Ethics in Accounting and the Reliability of Financial Information

Abstract

One of the unique features of most recognized trades and vocations including the highly regulated accounting profession is the existence of code of ethics which are the hallmarks of global best practices. The society evaluates the performance of professionals on the basis of both moral and technical codes. Adherence to these codes by the practitioners of the profession inspires confidence in the work of the professional by shareholders who depends on the auditor’s opinion as a means of evaluating the integrity of financial statements.

The huge and embarrassing corporate failures and high profile frauds in the last two decades has called to question the integrity of the accounting profession both within and from outside the profession, leading to increased demands for ethics within the auditing profession. This study highlights the consequences of unethical practices and proposes some possible solutions to the question of ethics in the accounting profession.

Keywords: Ethics, reliability, financial information.