Ethics Committees and Consultants in Public Accounting Firms?

This article focuses on the use and essentiality of ethics committees and consultants in public accounting firms. According to the author, the use of ethics committees and/or consultants in public accounting firms may, in fact, provide a more systematic approach to ethical issues and/or dilemmas that public accounting firms may encounter. The report of the U.S. National Commission on Fraudulent Financial Reporting recommends increased coverage of ethics: in business courses as well as accounting courses at colleges and universities; on examinations for professional certificates; and in continuing education courses for accountants as well as individuals associated with public corporations. An ethics committee, suggestively, could facilitate the solution to an ethical issue and/or dilemma without referring the matter to an individual or group outside the public accounting firm. There is another function an ethics committee could possibly serve, that of ombudsman for a public accounting firm. However, to be of value, an ethics committee in a public accounting firm would need access to and the support of the level of management to which it reports.