Acc 260 – Solving Ethical Dilemmas
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Solving Ethical Dilemmas
August 23, 2012
University of Phoenix
Acc/260
After reading this case on ethical dilemmas I would say the ethical dilemma that Dan is facing is whether or not he should do the audit he has been ask to do by his boss in an ethical and responsible manner, or if he should take no regard to the ethical codes and to follow the instructions that his boss has given him. A little background on Dan and what has lead him to have such a big dilemma. Dan works for Baker Greenleaf which is one of the Big Eight Firms, Dan is one of the many staff accountants that work for the firm. Dan has been asked to work on a big case which his boss has put his best people on, and if Dan is successful in working on this case it could lead to a promotion for him. The project senior Oliver Freeman has assigned Dan to audit a wholly-owned real estate subsidiary, when Mr. Freeman gave the assignment to Dan he told Dan ” I want you to solve the problems we are having with this sub and come out with a clean opinion.” Now what Mr. Freeman means by a “clean opinion” is he wants confirmation that the clients statements are presented fairly, Mr. Freeman also wants this done in one month. Dan was also assigned someone to help him with this case, his name is Gene Doherty, and Gene is someone that has worked with Mr. Freeman before on this same clients account. Gene also told Dan that Mr. Freeman was a strict authoritarian and he was also not a very flexible man. After looking over the case and finding things that would make Dan not give them a clean opinion he had a few heated discussions with his boss Mr. Freeman.
In this case that Baker Greenleaf is handling there are four main stakeholders involved. The first stakeholder is Dan, Dan is looking to be a great accountant and do things by the book as he should. Dan would like to make sure he carries out his work honestly and to the highest quality standards. Dan is also the type of person that does not compromise when it comes to his business ethics; he also wants to keep the excellent reputation of his employer. Dan also wants to be able to get an early promotion within the Baker Greenleaf firm.
Oliver Freeman is another stakeholder in this case; Mr. Freeman is very interested in maintaining his supremacy over his subordinates. He also wants to keep a good relation with all his clients, and to also show his loyalty to the Baker Greenleaf firm by securing this client to work with his firm only.
The third stakeholder would be the client, who has a material misstatement in its accounts but is very interested in obtaining a clean audit report for its real estate. Without the Baker Greenleaf firm giving the client a clean opinion then they might take their account to a different firm.
The last stakeholder in this case is Baker Greenleaf firm; the Baker firm is an accountancy and audit firm that is interested in broadening its customer base. The Baker Greenleaf firm also wants to increase its revenue and to maintain its record for excellence.
What Dan is facing is a matter of importance, and Dan should take a very cautious and calculated action when dealing with this case. Dan may need to discretely to other people on the staff and talk about whether they think this is a concern to them or if they feel its a big concern to the company. Its also a good idea that the people in the firm that Dan decides to talk to are people that are reliable and that he believes to have good ethics and great regard for the firm. When Dan goes and talks to other people in the staff he needs to make notes of what they say on how they feel this case should be handled. Also if Dan