Page 115 - F1 Integrated Workbook STUDENT 2018

CCode of ethics

Exxampple 1

Youu work for a large entity as the assistant ffinancial coontroller. OOne of yourr
duties is to reeconcile thee sales leddger each mmonth. Eveery month it does nott
agrree and you feel suree it is assocciated withh irrecoveraable debts being written
off in the indivvidual custtomer accoounts but nnot includedd in the noominal ledgger.
Youu consider the differeences to bee material and have bbought thiss to the
atteention of thhe financial controllerr but he seeems unwilling to act..

Reqquired:

Whhat action would youu take in tthis situattion?

Sollution

Thee main ethical issue iis integrity.. It would nnot be appropriate forr an
acccountant too assist sommeone withh a potentiially frauduulent act, oor to allow
missleading infformation tto be preseented to otthers.

Theere is also a potential issue of oobjectivity if you are pplaced undder pressure
by tthe financial controlleer, as this wwould meaan you havve a conflicct of interesst
betwween yourr personal prospects and the reequirementt to behavee with
inteegrity.

Thee possible actions coould be:

 informing the finanncial controoller of youur concern and also fformally
asking the financiaal controlleer to addresss it;

 informing the finanncial controoller that yoou are goinng to bringg the matteer to
the attenntion of thee financial director orr the audit committeee;

It wwould not bbe advisablle to reportt externallyy until legal advice haas been
takeen. Hopefuully, this sittuation cann be resolvved with onne of the above actioons.

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