Dan's first step would be to speak with a representative in Human Resources, outlining his concerns in writing, citing the legalities and the potential liability to the firm. He needs to do this in a non-confrontational manner that focuses specifically on the ethical issue, and not the personality conflicts. Dan, in fact, has several issues towards his benefit. 1) Ethics are not an "except for" and he has the legal and moral obligation to provide correct and ethical work for his clients and his company; 2) if he had followed his supervisor's instructions, he would be challenging professional accountancy codes as well as putting his, and the firm's, professional and legal integrity on the line; 3) if Dan does nothing and something does go wrong, he will be the scapegoat unless there is a clear paper trail showing the steps he took to mitigate the situation.

Dan should take the following steps: 1) Write up a formal letter expressing his concerns, etc. And plan of action to Oliver, ccing HR. 2) Depending on the response, he, or he and Dan should meet with HR; 3) if there is no satisfactory outcome, HR should facilitate a meeting between Dan, Oliver and Oliver's supervisor; 4) if no satisfactory conclusion can come out of that, it would be an issue for the management team who would make a final determination.

Stakeholder Impact -- Stakeholder impact is problematical to predict: 1) Dan and the firm could be liable for an error in reporting, as could the client; 2) Dan could lose his accounting credentials if a problem occurs; 3) Dan may be passed up for promotion because of the negative review; 4) Dan could be seen as negative and not a team player and be let go by the firm; 5) Oliver could either be reprimanded or rewarded; 6) the client could either be very pleased or upset at the lack of professional nature; and 7) there could be various impacts to the firm; ranging from more clients, fewer clients, loss of staff, or legal issues.

Deontology tells us that it is not the end, but the means that are important, and if the means are ethical, then the outcome will also be ethical. On one hand, a utilitarian approach would say that the issue was so minor it really benefits more people to simply let the exception stand; on the other hand, there is a clear violation of ethics. For both utilitarianism and deontology, Oliver's role is unethical, and the firm must decide its commitment to ethical values.
Stakeholder Analysis Table

Category

Benefits

Contributions / Sacrifices

Influence

Involvement

Dan Potter

Career, reputation, promotion

Expertise, lead on the project, asked to sacrifice ethics

Strong influence on basic project

100% in the details

Oliver Freeman

Career, reputation, power / control, promotion

Reviewer, adamant about his own views

Using management pressure to ensure his views are met

Part-time on this project, has other projects

Baker Greenleaf

Reputation and ethical behavior

Accountant Firm, provides means

Overall decisions would be made at this level

Minimal unless it becomes extraordinarily confrontational

Sub (Client)

Needs accurate information to base decisions.

Provided basic work papers

Knows firm wants to keep them happy

Dependent upon level and final decisions.

REFERENCES

Brooks, L., Dunn, P. (2010). Business and Professional Ethics: For Directors, Executives, and Accountants. Mason, OH: Cenage/SouthWest Publishing.