1. Introduction The aim of this essay is to provide the reader with relevant knowledge about the instruments that commonwealth countries put in place in order to professionalise the profession of accounting. The arguments in the essay will be built on various mechanisms that are used to professionalise accounting. In the essay, various aspects such as the seven characteristics forming a profession; profession as it is defined by Chris Poullaos; the mechanisms that commonwealth countries put in place in order to professionalise the profession; furthermore the instruments that commonwealth countries use to maintain and enhance professionalise practice, will be elaborated upon. Oxford Dictionary (2014) defines professionalism as the systematic …show more content…
According to Stewart (1975) a profession should be a figure of esoteric knowledge, it should comprise of a ceremonious education operation, entail standards governing the acknowledgement, contain a code of conduct, be recognised by a license or special nomination, there should be public absorption in the work that practitioners perform and there should be identification by them of a social obligation. The features should all be met in order to classify an occupation as a profession. Accounting remains a subject of professionalism, since it stays as a frame of specialised apprehension that begins when the applicant receives a formal degree in the specific field that is required by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). An applicant has to fulfil the stated essentials set out by SIACA before the applicant would be administered to become a Chartered Accountant (CA). A CA stands obliged to comply with an identified code of ethics upon submission and granting to practice as a CA after obtaining the right to practice as one. Globally CA’s are recognised as an immensely talented and skillful group of people who are in high demand in various fields other than just accounting, therefore it is possible to come to the conclusion that CAs are vastly revered by the community. CAs should also accept social responsibility and improve the community throughout the tasks that they prepare in order to enhance the lives of their community. The definition of a profession and its application to the CA field will be discussed in the succeeding
The non-profit professional organization, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), was founded in the United States of America. The organization was founded in 1887, to help ensure that the accounting profession would gain the same respect as the other prestigious occupations had received from the public. The accounting profession, similar to the medical, legal, and engineering professions, is characterized by “…rigorous educational requirements [150 credit hours], high professional standards, a strict code of professional ethics, licensing status [Uniform CPA Examination], and a commitment to serving the public interest” (AICPA, 2016). These five characteristics
Professionalism in any setting involves taking pride in the work taking place. Passion for the role is what makes a service provider professional. ‘Professionalism is predominately an attitude, not a set of competencies. A real professional is a technician who cares.’ (Maister, 1997, p.12) Relating to the panorama documentary (BBC, 2014), there is little pride or passion shown by the healthcare providers. The issues surrounding professionalism in the Documentary (BBC, 2014) were staff providing poor quality care.
Throughout this paper, I will talk about what professionalism in the workplace is. I will describe different viewpoints from different sources as well as my own perspective on the subject. I will provide examples of what is correct and incorrect professionalism in the workplace. Lastly, I will discuss how you can accomplish correct professionalism in the workplace.
The stereotypical image correlated to the account mirrors that of a public accountant. An individual working as a public accountant can expect to work as an independent third party to a multitude of companies. As this third party it is their duty to oversee financial transactions to ensure that the statements of not only the company, but also its’ supporting companies, correctly correspond and match up to the position, results and cash-flow of the clientele. This general quota outlining a public accountants job description is not the same for a private accountant. The main difference between a public and private accountant is that unlike the public and its handle on a multitude of accounts, a private accountant specializes with a certain company or field. With this specialization, a private accountant tackles setting up a system that records the transactions within the business. The recordation of the transactions is then generated into statem...
Professionalism can be defined as the competence of skills and principles of an individual in a profession. A professional must be knowledgeable in their profession, committed to improvement of one’s knowledge and skills, service oriented, covenantal relationships to patients/patrons, creative, innovative, ethical, accountable and a leader. These competencies are essential for a professional to perform and excel in their profession.
With every business activity come opportunities for fraudulent behavior which leads to a greater demand for auditors with unscathed ethics. Nowadays, auditors are faced with a multitude of ethical issues, and it is even more problematic when the auditors fail to adhere to the standards of professional conducts as prescribed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The objective of this paper is to analyze the auditors’ compliance with the code of professional conduct in the way it relates to the effectiveness of their audits.
The ethical dilemma in this case is one that Daniel Potter is faced with. Daniel is a staff
Clients want accountants with integrity. Thus, integrity is critical to the public trust. As a matter of fact, one of the general definitions of integrity provided by the AICPA Code is that it is a quality from which the public trust derives. Also, it is an element of character fundamental to professional recognition, and it requires members to be (among other things) honest and candid within the constraints of confidentiality (Duska, Duska & Ragatz, 2011).
“Professionalism is the internalized conceptualization of expected professional obligations, attributes, interactions, attitudes, values, and role behaviors in relation to individual patients and clients and society as a whole.” 2
Professionals are people who have equipped themselves with the knowledge and skills in a given field. The interest of improvement of the professional identity is an evidence of how high standards are placed upon the professionals in the community (Johnson et al., 2012). Each profession creates its norms, values and scope of practice that distinguishes it from any other profession. Different legal ethics are upheld and everyone needs to work as per the stipulated ethics in the field to be part of the profession. People in the field are expected to be knowledgeable and independently use decision making in solving various problems that may arise. The decisions made should be within the norms and values stipulated for a profession.
Now more than ever it is important to know what IFRS is and what AICPA and IMA are, especially pertaining to their ethical standards. IFRS or the International Accounting Standards Board is a group of highly experienced professionals in the accounting field. They deal with the setting of standards, as well as preparing, auditing or using financial reports, and educating future accountants. The AICPA or the American Institute Of Certified Public Accountants is a non-profit organization of American Certified Public Accountants (CPA) who create
In 1887, the American Association of Public Accountants was formed with the first standardized tests coming out about a decade later (Zeff, 2003, pg. 2). In 1896, New York State passed the first law for Certified Public Accountants (CPA), which Zeff (2003) “marked the beginning of an accredited profession of accounting in the United States” (pg 2). In Canada, the first association began in 1902 with the Dominion Association of Chartered Accountants (Buckstein, part 1 pg 2). Buckstein quoted John L. Carey, the author of a paper outlining the history of the accounting profession worldwide stated “the reason for creating a full-fledged professional organization was to distinguish skilled accountants of integrity from self-styled accountants whose competence had not been demonstrated” (pg. 2) As Zeff (2003) stated with the passage of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 all publicly traded companies were now required to have their financials audited by independent CPA’s (pg. 4). This showcased the importance of having skilled and knowledgeable individuals produce verifiable and accurate information that the public (in all its forms) could rely upon. The combination of having professional accounting bodies and government legislations have attempted to establish
As per ISA (NZ) 200-A17, this ethical requirement includes the auditors integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality, & professional behaviour. Integrity is an ethical attitude which includes the auditor’s honesty, accuracy, and fair practice. Objectivity is a mental attitude while carrying out the audit wherein the auditor is fair and just with all his/her work. Professional competence is the knowledge and skill of the auditor, gained through education, training and experience, while due care is a degree of care of an auditor on certain situations wherein an he/she must act diligently. Confidentiality is the commitment of the auditor not to disclose any information regarding his/her client, unless required by law. Professional behaviour means the auditor must act in accordance to the law and set of standard as a manifestation of respect to the
What does the accountant of the future need to be successful? A sturdy education that while is based on traditional accounting practices, also prepares future accountants for the plethora of changes happening in the accounting universe. Frequently, most of the institutions responsible for educating professionals fail to evolve as rapidly as the professional practice itself (Bedford et al. 4). In every way, accounting is expanding and in order for the future to have competent accountants, accounting education must expand as well. Major changes occurring in the world of accounting include the expansion of services and products, changes in competition, an increase in specialization, and an increase in and an advancement of technology. It is up to academic institutions to find proactive ways in which to prepare students for such changes. Accounting education of the future will require more breadth to cover the inevitable expansion of services and products, increased knowledge of economics, marketing, management and information systems to increase competitive advantage, a balanced course load that provides a general accounting knowledge as well as increased knowledge of a specialization, and also a greater, proactive focus on the use of continuously advancing accounting technologies (Bedford et al. 8). Also in play is the chance of change in accounting standards, the move from US GAAP to IFRS. While there are no certainties surrounding the threat of such change, students in the U.S. should acquire at least a general, basic feel for the practices used in regards to IFRS. The future health of the accounting profession depends, to a great extent, on the health of our students (Gormon and Hargadon 4). Reorganization of curriculums would surely be difficult and assumedly time-consuming, but nevertheless, completely
Accounting is a very important term to our modern society. It is the career for men and women who at the start have their eyes set on top positions in industry, management, government, and general business. Accounting is a basic need of every businessman, from the operator of a filling station to the government of the United States. It's so important to our society. None of the business organization can operate without is. They are there-somewhere-in every business. In small business, people use pen, ink and skill keep the records. In large business, modern accounting machines are used to operate. Men and women are directing these machines in the accounting process. Wise businessmen enter business must have some accounting knowledge.