[Anonymous]

Why is it so hard to find ethical people? It seems I’ve had dealings with more and more UNethical accounting “professionals” than ethical ones.

No, you don’t simply go back and plug RE for ALL adjustments (because we don’t amend tax returns), prior period adjustments are okay (but we are not supposed to show them on the face of the F/S because we don’t want the client to know we screwed up and/or we don’t want to amend the return); NO it’s not okay to just “plug” an amount into contributions in order to balance the balance sheet (especially since we don’t have bank statements, we haven’t called the owner with questions, and all the records are hand written). I could go on, but you get the point.

There must be a market for acountants/tax prepapers/CPAs who are ethical, ask questions, and want things to go out the door correct….or am I just fooling myself?

[MCLKT]

Between lazy and unethical… I could go on for days.

All we can do is continue to hold ourselves to a higher standard. I try my best to make sure I'm proud of anything my name is associated with. When it goes above my head, that is simply out of my control… for now.

A:[73]97 F:[74]85 R:86 B:[74]82
*NINJA 10 Pt. COMBO & Yaeger*

[Tncincy]

Well its unfortunate, but there are those that are unethical. There are those who will find a way to cut corners or simply lie, but the saying goes “when you know better, do better”. We are going the this rigorous process to remind information users that there are cpa's who are professional and respect the profession as well. Head up….study on…..

It begins with a 75
Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass

[FlipACoin]

Ugh. Corp Fin is just as bad. People think that because we don't exactly have a set structure of rules (like accountants do) that we can bend our analysis however they want. One guy was so bad I actually put in a little slide bar in Excel and told him he can adjust my analysis however he wants until he gets the number he wants. Sadly, he didn't get the sarcasm and thought it was the most brilliant thing he's ever seen. Yeah. Frustrating.

I drew the line when somebody who stood to make a TON of money on a sale wanted me to skew an analysis that was pivotal to the valuation. I walked and was unemployed for two months but really it was worth it to me. MCLKT put it perfectly. At the end of day our work is only as good as our ethics. Our name is all we have….

[Anonymous]

FlipACoin, I'm glad to see others have walked away – and were willing to become unemployed – over principle.

It's interesting to me that we've had so many lookers at this thread, yet so few opinions.

[FlipACoin]

CPAAnyDayNow….Absolutely. I know there are more than a few of us who see ethics as a critical part of what we do. The problem is you have no idea what you are getting into before you see somebody tested. By then you could already be 6-12 months into a job and find out you are working for a real ethical POS.

The situation I was in was truely extreme, where I knew there was no point in even holding a discussion. In most cases though, unless you are working for a real Judas, you can usually train your boss a little bit. I've put up a firm arguement and calmly explained why I see things this way (while doing my best not to directly insult my boss). A few rare times I have insisted my name comes off the analysis and request no further involvement in the project if I can't provide the best analysis I can. This approach still rarely works to change their mind, but they start to realize that I am not a pushover and start giving the ethically blurry projects/edits to people who are. Note this approach should only be taken once you are seen as a valuable member of the team. If you haven't proven yourself yet, this could get you canned so try to be selective in this approach early on 🙂

[Author]

Replies