This essay looks at the issues of what is moral and immoral in accounting from both the deontology perspective and utilitarianism perspective. Those who hold the deontology view are of the argument that actions tend to be immoral or moral without taking into consideration their consequences. On the other hand, utilitarianism perspectives tend to consider the morality or immorality of an action by taking into account the consequences of the action.
For instance, in our case where we are looking at the commandment, “Thou shall not kill”, both utilitarianism and deontologist have different views over the application of this commandment in real life situation. The utilitarianism argues that if the action of killing one person will result in saving many lives then the killing in this case can be justified as ethical. I completely agree with this view, if one’s actions result into a better ending then it is worth taking the action than not taking the action at all.
In the case of applying these two views in the accounting field where there is professional code of conduct that guides the actions of an accountant, it is important to consider both the action and its consequences. The deontology view requires the accountants to follow these professional codes at all times without considering the consequences of their action. On the other hand, the utilitarianism is of different view whereby the accountant is given room to consider the consequences of the action before taking the action. But with the fall of various institutions in the world due to accounting errors there is a need to apply the deontology view in accounting in various financial positions of the firms (Griffin, 1996). The strict code of professional ethics in accounting can help reduce cases of accountants misusing freedom by considering the consequences of their actions such as defrauding firms.
In conclusion, I fully support the usage of deontology principles when it comes to accounting professional rather than utilitarianism principle if the firms are to be protected from ill intentions of some accountants.