The Keys to Integrity and a Sense of Well-being for Accounting Professionals

Lawrence Metzger, MBA, PhD, CPA, CMA, CFM

Consider the following situation: As part of performing year-end audit duties for a large and respected business, you are examining the required information to evaluate the firm's environmental contingency note disclosure. You find a note scribbled in pencil at the bottom of a memo written two months ago to the general manager of the company's coalcleaning plant. The body of the memo gives details on the increases in the cost of toxic waste disposals and was written by one of the plant's department supervisors. The note reads: “We've got to get these costs down or we won't meet budget. Can we mix more of these wastes with the shipments of refuse to our landfill? Nobody seems to notice these coal-cleaning fluids when we mix them in well. This will save us millions and might keep management off our back.”