Explore accounting professionalism

Description

This is an opportunity to personally explore accounting professionalism, the public interest and the role of the Accountant in society. In this context I want you to think broadly about Accountants. They may be Accountants in CPA firms, Accountants in business, Accountants in non-profit entities or Accountants in government. This assignment will ask you to explore what it means to be a professional Accountant in the 21st century. In addressing this question, please consider: What does it mean to be a professional Accountant? What are the characteristics of a professional Accountant? What distinguishes a professional Accountant from someone who simply works in accounting (e.g. bookkeepers, data entry, accounts payable clerks, etc.)? What role does a professional Accountant play in our economy, society, democracy, etc.? What stakeholders should the professional accountant consider? When stakeholders have conflicting interests, how should the public accountant prioritize? Does a professional Accountant have responsibilities not shared by other professions? If so, briefly discuss and indicate their relevance. Please do not address these questions theoretically, but with practical examples. Specifically, illustrate and support your answers with examples out of the cases, readings, class discussions, research and your experiences. Remember, your response should be broad enough to consider the roles of Accountants in public accounting firms, in business and industry, in non-profits and in government. In preparing your essay please reflect on your reading of The Reckoning and consider questions such as: – What role does society play (i.e. are people educated in accounting and what role does that play in the success or failure of the company or state)? – Is what is taking place similar or different from modern day USA? Are we better or worse off than the era you are reading about in The Reckoning? – How has the accounting professional evolved over the centuries? I will post other articles to D2L in the Readings tab to help you explore the topic, but please don’t constrain yourself to just this material. The Professionalism Essay is to be completed individually. Your discussion should be approximately 1,500 words, plus references (you may use any of the referencing formats – MLA, APA, etc.). The due date for the Essay is indicated in the Schedule of Topics and Assignments below. I encourage you over the next few weeks to start writing notes about what you believe it means to be member of the accounting profession in the 21st century. As the term progresses, develop the themes that you want to explore and start to overlay our discussions from various cases in this context