Accounting Ethics Education: Making Ethics Real

Accounting education ought to prepare future professionals to enter a principles-based, rules-oriented field of activity wherein technical knowledge of accounting standards (principles, rules and decision procedures) and ethical awareness (the capacity to discern moral issues and resolve ethical dilemmas) are crucial. Accounting education is best performed by the accountant’s adherence to the principles of the accounting profession and by individuals and firms following the appropriate rules, act according to the codes of conduct adopted by their profession, exercise clear judgment whenever they address financial transactions and consider/assess the state of a given business.

Accounting Ethics Education: Making Ethics Real gathers a diversity of contributions from invited well-known experts and other specialists. It promotes comprehensive reflection around key trends, discussing and highlighting the most updated research on accounting ethics education, being an essential and useful reference in the field. In the performance of accounting tasks, the accountant should be educated and supported in the skills development and habit formation to solve accounting problems, recognize moral issues and resolve ethical dilemmas that will be encountered in their special tasks. Also, this book provides a moral map for identifying and acting on values when difficult situations arise.

Examining multiple perspectives, the book improves the scholarly debate by providing cutting-edge and insightful research vital for all those interested and immersed in these matters. It will be of great value to academics, students, researchers and professionals in the fields of accounting, accounting education and ethics.

Alberto J. Costa, Ph.D., is Professor at the Institute of Accounting and Administration (ISCA) at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, and a Full Researcher of GOVCOPP (Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies, of the University of Aveiro), on the Systems for Decision Support research group.

Margarida M. Pinheiro, Ph.D., is Professor at the University of Aveiro (Institute of Accounting and Administration, ISCA-UA) and a Full Researcher at the Research Centre Didactics and Technology in Education of Trainers (CIDTFF), on the Policies, Evaluation and Quality research group.