1.2 Accounting Ethics

One of the characteristics associated with any profession is that those practicing the profession acknowledge the importance of an ethical code. This is especially important in the accounting profession because so much of an accountant's work involves providing information to support the informed judgments and decisions made by users of accounting information.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants（AICPA）and the Institute of Management Accountants（IMA）have both published ethics codes. The Code Of Professional Conduct, most recently revised in 1988, was adopted by members of the AICPA. The organization's regulations state that its members shall conform to the rules of the Code or be subject to disciplinary action by the AICPA. Although it doesn’t have the same enforcement mechanism, the IMA's Standards of Ethical Conduct for Management Accountants calls on management accountants to maintain the highest standards of ethical conducts as they fulfill their obligations to the organizations they serve, their profession, the public, and themselves.

Both codes of conduct identify integrity and objectivity as two of the key elements of ethical behavior for a professional accountant. Having integrity means being honest and forthright in dealings and communications with others; objectivity means impartiality and freedom from conflict of interest.An accountant who lacks integrity and/or objectivity cannot be relied upon to produce complete and relevant information with which to make an informed judgment or decision.