Michelle Barrios

Corinne Anderson

Accounting 2010

March 6, 2017

Everyone has their own personal ethics that develop over their life. When working

business ethics can interfere with personal ethics and vice versa depending on the situation one is

put in. Personal ethics can create a conflict in financial reporting if one is not deciding well on

what is right and wrong. Over the years my personal ethics has changed due to many factors such

as religion and environment.

Religion has played a huge role in my ethical development. Since I was a baby my family

was very religious and we attended church regularly. By being committed and not wanting to sin

I would always do what I believed God thought was right. As I got older I didnt agree with

everything that was in the bible and I now believe some of the things to be wrong.

The environment I am in also changes my personal ethics I have depending on the

situation I am in. When I am with my friends they can peer pressure me into doing things that I

would normally believe is wrong, but sometimes I let the pressure get to me and end up doing

the wrong thing. When I am with my family most times I do the right things, because if I dont I

can get in trouble with my parents. My siblings also pressure me into doing the wrong things, but

most times they motivate me to do the right thing. I usually decided between what is right and

wrong, because if I know I am going to feel guilty then it is mostly a wrong decision. However,
doing the right thing can also make me feel guilty if it ends up hurting someone, so I just go with

what feels right to me at the moment.

Personal ethics affects an organizations financial reporting decisions when the person is

not being truthful in their morals. If I were to be the accountant for an organization I would have

the opportunity to commit fraud. If the organization was not doing well I would be easily able to

report false information if I had to. The financial pressure could easily force someone to do the

wrong thing because there are high stakes.

An ethical situation that I could encounter in the future would be the misappropriation of

assets. I want to someday own my own business, so having someone who is trustful is highly

important. However, if it were to happen I know I would be angry, but would have to calmly

respond to the situation in a professional manner.

Overall, personal ethics changes for everyone over their lifetime. I know my personal

ethics changed for the better and has helped me become the person I am today. I am honest and

try to be kind to everyone whenever I can. My ethical development will always change due to

factors, but religion and environment will always play a role in it. I plan on being an accounting,

so I hope to use my personal ethics in financial reporting only when its appropriate. I plan on

being truthful and using my morals and not letting the financial pressure get me to make the

wrong decisions.