This session takes a unique approach to exploring ethics in the accounting profession. The primary focus is on the most critical, and often the most neglected, element of ethical decision-making, THE INDIVIDUAL. This session is designed to take the participants through a process of in-depth self-discovery that helps them understand why they think and behave the way that they do. This enhanced level of self-awareness allows the participants to apply their personal learnings to the ethical decision-making process. Specifically, this session guides the participants through a process that helps them learn how their psychological make-up naturally positions them to be an ethical decision-maker as well as how that same make-up may detract them from being an ethical decision-maker. This is accomplished by having the participants take a personality assessment and then teaching them how to interpret their own specific results. Through discussion and exercises, the concentrated emphasis is then given to the application of their personality make-up to the ethical decision-making process. The session content is then synthesized with the guiding principles of the accounting profession.

Agenda:

• Review the Ethical Decision-Making process, moral cognitive development, and the most common myths associated with ethical decision making


• Discover your personality preferences


• Discuss the impact of various personality preferences (i.e., beyond your own) on the ethical decision-making process


• Synthesize the psychological processes and ethical decision making with the AICPA code of conduct


• Apply your personality preferences to:
  
  
  
  • The counter-productive psychological processes that impede the ethical decision-making process (i.e., Rationalization and Impression Management)
  
  
  • The biases that most adults fall victim to when confronted with a moral dilemma
  
  
  • Moral courage - which helps a person stand up in accordance to his/her moral compass even in the face of adversity so that ethical behavior actually occurs
  
  
  • Moral resiliency - which helps a person bounce back from adversity and complex situations so that moral behavior is continued