Acc260 Solving Ethical Dilemmas in the Accounting...

Final Project: Solving Ethical Dilemmas in the Accounting Profession Laurie Searing ACC/260 July 25, 2010 Hope Piggee Solving Ethical Dilemmas in the Accounting Profession This dilemma in this ethical case is whether or not Daniel Potter (Dan), staff accountant for Baker Greenleaf accounting firm, should report unethical changes his immediate supervisor, Oliver Freeman, made to an audit report. The problem is that a large piece of real estate was valued on the balance sheet at $2 million. Dan had estimated the property at $100,000. Dan based his value estimate on the condition, location, and how long the property had been vacant. He approached the managers of the subsidiary with a proposal to write down the value of the property by†¦show more content†¦He also gave a negative review of Dan’s performance that would void Dan the opportunity of an early promotion (Brooks, 2007). This case has four primary stakeholders. Daniel Potter, the auditor, is interested in a long - term career with Baker Greenleaf and upholding strict ethical values. Oliver Freeman, Dan’s immediate supervisor, wants to keep his prominent position in the company and secure the client account wholly for Baker Greenleaf. Currently the accountant is shared with another firm. The third stakeholder is the subsidiary’s managers. They are aware of the misstatement on the value of the property in question, but they still want a clean opinion in the audit. Baker Greenleaf is the last stakeholder. They are interested in obtaining the client account for themselves as well as maintaining an exemplary reputation they have earned over the years (Brooks, 2007). Dan realizes his name is on a clean opinion for that audit and is not comfortable with the actions that have been taken by Oliver Freeman. He should start with speaking to someone in-house about his concerns. His choices are someone in personnel, or his partner counselor. While he is uneasy about either of these options, he must choose one because Baker Greenleaf does not have an independent review board within their company as some other companies do. If his concerns are not dealt with appropriately in-house he will have to report the matter to the governing bodies of the accounting