Being professional as an accountant is extremely important not only to prevent any illegal fraudulent practices, but also to maintain a positive brand image and impeccable reputation of the firm.
When preparing the Final Accounts of a business, accountants and other financial professionals such as internal and external auditors, compliance officers, etc. must abide by the principles and ethics of accounting practice established by the regulatory body of a country.
The global regulatory body that is assuring that all accountants act legally and ethically is called ACCA (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants).
Here is the very short list of five necessary requirements for accountants:
1. Honesty. Integrity is a big part of being an accountant. All accountants should be honest in their business relationships, and remain truthful when reporting financial information and data. They must avoid any sort of unethical actions which could put their individual careers at risk and discredit the accounting profession. They also need to behave with courtesy towards all business stakeholders.
2. Objectivity. Accountants must remain objective and free from personal bias. They need to avoid conflict of interest by not compromising under the influence from other ‘powerful’ people such as majority shareholders.
3. Competence. Accountants are expected to maintain their professional knowledge and skills throughout their careers. They need to act diligently and with due care when providing accounting services.
4. Confidentiality. Accountants must respect the confidentiality agreements when collecting and reporting financial information. They are not allowed to disclose any private information as it could distort the market. Nor use the confidential information for their personal gain as it would be considered as insider trading.
5. Compliance. Accountants must always comply with relevant laws and regulations set by the respected governmental bodies, and obey the laws of the country where they work for.
Being an accountant is a very serious and responsible job. In their professional capacity, accountants and other financial professionals anywhere in the world must always abide by the aforementioned five principles. Only in this way, they are able to offer the highest accounting standards while remaining professional.
