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Accounting and the ethics challenge: Re‐membering the professional body

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  • Christopher Cowton

Abstract

This paper looks beyond recent financial reporting ‘scandals’ to consider the ‘standing challenge’ that ethics represents for accountants and the professional bodies that represent them. It examines the notion of a profession and argues for a position that recognises both the potential benefits of professionalisation and the self‐serving tendencies to which professions can be prone. Such a position entails a view that the outcome of professionalisation for society is a contingent matter rather than an inevitability (whether positive or negative) and therefore something that is worth attempting to influence. In developing the argument, two major areas from the business ethics/corporate social responsibility literature, oriented towards business enterprises but also of relevance to professional bodies, are reviewed: whether being ethical ‘pays’ in financial terms; and whether formal codes are useful in promoting ethical behaviour. The paper concludes by positing three models of the professional body and contending for a renewed notion of membership if professional bodies are to function as effective ‘moral communities’.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher Cowton, 2009. "Accounting and the ethics challenge: Re‐membering the professional body," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(3), pages 177-189.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:acctbr:v:39:y:2009:i:3:p:177-189
    DOI: 10.1080/00014788.2009.9663359
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Matthews, Derek & Anderson, Malcolm & Edwards, John Richard, 1998. "The Priesthood of Industry: The Rise of the Professional Accountant in British Management," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198289609, Decembrie.
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    Cited by:

    1. Maria Ishaque, 2021. "Managing Conflict of Interests in Professional Accounting Firms: A Research Synthesis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 537-555, March.
    2. Janni Grouleff Nielsen & Rainer Lueg & Dennis van Liempd, 2019. "Managing Multiple Logics: The Role of Performance Measurement Systems in Social Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-23, April.
    3. Barrainkua, Itsaso & Espinosa-Pike, Marcela, 2018. "The influence of auditors’ professionalism on ethical judgement: Differences among practitioners and postgraduate students," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 176-187.
    4. Albert D. Spalding & Gretchen R. Lawrie, 2019. "A Critical Examination of the AICPA’s New “Conceptual Framework” Ethics Protocol," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(4), pages 1135-1152, April.
    5. Tabea Franziska Hirth-Goebel & Barbara E. Weißenberger, 2019. "Management accountants and ethical dilemmas: How to promote ethical intention?," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 287-322, October.
    6. Lisa Herzog, 2019. "Professional Ethics in Banking and the Logic of “Integrated Situations”: Aligning Responsibilities, Recognition, and Incentives," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(2), pages 531-543, May.

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