“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” (Aristotle) Can we teach students to be ethical? This is something I’ve thought about a lot during my 30+ years teaching ethics at the university level. On the one hand, I know that I can teach it. I... 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 →
Ethics in the Age of AI: Addressing Moral Challenges in the Era of Automation I have previously blogged about the problem of creating an ethical framework and processes for AI. AI can improve human decision-making, but it has its limits. The possibility exists that bias in algorithms can create an... 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 →
Relationship to the Law We all know that a compass is a device for determining directions by means of a magnetic needle or group of needles turning freely on a pivot and pointing to the magnetic north. The expression that your moral compass should be directed due north for ethical... 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 →
Think: Data and Analytics Blog prepared by Gregory Hahn. Greg is a Senior Manager - Data Strategy, Operations and Transformation Senior Manager – at VMware. His LinkedIn profile is available at: @Gregory Hahn. “If a company has not yet prioritized investing in enterprise data, I would strongly recommend that they... Read more →
Steps to Follow Dealing with ethical issues can be perplexing. How, exactly, should we think through the alternative courses of action? What questions should we ask? What factors should we consider? Classic ethical reasoning methods suggest that once we have ascertained the facts, we should ask ourselves seven questions when... Read more →
Is it a Truth or Fallacy? It has been said that “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.” This was said by George Bernard Shaw in his 1905 stage play Man and Superman. Over a century later, and the derogatory phrase often thrown at educators in a disparaging way... Read more →