Melissa Payne

Acct 2010
Prof Wendy Gunn
Oct 2, 2019
Ethics Reflection
Ethics is an important part in a person’s value system, it is what sets us apart from right
or wrong behaviors. When it comes to financial reporting, having good ethics is crucial to
helping companies thrive. If a company lacks weak ethical conduct then this can lead to,
fraudulent financial reporting and misappropriation of assets. In this reflection I will discuss how
personal ethics are developed and the connections I find between personal ethics and financial
reporting.
Personal ethics are developed through a life-long growth process. In this growth process
people go through experiences in life that are learned in the home they grow up in, the friends
they are surrounded by and in their job environments. If a person grows up in a home that has
values such as, honesty, loyalty, commitment and reliability then more than likely they will learn
to develop good ethics in life. If a person grows up with a role model who teaches them to steal
and lie, then their ethics behavior could be affected in many parts of their life. Sometimes I think
that people who do grow up in bad situations or have been around unethical environments do and
can learn from those experiences and choose to have a good value system. I grew up in a home
where my mom was always saying, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” My
mom said this so much that it is indented in my bones. It is a person’s own choice to choose
which value system they want to live by whether it is good or bad.
The connections I find between personal ethics and financial reporting are that they both
go hand in hand. I think that values, principles, behaviors and code of conduct are all
connections to financial reporting. It can be good or bad depending on which way a person’s
ethics are. Without a good set of personal ethics and code of conduct in a business, financial
reporting could lead to, fraudulent financial reporting and misappropriation of assets. Fraudulent
financial reporting is where a company reports false information to customers, this happened
with the, HealthSouth Scandal in 2003. Also, the Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme lost billions of
dollars because of his misappropriation of assets. I wonder what Madoff learned throughout his
lifetime about ethics.
Personal ethics is an important foundation to a person’s life. It is the foundation to
financial reporting. Without good ethics instilled in a person, financial reporting can ruin many
companies and individual lives.