Ethics in Accounting

Ethics is a term subject to numerous, sometimes conflicting, interpretations. Ethical problems are a very relevant issue present in many aspects of real life.The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1978) defines ethics as relating to morals and the treating of moral questions. Ethics also indicates a philosophical reflection on moral beliefs and practices. Ethics is an essential requirement for a sound and healthy society. It is due to its positive individual, organizational, and social consequences that ethics has always provoked scholars, instructors, and organization managers to try to maintain and improve it. According to Islamic ethics, a person feels accountable to God. Therefore, he should be honest and fair in his activities. The basic assumption of this code is that Muslim accountants will be motive to comply with such a code for reasons due to religious beliefs and as a means of obeying Allahs orders and refraining from things forbidden by Him. Unfortunately, despite these orders the technological advancements as well as the attempts for gaining more comforts have caused individuals to pay more attention to the secular appearances and materialism; consequently, they tend to neglect and be inattentive to the spiritualities and moral discussions.

Keywords:

Ethics , professional ethics , financial reports