Effect of Unethical Behavior Article Analysis
Essay by catmac • July 8, 2013 • Case Study • 404 Words (2 Pages) • 1,855 Views
A
Effect of Unethical Behavior Article Analysis
Catrina McLaughlin
ACC/291
July 7, 2013
Glenn Purcell
Effect of Unethical Behavior Article Analysis
Unethical behavior is looked at in different manors from company to company. When trying to determine what is unethical you have to determine the particular company and what it involves. When determining what leads to unethical practices many scenarios come to mind. An accounting that embezzles funds from his or her employer for financial gain. Or a CEO who may be in fear of losing his or her job may be willing to make unethical decisions. Or maybe a CFO who prepares their financial statements to make the company appear as if its performance is great, when it really is not. There are many individuals who prefer to take short cuts in life: and frankly, this simply in not acceptable when expected to perform in a professional manor (Jacobsen, 2008).
Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002 as an effort to prevent corruption in companies. In addition to keeping investors safe and aware, Sox was created because of unethical workplace practices, which caused public outrage against the companies and their unethical acts. There were fraudulent practices going on in accounting from misleading financial reports, by some of the worlds biggest companies.
There are many areas in the Sarbanes-Oxley act the have strict requirements for corporations. And if not adhere to would have major consequences. For instance section 302 requires that both CEO and CFO both sign off on all company financial statements. Than there is section 401 that states that there should not be any misleading information, or fraudulent statement or omissions of material. The implementation of Sox has caused companies to evaluate their ethical behavior to make sure that they are in compliance. Because internal control by management was a concern, section 404 was imperative to senior management. To sum it would seem that Sox is only there to maintain the behavior of corporate. It also ensure that there were further guidelines establish for the victims.
SOX are responsible for setting guidelines and compliances for corporations to adhere to. It is imperative these corporations to continue improvement in the financial department. Although unethical acts will never end, they will always be around. What may be a short cut to you, made be unethical to the next person. I think that continue education while in school, and on the job will help elevate some of the behavior.
...
...