Ethical Dilemma in Accounting: A Case Study of Overtime Reporting, Assignments of Accounting

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Week 5: You Decide Heather R Lash DeVry University Acct439: Professional Ethics for Accountants Professor Monica Hubler March 2024

Week 5: You Decide Brian, who has recently joined as a staff accountant, encounters a challenging situation at his job. He is instructed to continue working during lunch breaks and beyond the normal finishing hour without logging this extra time as overtime. This is not in line with what he was taught during his training. Brian needs to speak with a supervisor he trusts or someone from Human Resources to understand the company's rules about extra working hours. He also needs to write down these talks. It is important for understanding the culture of the company because sometimes there are unspoken rules about doing more work hours. Brian should consider the ethical implications of failing to log extra work hours because being precise and truthful is very important in the field of accounting. Seeking guidance from someone knowledgeable or a person who has much experience could offer him new viewpoints. Finally, Brian has to decide something that shows what he believes is important and right, and how he thinks one should behave in their job. He also needs to think about what his company expects from him. Brian is facing a tough situation at work that involves ethics. He has to choose between following the company's rule of accurately documenting all hours worked or going along with his manager's informal expectation of not recording overtime hours. To solve this problem, Brian should take a few steps: Talk to someone higher up in the company. First, Brian should talk to someone higher up in the company, like the human resources department or a manager who is not directly involved. This will help him understand what the official company policy is. Brian needs to make sure he understands the company's rules on overtime pay, so he should talk to someone who knows the official policies. He should get ready

overtime work. This documentation can be invaluable in situations where there may be questions about his adherence to company policies or the instructions of his superiors. To effectively document these verbal instructions, Brian should take thorough notes during or immediately after his conversations with his manager. These notes should include the date, time, and a summary of the instructions given. If possible, Brian should also note the context of the conversation and any other individuals present. After documenting the conversation, it would be a good idea for Brian to send a follow-up email to his manager summarizing the discussion and the instructions provided. This not only creates a record of the communication with a timestamp, but it also gives the manager an opportunity to clarify any misunderstandings or provide additional information. Maintaining this level of documentation shows that Brian is proactive and committed to transparency, which are important qualities in any professional setting. Additionally, it aligns with best practices in business communication. Consider the Ethical Implications The moral implications of Brian's decision are significant and multifaceted. In the accounting profession, honesty and accuracy are more than just fundamental principles that ensure trust and reliability in financial reporting and business practices. As Brian considers whether to follow his manager's informal instruction not to log overtime, he must consider the potential impact on his professional reputation. Adherence to ethical standards is essential for accountants, as their work often involves handling sensitive financial information and maintaining public trust. If Brian decides to follow what his manager wants, he might help in making false records that can show the company's money or work expenses wrong. If someone finds this during

checks or when they look at the finances, it could cause legal and money problems for the company. Additionally, this might harm the confidence that stakeholders such as investors, customers and workers have in the company. Brian's choice might impact how he is seen by his colleagues at work. In accounting, there are many rules, and it is important for people to follow strong moral principles. If Brian does not follow these rules and submits time records that are not true, it might put his certification at risk and affect his chances for jobs in the future. Professional accounting groups may also act against him if he does this. Additionally, Brian's behavior now can create a standard for how he acts later and influence the actions of his colleagues. Accepting working extra without logging could turn into something expected from him and maybe even from other workers who see what he does. This might lead to a work environment that silently approves of not following ethical rules, and changing this can be hard once it becomes the norm. Brian needs to think about the moral effects of what he does. He must balance doing what his boss wants right now with the future results of not following moral rules. The choice will show how much he holds on to his work's main values and his own honesty. Brian needs to think deeply about this choice because it will affect not only what is happening now but also how people see him and his work. He must choose if he's ready to take a chance that might damage how others view his career and the trustworthiness of the company, just for a quick solution.

Conclusion Brian must think carefully about his own morals and what he considers good or bad behavior, as this is important for sorting out the problem he faces at work. He needs to look inside himself and consider these things in relation to his job responsibilities. Brian, who works as an accountant, must follow a professional code that emphasizes the importance of being accurate and truthful in financial records. If he follows his boss's suggestion to not record extra work hours, this might conflict with these official rules and what he personally believes is right. If Brian follows what his boss informally tells him and doesn't record the extra hours he works, it will affect more than just his job; it could also make him feel very uncomfortable and stressed because he knows this is not in line with what he believes is right. This internal conflict can impact on his job satisfaction, self-esteem, and overall well-being. If Brian decides to go against these unofficial instructions, he might face opposition or maybe some negative reactions from his boss or colleagues. This could take different shapes, like having a difficult time at work with others affecting his chances of moving up in the company. Brian must consider if he is prepared to manage possible results and whether he possesses the needed support and resources to deal with them.

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