Keywords
ethics
public interest
social function
How to Cite
Abstract
The practice of accounting professionals within private and public organizations has taken on a significant role in recent years, since it has migrated from the context of bookkeeping to a more strategic scenario. However, the performance of the accountant has been questioned within the framework of his social function as a guarantor of public trust and in a particular way of the “public interest”, through an integrated professional conduct, ethical conduct in accordance with the principles and a guarantee of transparency of financial information, which serves the decision-making of a wide group of users. This work aims to reflect on the role of the public accountant in his role of guaranteeing public confidence. The research is descriptive with a qualitative approach, based on a survey applied to 216 professionals selected in a non-probabilistic manner, and who are asked their opinion in relation to their ethical performance and their social function in organizations. The results show, for example, that 85.3% of respondents agree that accountant ethics are threatened by the particular interests of private enterprise, and 65.9% say that the principle of mental independence is not guaranteed.
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