An applied code of ethics model for decision-making in the accounting profession

Purpose: The purpose of paper is to supply a code of ethics that can be easily utilized by working professional in their day to day decision making. The accounting profession plays a vital role in the functioning of modern society. It is essential that members of this profession be ethical and stand fast against the internal and external pressures that might encourage these professionals to engage in fraudulent activities. Codes of ethics provide a coherent articulation of the ideals, responsibilities and limitations of the collective ethic of a profession’s members and can assist in guiding ethical behavior. Design/methodology/approach: Our model is based on the professional values of justice, utility, competence and utility, i.e. JUCI model, which is a straightforward and easily understandable ethical decision-making model that the average accounting professional, as well as finance professionals in general, may reference when challenged with difficult ethical quandaries. Findings: This code, the JUCI Code, represents a contribution to the literature in that its simple, but not simplistic, approach could be of enormous benefit to busy and pressured accountants who need help in constructing independently achieved and defensible rational ethical decisions in the practice of accounting. Originality/value: In this paper, the authors build upon a review of ethical foundations and codes of conduct in other professions to construct our code of ethics for accounting professionals.