Ethics and accounting

The recent happenings in the business world have focused accountants on the importance of ethics. Recently the following information was released:

National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) recently published an exposure draft that seeks to revise Rules 5-1 and 5-2 of the Uniform Accountancy Rules. These rules specify educational requirements to become a CPA.

NASBA indicates that the the proposed revisions reflect greater detail on accreditation and the appropriate scrutiny accompanying each level of accreditation. In addition, the revisions include increases in the number of semester hours required in accounting (from 24 to 30) and business (30 to 36) as well as specific hourly requirements for both accounting and business subjects, including three hours of ethics in accounting and three hours of ethics in business. The proposal also includes specific requirements for general business education outside of the accounting area, as well as integration of communication and research across the accounting curriculum.

The entire proposal has a number of interesting points, but they all result in more accounting courses, and more ethics.