Ethics in Accounting

Gordon Klein has dedicated his professional career to accounting education and the equitable resolution of financial disputes. As a CPA, attorney, and faculty member at UCLA for over three decades, Mr. Klein has taught undergraduate, graduate, and law students courses in managerial accounting, tax planning, advanced financial accounting, fiduciary responsibilities, and professional ethics. Moreover, Mr. Klein has served as an ethics consultant to the California Bar Association, a judicial referee, and an arbitrator of accounting disputes. Mr. Klein is an international accounting expert who has testified in several highly publicized matters, including a set of mortgage-backed securities disputes that the Financial Times heralded as "this century's biggest case against Wall Street".

Part One Ethical Frameworks

1 Introduction to Ethics 1

2 Ethical Principles and Reasoning 16

3 The Core Philosophies 42

4 Virtue, Justice, and Social Responsibility 62

Part Two Unethical Behaviors

5 Why We Cheat 86

6 Greed, Corruption, and Collusion 112

7 Fraud and Earnings Management 132

Part Three Professional Rules of Conduct

8 Discreditable Acts: Discrimination, Deceit, and Disclosure 156

9 Confidentiality 180

10 Independence and Moral Seduction 198

11 Conflicts of Interest 226

Part Four Other Responsibilities

12 Duties as a Whistleblower 248

13 Duties of Public-Company Auditors: The Sarbanes–Oxley Act 276

14 Duties of Tax Professionals 296

15 Duties of Fiduciaries: Financial Planners, Trustees, and Executors 318

16 Duties in the Accounting Workplace (Online only)

Subject Index 339