Code of Ethics

The Code of Ethics imposed by accounting bodies must be adhered to, as the business and financial world has implemented international accounting and auditing standards (Saeed, 2011). Certified Public Accountants (CPA) and professional accountants must uphold high ethical standards which allow outside financiers to make valid judgements about the financial performance of the business (Marion, 2011). The purpose of ethical guidelines in the conduct of their tasks is to ensure that accountants will gain the public's trust and confidence in their services (Smith, 2010). They must abide to the Code of Ethics because clients who frequently use the financial statements in making decisions expect them to be reliable and competent (Marion, 2011). Accountants should not only drive a business towards success with a profit motive, however, they should also consider the moral and social obligations towards the community, in order to run the business efficiently (Hendricks, n/d)

Appropriate ethics and ethical behaviours are of utmost importance because accountants are responsible in keeping private information of their clients, such as bank account numbers. The clients have portrayed trust towards the accountants, hence, they are to be honest and trustworthy in keeping these documents private and confidential (Weed, 2011). Companies operating under stringent accounting ethical standards allow the company to maintain its reputation as inappropriate actions by the employees are prohibited and positive impacts to the environment will be frequently generated (Vitez, 2010).

Various negative consequences will arise if the accountants do not follow ethical principles. An accounting firm violating legal codes and standards will result in a severe legal impact on the company, thus, this can harm the firm as clients will be driven away (Weed, 2011). Besides, fraud can also occur as accountants may present false figures which will lead to a misinterpretation of financial information by the statement users. Accountants who do not abide by the ethical principles intentionally make amendments to the statements in the hope of deceiving the statement users (Hendricks, n/d). (300 words)

The statement which states that "Triple Bottom Line reporting has little relevance to the reporting company or its stakeholders if it is not aligned with the company's overall business strategy" indicates that triple bottom line reporting must be aligned with the company's business strategy to be relevant to the reporting company or its stakeholders, as dimensions other than the profitability of the business are taken into account. Thus, the success of the business stated will most likely not be sustainable in the near future.

Triple bottom line accounting is referred to a business reporting which has significant returns and impacts of their investments covering the economic, environmental and social aspects (Pember,