Ethics of the Accounting Profession

Ethics of the Accounting Profession Accounting professional ethics is a science that discusses the behavior of good and bad human actions as far as humans can understand towards jobs that require training and mastery of a special knowledge as an accountant. Function and Purpose of Ethics in Accounting Professional ethics in accounting is like a moral commitment that is poured into special rules for all people in the field of accounting. This rule then becomes their guide in carrying out the profession. According to Chua in quoted from the same module, professional ethics is related to moral behavior that is more limited to the peculiarities of the ethical patterns expected of a particular profession. Every profession that provides services to the public requires a code of ethics which becomes a set of morals and shows professionalism. The accounting profession's code of ethics basically contains basic ethics that are used to protect the interests of the people who use the profession's services. There are two main goals in the code of ethics, namely the code of ethics intends to protect the public from the possibility of being harmed by negligence, either intentionally or unintentionally by professionals, and the code of ethics aims to protect the entire profession from the bad behavior of certain people who claim to be professionals. Points of the Accountant's Code of Ethics 1. Professional Responsibility The first point is to be professionally responsible by considering morals in all activities it carries out. Each member has a role and responsibility to work together in developing the accounting profession, maintaining public trust, and regulating themselves in any work done personally. 2. Public Interest The next point is the public interest. In this point, each member has an obligation to act, respect trust, and show commitment to the public as a form of professionalism. Basically, the accounting profession plays an important role in people's lives, especially because the public of the accounting profession consisting of clients, lenders, governments, employers, employees, investors, the business and financial world, and other parties depend on the objectivity and integrity of accountants in maintaining the orderly functioning of business. This dependence gives rise to the accountant's responsibility to the public interest. According to Ratih, public interest in accounting is defined as the interests of society and institutions served by members of accountants as a whole. The main interest of the accounting profession is to make users of accounting services understand that accounting services are performed with the highest level of achievement in accordance with the ethical requirements needed to achieve that level of achievement. 3. Integrity In the field of accounting, integrity must be carried out as high as possible. Integrity is an element of character that underlies professional recognition, which means it underlies public trust and becomes a benchmark for members in testing decision making. Integrity requires members in the accounting field to be honest without compromising the secrets of service recipients. In this case, integrity can accept mistakes that occur accidentally, but does not tolerate fraud or the elimination of principles as an accountant member. 4. Objectivity The objectivity point means that every member in the accounting field must maintain his objectivity and be free from conflicts of interest in his professional obligations. Objectivity means giving value to what someone provides which determines the quality of the service. In the field of accounting, being objective means being fair, impartial, intellectually honest, not prejudiced or biased, and free from the influence of certain parties that influence personal thoughts or opinions. This objectivity must be applied in various situations, whether in providing attestation, taxation, or management consulting services. Regardless of the services and capacity provided, a member must protect his integrity and maintain his objectivity. 5. Competence and Professional Prudence Each member must carry out his duties and obligations carefully with competence and diligence at the level necessary so that clients can fully trust the professional services they receive. According to Ratih, competence is gained through education and experience. These two things eventually make a member in the accounting field to demonstrate understanding and knowledge that is channeled into providing services easily and cleverly. However, in the case of professional assignments that exceed the competence of the member or the firm, a member is obliged to consult or hand over the client to a more competent party. This should not be forced to avoid unwanted complaints. 6. Confidentiality The next point in the accountant's code of ethics is confidentiality, which means that each member must respect and maintain the confidentiality of information obtained from clients while performing professional services. Any information that is confidential must be respected and must not be used freely without consent, except when there is a legal professional right or obligation to disclose it. This confidentiality continues to be maintained even after the relationship between the accountant and the client has ended. 7. Professional Behavior Every member should behave in a manner consistent with the good reputation of the profession and avoid actions that could discredit the profession. This is the same as maintaining professional behavior. The obligation to refrain from behavior that may discredit the profession must be fulfilled by members as a manifestation of their responsibilities to service recipients, third parties, other members, staff, employers and the general public. 8. Technical Standards Finally, every member of the field of accountancy must perform his/her duties and obligations in accordance with relevant and enforced technical and professional standards. Members have an obligation to perform tasks requested by clients in accordance with applicable techniques and must be adhered to so as not to experience unwanted things from certain deviations. Those are eight points regarding the accountant's code of ethics, ranging from professional responsibility, public interest, integrity, objectivity, professional competence and prudence, confidentiality, professional behavior, to technical standards. The ethics of the accounting profession itself is a science that discusses the behavior of good and bad human actions as far as humans can understand the work that requires training and mastery of a special knowledge as an accountant which aims to protect the public from the possibility of being harmed by negligence and the whole profession from the bad behavior of certain people who claim to be professionals.