I am in the US Army. My personal values are discipline, treat everyone with respect, value and service, and personal courage. On the one hand, I acquired these values after enlisting and serving. On the other hand, I come from a family with a strong military tradition. I grew up in an environment where these values were always upheld and with time, came to embody them. These values might seem irrelevant at the workplace and the field of accounting (except in the military), but that is just on the surface. For instance, as an accountant, I am expected to embody and adhere to the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. According to Jules (2018), the code of ethics for professional accountants is comprehensive in ensuring objectivity, integrity, confidentiality, due care, and professional competence and behavior. However, the code of ethics is not constant. Instead, it is subject to revision as well as subjective interpretation. After all, the code of ethics serves as a guide and is not exhaustive enough to cover all issues, including ethical dilemmas.
Embodying the code of ethics for professional accountants requires understanding its spirit and living up to it when practicing. Achieving this requires self-discipline. Without discipline, one’s adherence to its spirit will not be guaranteed. For instance, when facing a moral and ethical dilemma, it would be very easy to prefer a quick solution without caring for the long-term consequences. At other times, one might be faced with a dilemma with no trivial solutions. Anything that can solve it has its unique consequences. As a result, personal courage is required to go through with the decision and handle the consequences as they come. Ensuring integrity and objectivity at all times, regardless of the consequences, requires discipline. In other words, I might have acquired a sense of self-discipline from my family and military background. These values are valuable to me as an accountant and set me ahead of my peers.
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On the other hand, trust is an essential part of accounting in many ways. For instance, there is a trust afforded to someone on the basis of their work. For instance, an employer, client, or a colleague might trust their accountant’s professionalism and conduct as per the policies that govern their work (such as their code of ethics). If they trust their work and professionalism, they will respect the accountant. The reverse is true, if the accountant trusts the work of their colleagues, employers, and clients, they will develop a sense of respect for the other party. The professional relationship between the two parties will then be smooth. There will be fewer misunderstandings, most of which can be resolved through proper communication. In other words, respect is fundamental to the long-term survival of a professional relationship.
Respect has another application at the workplace, which is to guide me decide what to do and not do. In today’s workplace, the biggest challenge is diversity. I expect to work together with individuals from different ethnic backgrounds, worldviews, and even prejudices. Furthermore, I expect to work with individuals from different generations, from the Millennials to the Baby Boomers. We all have different ways of doing things. When working within a team, there will be a lot of conflicts. However, if we respect each other, we might be productive enough and achieve our goals. In other words, diversity at the workplace is a business imperative. Benefiting from the diversity, however, requires acceptance and inclusion. These can only be achieved if all employees respect each other. There are those who believe otherwise. My stance, however, is that like trust, respect is earned.
References
Jules, D. (2018). The International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants: Key Areas of Focus for SMEs and SMPs . IFAC. Retrieved from https://www.ifac.org/knowledge-gateway/building-trust-ethics/discussion/international-code-ethics-professional
