(c) Discuss the ethical responsibility of the company accountant in ensuring that manipula

Question

(c) Discuss the ethical responsibility of the company accountant in ensuring that manipulation of the statement

of cash flows, such as that suggested by the directors, does not occur. (5 marks)

Note: requirements (b) and (c) include 2 professional marks in total for the quality of the discussion.

Answer 1

正确答案：
(c) Companies can give the impression that they are generating more cash than they are, by manipulating cash flow. The way
in which acquisitions, loans and, as in this case, the sale of assets, is shown in the statement of cash flows, can change the
nature of operating cash flow and hence the impression given by the financial statements. The classification of cash flows
can give useful information to users and operating cash flow is a key figure. The role of ethics in the training and professional
lives of accountants is extremely important. Decision-makers expect the financial statements to be true and fair and fairly
represent the underlying transactions.
There is a fine line between deliberate misrepresentation and acceptable presentation of information. Pressures on
management can result in the misrepresentation of information. Financial statements must comply with International
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the Framework and local legislation. Transparency, and full and accurate disclosure is
important if the financial statements are not to be misleading. Accountants must possess a high degree of professional
integrity and the profession’s reputation depends upon it. Ethics describe a set of moral principles taken as a reference point.
These principles are outside the technical and practical application of accounting and require judgement in their application.
Professional accountancy bodies set out ethical guidelines within which their members operate covering standards of
behaviour, and acceptable practice. These regulations are supported by a number of codes, for example, on corporate
governance which assist accountants in making ethical decisions. The accountant in Warrburt has a responsibility not to mask
the true nature of the statement of cash flow. Showing the sale of assets as an operating cash flow would be misleading if
the nature of the transaction was masked. Users of financial statements would not expect its inclusion in this heading and
could be misled. The potential misrepresentation is unacceptable. The accountant should try and persuade the directors to
follow acceptable accounting principles and comply with accounting standards. There are implications for the truth and
fairness of the financial statements and the accountant should consider his position if the directors insist on the adjustments
by pointing the inaccuracies out to the auditors.