Auditing Standards Must, Out of Necessity, Be

Auditing Standards must, out of necessity, be of the highest possible standards, and the ethics involved must be of the best quality possible. If they were not, they would have to be improved as soon as any disparities are noticed, and this in turn means that the standards that are specified within the Auditing Standards Board that are meant to be followed by all auditors as well as CPA firms while performing audits must be strictly adhered to, otherwise, there will be unethical accounting behavior, which is not at all a healthy phenomenon. At present, the PCOAB or the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board sets the standards for accounting behavior, wherein audits and reviews of the SEC registrants and of the ASB must be brought under the rules as specified by the quality control standards. However, one must acknowledge the fact that to much importance is being given to blaming the 'wrong cause' wherein one individual has commented that there is no one group of standard setters in the world that would be able to make up enough rules that would cover everyone who would not want a 'fair and full disclosure', and who would try to circumvent it wherever possible. (On High Standards of Auditing Ethics and Behavior)

Therefore, it must be stated that all CPA's must play an important role in the development of high ethical standards not only for themselves, but for their companies as well. The AICPA has set up a 'New Code of Professional Conduct', and it is expected that all companies would follow this set of rules willingly and unfailingly. Ethical decisions are not only the concern of the upper level managers of a concern, but also important for the entrants into the profession, and unless and until they are taught to follow a strict code of ethics, there will be large-scale corruption in the business. Not only will the decision making process with respect to earning be changed, but so will the belief and trust in the company be drastically affected, and the employees of the company would also suffer as a direct result. This means that employees would be faced with either living with the corruption and unethical practices, or look for another job. Therefore, it is very obvious that ethics is very important in the accounting profession, and unethical behavior would eventually bring the company down. (Ethics and Professionalism: The CPA in Industry)