. International Federation of Accountants, New York
IFAC (2016) Handbook of the code of ethics for professional accountants. International Federation of Accountants, New York
IFAC (2017) Membership. https://www.ifac.org/about-ifac/membership. Accessed 11 July 2017
Institute of Management Accountants (2014) SMO action plan. Institute of Management Accountants. https://www.ifac.org/about-ifac/membership/members/institute-management-accountants. Accessed 8 Dec 2017
Institute of Management Accountants (2017) About IMA. https://www.imanet.org/about-ima?ssopc=1. Accessed 8 Dec 2017
Wirtschaftsprüferkammer (2015) SMO action plan. Wirtschaftsprüferkammer. https://www.ifac.org/about-ifac/membership/members/wirtschaftspr-ferkammer. Accessed 8 Dec 2017
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
West, A. (2023). Accounting Ethics (Including the Profession’s Code of Ethics and Commitment to the Public Interest). In: Poff, D.C., Michalos, A.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Business and Professional Ethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22767-8_213
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22767-8_213
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-22765-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-22767-8
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities