ETHICS FOR ACCOUNTANTS

Assignment: Two Papers

Paper topics are going to be an ethical situation of your own devise. If you cannot come up with a "situation" on your own, your professor may provide you with some ideas.

The papers must be two (2) pages of text, single spaced, typed and written in memorandum form. The references should be embedded in the text and fully references on a separate Works Cited page. The paper should start in the following format:

Subject:
To:
From:
Date:

The Purdue Owl Online Writing Lab discusses a written memorandum as follows:

The format of a memo follows the general guidelines of business writing. A memo is usually a page or two long, should be single spaced and left justified. Instead of using indentations to show new paragraphs, skip a line between sentences.

Business materials should be concise and easy to read. Therefore it is beneficial to use headings and lists to help the reader pinpoint certain information.

You can help your reader understand your memo better by using headings for the summary and the discussion segments that follow it. Write headings that are short but that clarify the content of the segment. For example, instead of using "Summary" for your heading, try "New Advertising Recommendations," which is much more specific. The major headings you choose are the ones that should be incorporated in your purpose-statement in the opening paragraph.

For easy reading, put important points or details into lists rather than paragraphs when possible. This will draw the readers' attention to the section and help the audience remember the information better. Using lists will help you be concise when writing a memo.

The segments of the memo should be allocated in the following manner:

- Header: 1/8 of the memo

- Opening, Context and Task: 1/4 of the memo

- Summary, Discussion Segment: 1/2 of the memo

- Closing Segment, Necessary Attachments: 1/8 of the memo

This is a suggested distribution of the material to make writing memos easier. Not all memos will be the same and the structure can change as you see necessary.

Different organizations may have different formatting procedures, so be flexible in adapting your writing skills.

In Text Citation

You are to analyze your situation; cite appropriate laws, statutes and/or regulations; and come to a conclusion. Use MLA formatting for references and citations. The citation is to be in-text with a Works Cited page. The Works Cited page is not to be counted as a page of text.

Memorandum Topic Examples

Here are some possible examples for a topic and you can ask you professor for more:

1. You know that there are material misstatements in your employer's financial statements, you are a publicly traded company and the external auditors have not been informed of the material misstatements.

2. You have recognized a conflict of interest at your firm such as you prepare the taxes for a husband and wife; the husband and wife divorce and the husband is trying to hide income from the wife, what do you do? Could be business partners, the situations are endless.

3. You work in a/p and see expenses being paid to executives that are not proper business deductions or are for personal expenses and reimbursement is not a tax deductible expense (where expense will be taken) or against company policy.

You can discuss any ethical situation or dilemma of your own devise and feel free to be as inventive as you desire.