PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22304, 19 January 1938, Page 16

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

QUESTION OF PRIVATE MORALS ACCOUNTANT’S “CONFESSION” ft A recent issue of the “Certified Ac; couhtants’ Journal” (London) had an interesting editorial note on professional ethics and private morals. “It is the custom and*- practice of members of the Oxford Group,” the writer stated, “to testify in public at their meetings as to their sins and weaknesses, which is called ‘sharing. At a recent gathering of this movement a practising accountant told one of ■his professional experiences and his action thereon in conformity with the apparent views of the group. He had to advise a client on a financial project and came to the conclusion that it was legal in fact and that he would ‘pass’ the accounts in connexion therewith as a professional auditor. But in his view the project was dishonest and he advised accordingly. We venture to suggest that his action was wrong, and was due to a misconception of his professional obligations. “An accountant in giving professional advice is not concerned with the prudence or imprudence of the conduct of the affairs of a company so long as he gives a correct view of the company’s affairs. In making a report to his clients, he is bound*to ascertain whether his advice is in accordance with the law and in accordance with the traditions and practice of his profession —both bulwarks against commercial dishonesty, and, indeed, reliable tests of good professional advice. His views on the ethical considerations involved are irrevelant. Just as judges in criminal cases must not confuse crime with sin, so professional men should not seek to distinguish law from strict morality. The judge who tells a prisoner convicted of bigamy that he has sinned against the laws of God and man is acting, it is suggested, beyond his duty. Thus an accountant who colours his professional report with his own peculiar views, which may be entirely ill-judged and wrongly conceived, seeing that at best he is an amateur moralist, is going outside the scope of his professional duty. He is not the keeper of his client’s conscience; he is merely a person who is asked to give professional advice, and he should therefore follow the excellent maxim, ‘Let the cobbler stick to his last.’ • “Private morals should be carefully distinguished from professional ethics. If any project is legal and in accordance with ordinary professional practice, it. is not for the expert in accountancy to give his views except from a professional point of view. “We do not, of course, in the foregoing remarks imend to undervalue private virtue. We would, on the contrary, say that professional ethics should be reinforced by private morality. As we have stated in the past, it is possible to observe the literal requirements of professional ethics while transgressing their spirit. But that would not be possible for a professional man with a high standard of private morality.”