Is it a Personnel Issue? Recently, a reporter from the Wall Street Journal, Mark Maurer, asked to interview me about the question: “Are companies picking a new finance chief after detecting a material weakness in their financial reporting controls, at least in part due to a shortage of skilled accounting... Read more →

PUBLIC INTEREST SECTION OF THE AMERICAN ACCOUNTING ETHICS INVITES YOU TO THE FOLLOWING EVENT MAKE YOUR PLANS TODAY TO ATTEND THE 28th ANNUAL ETHICS RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM Sunday, August 11, 2024 | 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Washington, DC The 28th Annual Ethics Research Symposium at the 2024 AAA Annual Meeting... Read more →

The following is the program for the 28th Annual Ethics Symposium sponsored by the Public Interest Section of the American Accounting Association to be held on August 11, 2024, in Washington, D.C. You can register for the Symposium on the website of the American Accounting Association (https://aaahq.org/Meetings/2024/Annual-Meeting). Continuing Professional Education... Read more →

Awarded by the Public Interest Section of the American Accounting Association The intent of the Excellence in Accounting Ethics Education Award is to recognize new pedagogy for teaching ethics to accounting students. A monetary award of $1,000 and a plaque will be presented at the annual Ethics Symposium to an... Read more →

An Example of Hubris, Incompetence, and Greed I always tell my students that the best way to learn about ethics, or the lack thereof, is through a case study. What follows is a mini-case study of the FTX fraud. Last week Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of misappropriating and embezzling... Read more →

Tearing Down Barriers to Entry The most talked about issue in accounting education today is whether the 150-hour requirement to qualify for a CPA license that has existed for many years creates a barrier to entry that should be revisited. I have posted a blog on this topic before and... Read more →

Independence Standards at Risk Perhaps you are aware that private equity firms have started to acquire a controlling interest in accounting firms, which these days are better referred to as “professional services” firms. The first such acquisition was in August 2022, when Tower Capital Partners purchased the stock of Eisner... Read more →

Matching Accomplishments to ChatGPT Responses: Not an Exact Science It's tempting to ask ChatGPT about your accomplishments as a professional. I did just that, first asking about my pseudonym-- "Ethics Sage,' and then about me professionally. The responses are below. ChatGPT does indicate that I am a blogger but provides... Read more →

OVERVIEW OF THE PANEL DISCUSSIONS: I am moderating a panel at the 2023 Ethics Symposium presented by the Public Interest Section of the American Accounting Association (AAA). The panelists are well-known observers of financial statement fraud and critics of audit failures. They will look back and forward to assess where... Read more →

Protections and Retaliation What makes one person speak out and blow the whistle on wrongdoing while another remains silent? Is it a “moral sense,” as Thomas Jefferson wrote, that instinctively motivates a person’s thoughts and actions? Is it motivated by avoiding harm to others? Is the act of blowing the... Read more →