ACCA Foundations in Professionalism module 概念综述Word格式文档下载.docx
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Section2alsobrieflyexplainstheoriginanddevelopmentofaccountingasaprofession;
itidentifiestheprofessionalandregulatorybodiesrelevanttoaccountancyandtheirpurposes;
anditexplainstheprincipleof‘actinginthepublicinterest’.
Therestofthemodulecontainsthefollowingfourbroadthemes:
∙Lawandregulation(Section3)
∙Professionalethics(Section4)
∙Personaleffectiveness(Section5)
∙Personalvalues(Section6)
THEPROFESSIONALANDETHICALBEHAVIOURDECISIONFILTER
Thefirstlevelofthefilterisaboutunderstandinghowtocomplywiththelawinallareaswheretheaccountantworks.Thismeansensuringthatnothingisdonethatisillegalorcontravenesanyregulations,andmakingsurethatalllegalrequirementsarecompliedwith.Legalobligationsincludepreventingtheft,fraud,bribery,corruptionandmoneylaundering.Theyalsoinvolvecomplyingwithdataprotection,security,healthandsafety,recordkeeping,financialreporting,auditandfilingrequirements.
Asaprofessionalitisnotenoughtobehaveinaccordancewithlawalone.Manyofthedecisionsthatmustbemademaynotbeaffectedbythelaworregulation,sohowshouldtheaccountantactinthesesituations?
Ifthelaworaccountingregulationissilentorunclear,thebehaviouroftheaccountantshouldbeguidedbyaprofessionalcodeofconduct.Therelevantcodeofconductwillbebasedoncompliancewiththefollowingfundamentalethicalprinciples:
∙Integrity
∙Objectivity
∙Professionalcompetenceandduecare
∙Confidentiality
∙Professionalbehaviour
ThesefundamentalprinciplesareembeddedintotheACCACodeofEthicsandConduct,andshouldactasaframeworktoguideyouractionsanddecisionsatwork.
Actingwithinthelaw,
andbehavinginaccordancewiththesefundamentalprofessionalethics,youmayencountersituationswhenafurtherchoiceexists.
Figure1:
Professionalbehaviourdecisionfilter
Oncebehaviourcompliesfullywiththelawandisconsistentwithfundamentalprinciplesofprofessionalbehaviour,furtherchoicesarestillavailable,butthescopebecomesmuchnarrower.Forexampletheremaybeachoicetodosomethinginonewayoranother,suchashowtocommunicatewithsomeone,orwhethertoactimmediatelyordelayadecision.Thechoicesthatyoumakeatthislevelofthefilterrequireyoutoconsideryourpersonalvaluesanduseyourownindividualjudgement.
Thisiswhereyourpersonalethicalvaluescomein.
Thefigureopposite
canalsobepresentedasasimpleflowcharttoguideyourdecision-making.
Thedecisionflowchartbelowisasystematicwayofthinkingabouthowyouactandbehaveatworkandthesequenceinwhichyou,asaprofessional,shouldnormallyfilteryourdecisions.
Figure2:
Flowchartoftheprofessionalandethicaldecision-makingprocess
TheFoundationsinProfessionalismmodulewillhelpyouputthisdecision-makingfilterintopractice.Nowcompletethisquickquiztotestyourcurrentunderstanding.
2.1
WHATISAPROFESSIONAL?
Therearemanydifferentdefinitionsofa‘professional’.Relevantfactorsincludeacademicqualifications,specialistknowledge,heightenedethicalstandards,andothers.However,aprofessionalissomeonewhohasknowledgeandexpertisewhicharerecognisedandvaluedbysociety.Doctors,lawyersandaccountantsarecommonlythoughtofasprofessionals.
Theyhavetrainedintheirfieldstodevelopthehighestlevelsofspecialistskillsandknowledge.Theyare
trustedandrespectedbythepublicandtheirpeers.Professionalsareexpectedtobehaveatworkinaccordancewithminimumstandards,oftensetoutinprofessionalandethicalcodesofconduct.
Aprofessionalhasadutytotheiremployer,clients,colleaguesandthemselves,butshouldalwaysputthepublicinterestaboveall,inguidingtheirbehaviouranddecision-makingatwork.
Becomingaprofessionalinvolvespassingexaminations,gainingrelevantexperienceandupdatingknowledgeperiodically.Italsoinvolvesdevelopingtheattitudesofaprofessionalandbehavinginawaythattheirprofessiondemandsandsocietyexpects.
Professionalsarerequiredtoknowwhattheycanandcannotdo,theymustdecideontherightcourseofactionandtheymustcarryouttheirworktothebestoftheirability.
Theconceptofprofessionalismissummarisedbythefollowingunattributedquote,
‘It’snotthejobyoudo–it’showyoudothejob’
Professionalismconcernshowyouconductyourself,behave,areperceivedbyothers,andwhetheryouaretechnicallycompetentatwork.
Thekeyattributeofaprofessionalistoexhibitasenseoftrustworthiness.Thisprovidestheclientoremployerandthepublicwiththeassurancethattheprofessionalwillalwaysperformtoaconsistentlyhighstandard,anddowhatisexpectedofthem.
2.2
CHARACTERISTICSOFAPROFESSION
Theoreticalknowledge:
Professionalsareassumedtohaveextensivetheoreticalknowledgeandskills,andtheabilitytoapplytheseinpractice.
Professionalassociation:
Professionalbodiesareintendedtoenhancethestatusoftheirmembers.Theyhavecarefullycontrolledentrancerequirements,includingwork-basedpracticalexperience,andbeingabletodemonstrate‘goodcharacter’.
Extensiveperiodofeducation:
Passinganumberofexaminationsanddemonstratingatechnicalknowledgeoftheirsubject.
Continuingprofessionaldevelopment(CPD):
Theupdatinganddevelopmentofknowledgeandskillsisessential.
Licensedpractitioners:
Professionsseektoestablisharegisterofmembership.Thisprovidesrecognitionfortheprofessional,butalsohelpstoprotectthepublic.
Workautonomy:
Professionalsshouldretaincontroloftheirperformanceatworkthroughtheskillstheypossess,whichmaybeuniquewithintheorganisation.
Codeofprofessionalconductorethics:
Professionalbodiesusuallyhavecodesofconductorethicsfortheirmembers,anddisciplinaryproceduresforthosewhoinfringetheethicalcode.
Self-regulation:
Professionalbodiesusuallybenefitfromameasureofself-regulationandindependencefromgovernmentalthoughthismayvary.
Highstatusandrewards:
Successfulprofessionsachievehighstatus,publicprestigeandrewardsfortheirmembers.
Mobility:
Theskills,knowledgeandauthorityofaprofessionalbelongtotheprofessional,andnottheorganisationforwhichtheywork.Professionalsarethereforeoccupationallymobile.
2.3
PROFESSIONALISMANDYOUASATRAINEEACCOUNTANT
Asatraineeworkingwithinaprofession,youwillnotbeabletodisplayallofthe
badges
ofaprofessional.However,inordertobeacceptedintoaprofessionalbody,youwillneedtobeabletodemonstrate
professionalism,aswellasgaintheoreticalknowledgeandpracticalexperience.
Professionalisminvolvesthefollowing:
∙Carryingoutyourresponsibilitiestothebestofyourability
∙Keepingyourskillsandknowledgeuptodate
∙Thinkingabouttheimpactofwhatyoudo,orfailtodo
∙Behavinghonestlyandwithintegrity
∙Meetingyourdeadlines
∙Treatingclients,managers,colleaguesandotheremployeeswithrespect
Toachievethesethingsyoushould:
∙Studyeffectivelyandrevisethoroughlyforyourexaminations
∙Practisewhatyoulearnatwork
∙Takeprideinyourworkandenjoydoingsomethingwell
∙Learnfromyourmistakesandcontinuouslyimprove
∙Knowyourlimitationsandactaccordingly
∙Recognisethatthereisalwaysmoretolearnthanyoualreadyknow
∙2.5THEACCOUNTANCYPROFESSIONTODAY
∙Globallytheaccountancyprofessioncontinuestoflourishwithmorepeopletrainingtobecomeaccountants.
∙Thedevelopmentandgrowthinpopularityofaccountingasaprofessioncontinuestoday,despiteitsreputationbeingdamagedbythecorporatescandalsoftheearlypartofthe21stcentury.WiththedemiseofcompanieslikeEnron,Worldcom,ParmalatandmorerecentlyLehmanBrothers,theroleofaccountantsinprovidinga'
trueandfair'
viewoftheperformanceandpositionofthesecompanieshasoftenbeenbroughtintoquestion.
∙Theprofessionhashadtobecomeevenmorevigilantandresponsibleforthebehaviourandreputationofitsmembers.Throughitseducationandtrainingprogrammes,ithashadtoensurethatprofessionalaccountantsdevelopagreaterethicalandresponsibleattitudetotheirwork.ACCAandotherprofessionalbodiesrecognisetheirmembers'
dutytoactinthepublicinterest,aswellastheinter