Workplace ethics Feed

Can We Teach Someone to Be Ethical?

“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 →


Does Private Equity Ownership of CPA Firms Violate Audit Independence

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 & AI: Unanswered Questions

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 →


Does ChatGPT Get it Right?

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 →


21st Century Anti-Fraud Best Practices: What has Improved and What Still Needs to Change

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 →


Organizational Implications of Whistleblowing

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 →


Why You Should Have Invested in Enterprise Data Yesterday

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 →


What is the Goal of Ethical Decision Making?

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 →


“Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.”

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 →