Includes bibliographical references and index.

Enron, Arthur Andersen, and the Financial Markets: A Chronology of Wall Street Journal Articles -- And then there was WorldCom -- The Nature of Accounting and the Chief Ethical Difficulty: True Disclosure -- Ethical Behavior in Accounting: What is Ethics? -- Ethical Behavior in Accounting: Ethical Theory -- Accounting as a Profession -- Accounting Codes of Ethics: The Principles -- Accounting Codes of Ethics: The Rules -- Ethics in Auditing: The Auditing Function -- The Ethics of Managerial and Financial Accounting -- The Ethics of Tax Accounting -- The Ethics of the Accounting Firm: The Accounting Profession in Crisis -- The Code of Professional Conduct of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants -- Institute of Management Accountants: Ethical Standards -- Statement on Auditing Standards: A Summary -- Revision of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Auditor Independence Requirements -- Statements on Standards for Tax Services Nos 1-8.

Accounting Ethics uses real-life examples, including the Enron/Arthur Andersen debacle, to examine the ethical responsibilities of individual accountants as well as accounting firms.

The book begins by investigating the nature and purpose of accounting and follows with a brief study of the nature and use of ethical principles in determining accountants' responsibilities. Because accounting is governed by a code of ethics, it examines the ethical imperatives that bind professionals and the specific principles and rules that various accounting codes dictate. Next, the book explores the major types of practices in which accountants engage -- auditing, managerial accounting, and tax accounting -- and the responsibilities associated with those practices. The book concludes with an investigation into the ethical responsibilities of accounting firms, and the pressures that militate against the fulfilling of those responsibilities.