What Ethics Are?

As I am an Accountant and ACCA is my professional body to whom I am affiliated, so this is what I think about Ethics.

ACCA has described  a code of ethics which every individual, who is linked to ACCA, must follow no matter what kind of situation he/she faces. This code has five fundamental principles;

1. Integrity.
2. Objectivity.
3. Professional Competence and Due Care.
4. Confidentiality.
5. Professional Behaviour.    (ACCA Rule Book Section 3)

Now ethics itself is a broad term. Ethics by word means a set of behaviour which is deemed to be the right one. A professional accountant should always behave ethically, this sentence includes not only the way in which he/she interacts or behaves with his/her colleagues/peers, but also his/her actions are also considered the part of ethical behavior. As far as the behaviour is concerned, the type of language used, overall behaviour, the dress-code, looks and the way he/she interacts constitutes the behaviour. On the other hand, ethical actions are those actions which do not cause any discomfort for others. For example, if an Auditor has a piercing in his ear and he attends the Annual General Meeting of his organization in this particular outlook, then that particular could be considered as unprofessional and ultimately unethical.

We the accountants, before becoming affiliate to ACCA, are required to complete a module on Ethics and Professionalism. It consists of different topics and dilemmas on Ethics and Professional Behaviour. I think this is a very helpful contribution towards our professional grooming regarding our practical life.

Finally, I think I have tried my best to summarize the topic of Ethics but as I said it is a broad term, for this purpose I am referring to the ACCA Rule Book Section 3 which contains a detailed article on Code of Ethics.  codeec_doc