1HISTORY OF PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTING ETHICS
Overview
The aim of this chapter is to examine the historical background to contemporary accounting ethics. The separation of management and ownership created a need for owners to have reliable, accurate and honest information about the performance of the entities they owned. This gave rise to a need for accountants to provide such data. Ethical development of the accounting profession (codes and regulations) tended to be reactive rather than proactive, with each new accounting fraud or scandal providing the impetus for a response to reassure stakeholders of accounting practitioners’ bona fides and commitment to providing high quality services. Early in their professionalization, ...
