Suppose a management accountant becomes aware of a confidential but illegal act that has occurred within her company. The management accountant must consider what she is ethically bound to do about this situation. Three alternative responses to this
situation are given below. State whether you agree or disagree with each, and briefly detail your reasons. a. The accountant must remain loyal to the company at all times and should report the occurrence only to appropriate officials within the company. b. The accountant is bound to inform officials only if she stands to personally gain (make money) from knowledge of the illegal act. c. The accountant must exercise personal judgment; a clear-cut answer does not exist given the limited information provided.
a. The confidentiality standards state that management accountants must refrain from disclosing confidential information acquired in the course of their work except when authorized, unless legally obligated to do so. As such, the student should recognize that illegal acts could be an exception to the confidentiality standard. The severity and nature of the illegal act may dictate the accountant's obligation to disclose knowledge of this act to outside officials. An example would be an act involving a felony. Although the thrust of the confidentiality standard encourages accountants to remain loyal to their company in refraining from communicating confidential information, failure to disclose knowledge of illegal acts to outside authorities may result in their being charged as an accessory to the crime. Discussing the illegal act with officials inside the company would likely be the minimum amount of communication required.
b. The confidentiality standards specifically state that management accountants should refrain from using or appearing to use confidential information acquired in the course of their work for unethical or illegal advantage either personally or through third parties. As such, if an accountant could stand to personal gain from knowledge of the illegal act, then refraining from communicating this information may give the appearance that the accountant is obtaining illegal profits from this information. Depending on the severity of the illegal act, the accountant should communicate knowledge of this act to officials inside or outside the company to avoid even the appearance of unethical behavior.
c. As noted in parts a and b, the appropriate action dictated by this situation involves consideration of the severity and consequences of the illegal act. The severity and nature of the illegal act may dictate the accountant's obligation to disclose knowledge of this act to outside officials. In all likelihood, the required procedure should at a minimum include discussing the knowledge of this act with company officials.
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