http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2007/107/essentials/p64.htm
One can hardly pick up a business publication today without noting some reference to an accounting scandal. Enron is only one dishonor to the profession, though perhaps the best known; other recent accounting and auditing failures include WorldCom, Microsoft, Peregrine Systems, W.R. Grace, and Xerox, among many others. The sheer number of accounting abuses serves as prima facie evidence that something more is needed in terms of accounting ethics.
In the Wharton School project on integrating ethics into the undergraduate business curriculum it was reported that more than three quarters of student comments ‘enthusiastically endorsed the idea of discussing ethical issues in regular college courses’. Indeed, many apparently referred to what they felt was an unethical content in some business courses, and the amoral or even immoral attitudes of their peers. However, it appears that we should treat students’ views with caution. Lawson observes that many students, especially those in their early undergraduate years, lack the business experience to appreciate the complexity of situations, and fail to realize that some ‘unethical outcomes of business activity are the almost inevitable side-effects of ethically ‘good’ decisions.
Opinions on Requiring Ethics
The accounting profession and its regulators have overlooked their responsibility to solicit students’ views on requiring a separate accounting ethics course and business ethics course, as well as the importance of ethics within the accounting curriculum. In this study, students advocating ethics courses took some interesting positions not generally seen or publicized. They are strong proponents for their point of view, and their supporting reasoning provides an insight into their fervor (the comments throughout are taken directly from students’ responses):
- Ethics is highly depended on in this profession. The importance of it is being minimized by our curriculum’s refusal to integrate ethics as required courses.
- It seems foolish of these authorities to make so many excuses concerning an issue that so obviously needs to be solved.
- Ethics is a field of learning, not a personality trait.
Teaching Ethics
With regard to whether ethics can be taught in the classroom, the position of students is similar to those of professionals and academics.
The two basic opposing viewpoints are:
- ethics can and should be taught in the classroom; and
- ethics cannot be taught at this stage, and someone is either ethical or not.
Some of the more interesting student views and concerns about the place of ethics in the curriculum were as follows:
- Accountants should always represent the highest level of professionalism, and enforcing ethics upon accounting students is crucial to the values they develop while completing their education.
- While ethics education is vital to the success of all professionals in the business field, it [is not] something that can be taught.
- An institution or college might be able to teach good solid ethical values in the classroom, but the teachings will not always stick.
Ethics is of primary importance to the accounting profession, and the profession clearly has the right to require an accounting ethics course as a condition of admittance.
Xitong He 