Abstract

Businesses of all sizes and types have suffered from the adverse effects of the ongoing Covid-19 global pandemic, and the world is still facing a fundamental existential threat. Nevertheless, efficacious vaccines have been developed and increasing numbers of consumers are recognizing the need to be vaccinated against this deadly disease to the point where many observers can see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. Although no one can predict the future with absolute precision, an article written by the Working Group formed by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) and national ethics standard setters (NSS) from Australia, Canada, China, South Africa, the UK and the US provides a timely extrapolation of current economic trajectories to describe several ethics challenges that accountants can be reasonably expected to encounter in the years to come. The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical analysis of the Five Ethics Challenges that will Intensify as the Pandemic Wanes, including its strengths and weaknesses as well as a discussion of opinions about the significance, accuracy and clarity of the article and how it relates to the class.

Article Brief: Five Ethics Challenges that will Intensify as the Pandemic Wanes (May 10, 2021)

To their credit, the Working Group formed by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) and national ethics standard setters (NSS) from Australia, Canada, China, South Africa, the UK and the US (hereinafter Working Group) provide a timely overview and discussion concerning the various ethical considerations that will emerge during the post-Covid-19 pandemic era and the authors concede that these extraordinary circumstances can reasonably be expected to persist for several years to come. Although not exactly visionary, all of the intensified ethical challenges that are identified by the Working Group and discussed below represent important issues that accountants must consider as they move forward in an uncertain economic climate. An analysis of the articles respective strengths and weaknesses is followed by a discussion of opinions about the significance, accuracy and clarity of the article and how it relates to the class.

Article strengths

Some of the more prescient observations that were made by the Working Group include the fact that some business entities will likely stay afloat only...…pandemic. For instance, ethics challenge number 3 concerns the Risks Regarding Rapid Digitalization so Accountants Must Be Alert to Cyber Crimes. This no-brainer is followed by two other intuitive ethics challenges that focus on the need to avoid burnout and mental health issues (again emphasizing the need for resiliency without offering any related advice) as well as the need to look to the future in order to become better prepared today.

Discussion of opinions about the significance, accuracy and clarity of the article and how it relates to the class

The five ethics challenges that were identified by the Working Group are all significant and likely accurate in their assessment of what can reasonably be expected in the years to come as the once-in-a-century global pandemic runs its course. The article was less clear, however, concerning how accounting professionals can respond to the ethics challenges identified, leaving it up to the individual reader to decide what nebulous descriptors such as nimble, resilient and agile actually mean for their practice. Notwithstanding these limitations, though, the articles several points were highly aligned with the course content and helped reinforce the importance of the…