book review

Vincent J. Love, CPA, CFE

Accounting Ethics … and the Near Collapse of the World's Financial System is not the usual recitation of the rules and interpretations contained in the codes and regulations of the AICPA, state societies, and state boards of accountancy. The book delves into the philosophical foundation of ethics to separate “doing the right thing” from the confining web of rules-based standards. It informs the reader of the concepts and foundation of the theories of ethics and explores a framework to measure the ethical character of personal actions outside of and above the rules. The authors accomplish this by giving the reader a basic understanding of the philosophical theories underlying ethical behavior buttressed by an exploration of the authors' perspective on unethical behavior that led to several well-known accounting and auditing failures. As in the authors' previous books on ethics, the result is a thought process that can be used to appropriately handle any ethical dilemma one might encounter in the profession. Every entry-level or experienced accountant or auditor performing professional services, whether in public practice, industry, or academia, should read this book.