Ethical issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethical issue - Essay Example The two sides of the ethical issue facing this accountant are either to report him to the company’s authorities or not report him (Mizzoni 35). The accountant can report the supervisor to the company’s higher authorities, assuming that he has a duty to be honest and accountable to the company. This would mean that the accountant is using deontological ethics in which people act to fulfill a duty, regardless of whether the action pleases or does not please people. Using deontological ethics would influence the accountant’s perception to the effects that the supervisor was not justified in taking the $ 500 but that the money should have been used in developing the company. The ethics of moral duty would make him think that covering up the case would make him an accomplice and that he would be haunted for not reporting the case (Mizzoni 36). However, the decision to report his supervisor to higher authorities in the company would have both positive and negative implications. The company’s higher authorities might investigate the case, find that it is true, and discipline the supervisor. This would justify the accountant’s action, with or without the praise of the higher authorities. Another likely event is that the higher authorities might doubt the accountant, thinking that he is trying to implicate the supervisor and trying to settle a score with him, or that he is trying to report him after their deal to steal the company money went sour. This can cause his dismissal and if he is retained, there will be conflict between him and the supervisor (Mizzoni 36). The accountant could decide not to report the supervisor believing that it would have undesirable outcomes for the supervisor and for him. If he made the decision not to report his supervisor because of its outcomes, he would be led by utilitarian ethics. According to utilitarian ethics, outcomes of an act define its morality. Applying this ethics, the accountant could believe that both