Evolution of Ethics Regulation in Accounting
Evolution of Ethics Regulation in Accounting The purpose of ethics in business is to direct businessmen and women to abide by a code of conduct that encourages public confidence in their products and services. In the accounting field, the AICPA maintains and enforces a code of professional conduct for public accountants. Professional accounting organizations recognize the accounting professions responsibility to provide ethical guidelines to its members. The following is a summary of the many events that have led up to current ethics regulation in the accounting profession. Accounting ethics regulation today is the product of a number of scandals throughout history. ... As a result of this, in 1976, Congressman John Moss of California issued a report advocating regulatory reform that called for: · Uniformed accounting principles prescribed by the SEC · Auditors should attest to the quality of internal controls · Corporate Boards of Directors should have a majority of members that are unrelated to management.