Personal Ethics Paper

When one takes an ethics course, several thoughts may come to mind. Some examples of these thoughts include, “This class is useless. How will it help me in my career? Why is this class even required?” However, I believe ethics is a very important topic, especially to myself because in less than two years, I will enter the business world as a professional accountant. As an accountant, we are responsible to report the financials of a company. Investors depend on these financials to decide which company or companies they will invest their hard earned money. If these financials were skewed by the accountants or upper management for merely personal benefit, an investor could be fooled into investing into a company who is about to declare bankruptcy or in serious financial trouble. The investor could then lose their hard earned money due to lack of ethics from the accounting department. This is why ethics means to me to always be honest and do the right thing even if it causes harm to yourself.

As history progressed, several ethical theories developed. These ethical theories include the Golden Rule, egoism, teleology (Utilitarianism, Consequentialism), deontology (Rights Principles, Kant’s Categorical Imperative), virtue ethics, and the Six Pillars of Character. I believe the ethical theory Utilitarianism fits me best. Utilitarianism’s ethical doctrine states, “Actions should be performed with the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people in mind.” Utilitarians consider the interests of all stakeholders affected by a decision and choose the decision that produces the “greatest good to the greatest number” of people. I consider myself a Utilitarian because I do exactly this: every decision I make that affects other people besides myself, I try to maximize the benefits while minimizing the harm. For example, if I had dinner plans with my friends, and we had trouble choosing a restaurant, instead of just choosing a restaurant that only I like, I would choose a restaurant that the greatest number of my friends likes, even if I do not like it myself.

For instance, if I was having dinner with five of my friends, and four out of the five friends prefer to have Mexican food, then we would decide to have Mexican food that night. We would have Mexican food even if I did not want to have Mexican food because a majority, four out of six people, wanted Mexican tonight. Choosing to eat this maximizes the benefits to the six of us. Another example would be if I had scheduling conflicts. For example, if I had class at the same time my mother needed a ride to a doctor’s appointment, I would definitely skip class to take my mother to the doctor. As a Utilitarian, I want to maximize the benefits to my mother and myself. If I were to not take my mother to the doctor and go to class, my mom would still be sick and be required to wait until another time to go to the doctor. However, if I skip class and take her to the doctor, my mom would get better quicker and I can just get the notes from my friend and study at home. Benefits have been maximized and harm has been minimized to my mother and me.

Even though I am currently a Utilitarian, I have not always been this way. I feel that as we age, we learn to think of others and therefore become less selfish. When I was younger, especially during my teenage years, I was certainly a self-interested Egoist. However, I also cared about the interests of others, so I believe I used to be an Enlightened Egoist. Enlightened Egoists have self interest as their first priority, but they still permit for well-being of others. I made sure no one was harmed in the actions I did for my personal benefit. For example, I am currently a Masters student in the Masters of Accountancy program at the University of Houston. I am doing this program because I know it is better for my future. Receiving this degree, I will most likely receive better compensation, which will be better for myself and my future family. In addition, the majority of the Masters program courses are held late at night, so I forego time with my family to take these classes. Although this may seem selfish, I am doing this because it benefits myself and brings myself one step closer towards achieving my goals. I work hard my entire life, and I have done it merely for self benefit. Now I am a Utilitarian. I view taking my Masters courses to benefit not only myself but my family. I will be more knowledgeable in my field and make a better living.

I believe a person’s ethical values are heavily influenced by the people in a person’s life as well as their experiences. I am almost twenty-three years old, and while that may seem very young to some people, I judge that I have went through countless life changing experiences in my existence. Some of these experiences have had significant positive influences on my life, while others have had significant negative influences in my life. Just a couple of years ago, I went through a messy breakup, which the majority was my fault. I ended up being dishonest towards my then boyfriend, and I had lost feelings for him. Unfortunately, at the same time when I started losing feelings for my then boyfriend, I started having strong feelings for another guy. My heart felt extremely torn because I did not want to hurt my then boyfriend, but I wanted to be happy and be with someone who I am truly in love with. I was confused for about a quarter of a year. I ended up choosing the new guy, but I was so miserable.

I could clearly see and sense the pain I caused my then boyfriend. Although these events happened over two years ago, it still feels like it transpired just yesterday because of the strong positive influence it has had on my life. From then till now and the future, I vowed to myself that I would never do anything that will hurt someone that much again. I felt a tremendous amount of guilt because I am the reason someone is aching. I never want to be responsible for someone else’s pain another time. Those events have led me to be a better person and to think about my actions and the effects it may have on them. I do still feel bad for what I did, but I do not regret it. As I mentioned, it has made me and better and more aware person. I will certainly pass on these lessons to my children and their children to ensure they do not commit the same mistakes I did when I was young and immature. Another positive influence is my mother. She is the most kind-hearted, selfless person anyone could ever meet. She always puts herself last and those who she loves first. My mother could be feeling under the weather, but she will still cook dinner for my family and I. She is so strong, and I look up to her everyday. I learned from her to always think of others and try to do your best. I learned that family is first and to always provide for your family.

I also have had some negative influences in my existence. For example, ironically, my father is not the most generous person in the world. He is that person, who will leave a tip that is less than ten percent of the restaurant bill. He gives little and expects too much of others. Seeing my father’s behavior tempted me to act the same way. If my father can act this way, I did not see a problem with myself acting in such an egocentric way as well. So I did. For a big majority of my life, I was selfish. During my birthday, I expected my friends to gift me lavish, expensive gifts that I dream of; however when it comes to their birthdays, I end up giving them lackluster gifts. I learned these manners from my father. I learned how to take advantage of people at the benefit to myself.

I did not think my father was a bad guy. He was raised from a less fortunate family, and he did what he had to do to survive, so of course he picked up some selfish habits to survive. However as he started making more money, his mannerisms stayed constant. He was still the same selfish person, who did not know how to give back. So I believe my father is a huge reason why I used to be an Egoist. Fortunately, I learned the ways of being a selfless person from my mother. I give my mother credit to why I have transitioned from an Egoist to a Utilitarian. I know there are others much less fortunate than me, so I should try to give back and think of others before performing any action or making any important decision.

As a person, there are countless values that I do hold dear. For example, honesty is one of them. My parents have always taught me to always be honest. I was taught that honesty will always take me further in life. Also, another value I hold dear is integrity, which goes hand in hand with honesty. I was taught that acting with integrity means people will always trust you. Integrity is not only important in life, but it is important in the office as well. Management, the company’s investors, the public, etc will depend on me to act with integrity and not try to compromise the truth. One last value of significant importance to me is respect. I have seen that if you respect someone, they will return to you the same respect you give to them. Respect can also be applied to the work place. There is nothing that annoys me more than being disrespected, especially at work. This is why I ensure I constantly respect not only upper management but my colleagues as well.

Throughout my life, I have met countless number of people. However, one person that has continued to make a difference in my life is my mom. She is the kindest, caring, most forgiving, and selfless person I know. She continuously puts others in front of her own. My mom has had a great impact on my virtue of selflessness. She made it obvious to me that sometimes I should put others’ needs before my own. She has made me into the person I am today. She also showed me how to work hard. In her mid fifties, my mom still works a full time job and comes home to cook for her family. I want to be like her one day. I want to work forty plus hours a week and still make time to prepare a home cooked, healthy meal for my family. Then I hope I will pass on these virtues of selflessness and hard working attitude that I learned from my mom to my children. My mom will then be credited for generations of hardworking, selfless females.

As I mentioned earlier, ethics is extremely important to me. I value it tremendously at work and in my daily life. Ethics has several meanings to me, but the most important one is to always be honest and act with integrity even if it causes harm to yourself. It means making choices that are just and impartial and supporting a good cause without being afraid of the negative results that may come about towards you. Ethics means minimizing cheating, dishonesty, cruelty, and anything that may cause harm to innocent people. Ethics means to never do anything you would not be proud to tell your mother. Every decision I make, I always try to go back to my ethical roots and think what would my mother do and I will make sure to bring this to the workplace.

As a person, I would like to continually better myself as I age into a young adult. As I become a young adult, I on occasion, think about the children I am going to bear and the kind of example I ideally would like to set for them. I want my kids to be better than me and to have a better life than I have had. We always want the best for our kids. We want them to make more money than us, have better experiences than us, and most importantly have better morals and ethics than us. At just twenty three years of age, I know I am still young. However, I feel throughout my life, I have lacked the virtue of courage. Therefore, I would like to develop a virtue of courage in myself.

Virtue principles stem from the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle. They place a reduced importance on learning rules and more on principles. In addition, they emphasize the significance of developing positive habits of character. The four cardinal virtues include wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice. As mentioned earlier, I have chosen to develop the cardinal virtue of courage within myself.

Courage is defined as the “quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc.” It is the quality in a person that pushes someone to do something out of their comfort zone without much fear of failure. Unfortunately, humans have a naturally tendency to be fearful of the unknown and being afraid of being unsuccessful. Most humans do lack courage, and I am guilty of this trait. However, as we age, we experience new things that facilitate personal growth and better equipped to face the unknown and succeed. I feel this trend has been occurring in myself. As a child to my teenage years, I always wanted to impress my parents. I constantly wanted to make straight A’s and was always excited to bring home my report grade to show my parents. But this led me to a path to pursue less than challenging things, knowing beforehand that I was likely to succeed. Fortunately, now I am a changed person, and I want to get better. I am doing things I never thought I could do. For example, I used to be apprehensive about initiating conversations with new people, but now I am more comfortable with doing this. I am not as much afraid of rejection; I have more courage. I want my children to be like this as well. I do not want them to be anxious. I desire for them to be their best and not to let the fright of failure get in their way of pursuing their dreams.

As mentioned earlier, courage is the trait that pushes a person to go outside their comfort zone without a great deal of apprehension of failure, and this is exactly what the virtue courage means to me. It means being the best “you” and doing your best. It means going into a job interview knowing the other candidates are much more qualified than you. It means entering the Olympics with an artificial leg. It means giving it 100% no matter what the circumstances. Courage is a beautiful thing. I believe it is really what makes the impossible possible. Without courage, new technology would not exist and slavery would still exist. Courage is an important virtue that I would like to grow in myself and my future children.

One may ask, out of all the virtues, why would I want to develop courage. As mentioned earlier, I believe courage is a very important virtue. It is what breaks the barrier from people being mundane to being the best they could be. Also, I want to develop courage to just better myself. I do not want to sell myself short just because I lacked courage to do some task. In addition, I want my kids to be this way as well. As a parent, I want to see them thrive, reach for the stars, and succeed. What could be more rewarding than witnessing your own children pursuing their dreams?

Developing my virtue of courage within myself can be done in countless number of ways. For example, I can simply attempt to be more courageous in my daily life by going out of my comfort zone. However, I believe participating in a service project for this semester would be more successful in developing courage within myself. A service project that would develop courage would require me to join a Big Brother Big Sisters club.

Joining the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization would assist in my development of the virtue courage by exposing me to different people. This organization cautiously matches volunteers up with an at-risk adolescent. These volunteers would then serve as a caring responsible role model to these youths. When I am matched with this youth, it helps develop bravery within me because I can make such a big impact on this child’s life. Every move and decision I make will be watched and possibly mimicked by my “Little Sister.” In addition, I will have to interact with my “Little Sister.” As mentioned earlier, I do have trouble speaking to new people on occasion, so this service project will raise my comfort level when meeting new people and faces. I will be meeting not only my “Little Sister,” but I will be meeting other volunteers and their “Little Sisters” as well. This will give me plenty of opportunities to overcome my fear.

I will be doing this project over the course of this semester, so it is imperative I balance this service project with my studies. Fortunately, I have found a local Big Brothers Big Sisters program near my house. They are located in Stafford, TX at 10435 Greenbough Lane, only ten miles from my current residence. I simply need to complete their short online application. Next a member from the Big Brothers Big Sisters program will contact me and ask me to provide a few references, participate in an in-person interview, and lastly go through a background check. When I pass their objectives, I will then be carefully matched with a “Little Sister.” The program explains that I can see my “Little Sister” any time as long as it is mutually agreed upon be all parties, including my “Little Sister’s” parents. We will probably meet on Wednesdays and Saturdays after school. This will be convenient for both of us because I will not have class and she will be done with school. On Wednesdays, since it is a school night, I can take her out to dinner and then help her with her homework.

Then on Saturdays, we can do something more exciting. For example, I can take her to a park. This will increase my virtue of courage because I will need to interact with her. Also, there will be pressure for me to not only be entertaining but provide value by being a great role model for her. I want to ensure she learns how to be responsible and go down the correct paths in life. One needs lots of courage to take on such a significant task. Ultimately, I would like my “Little Sister” to be part of my family. Of course, I want to get to know her first. However after a month or so after all our outings, I would like to introduce her to my boyfriend and my family. I believe that my family is a big reason why I have turned out the way I have turned out. Therefore, one of the ways I hope to make a positive impact on my “Little Sister” is for her to just meet and intermingle with my family. This time alone will be invaluable.

Being a “Big Sister” is an important and sensitive task. This is why I will be under supervision. The Big Brother Big Sister program has a Match Support Specialist that will keep in regular contact with me. He/she will help provide any support and necessary feedback. For example, if I were to have a question about possible activities or even ways to approach a difficult situation, this specialist will be there. Most importantly, this specialist will provide me with information on how I am making a difference in my “Little Sister’s” life.

Becoming a Big Sister will have a tremendous impact on my personality, improve my habits, and eventually result in my acquiring of the virtue of more courage. It will change my personality because I am a naturally shy person. I am usually very timid and at times, anti-social. However being a Big Sister will help me break out of my shell. I will be obligated to be a great mentor to this “Little Sister” of mine. I will be required to spend time with her, and it is imperative I am not my usual shy self because this will not be very appealing to a growing adolescent. Taking her out on outings will make me more outgoing and more aware. It will help open my eyes to my habits because my “Little Sister” is watching and learning my every move. This will result in a more responsible, alert, outgoing “me.”

This service learning internship can also possibly significantly decrease or even rid of most of my less than desirable habits. For example, I tend to have a bad tendency of eating unhealthy at times. However, because I care about my “Little Sister,” I would desire her to eat healthy in order to be healthy and feel good. There will be no fried or processed food. Only fresh and nutritious ingredients will be consumed when we are together. This would lead me to teaching her healthy eating and cooking habits as well. Therefore, since I am teaching her to eat healthy, I would feel like a big hypocrite if I continue my unhealthy eating habits, thus reducing my unhealthy eating behavior.

Finally, being a “Big Sister” will help in my development of the virtue courage. This is one of the main reasons I wanted to participate in this organization. This organization enables me to make an impact on a young girl’s life while meeting new people. As mentioned earlier, being a Big Sister is a huge responsibility. It places pressure on me to be a good role model to their female youth. Taking this opportunity is very risky; however, it does put stress on me to make an impact on my Little Sister’s life and thus increase my courage. I believe after a semester of being a Big Sister, I will make big strides in my courage development.

Besides pondering about accounting principles of conduct that will help me achieve success in my career and life, I have given thought about
values that I would like to add to my life in the future. Some of these values include courage, ambition, and love.

I would love to add courage to my life. As mentioned earlier, I have always been hesitant to go beyond my comfort zone. I have always been afraid to make mistakes as I fear others will judge me and think I am not competent or qualified for the job. However, this hinders myself in my career. If I continuously stay in my comfort zone, I will not grow. I will not see what I am fully capable of in my career. I also would not want my children to be afraid as I am. I want them to be fearless while working instead of being afraid. I want them to be confident, so this is why I want to set a great example for them. I can ask for projects at work that I would not normally ask for because I feared that I could not do them, but by doing this, it strengths my confidence and courage.

I also desire for ambition in my life. I want to be passionate about my job and not just think of my job as merely a job. I want to think of it as a career. I would like to see my work as important and not just finish it just to finish it. Recently, I have been having a bad habit of seeing my job as a source of income. However, this habit is dangerous. It can lead to laziness and the thought of doing the minimum is okay. However, it is going to be hard to kick this habit. I have been raised to always look for the best paying job, that a job is just a job and not a career. Now I want to change that; I want to be ambitious and passionate about my job. I want to grasp every opportunity at work and run with it. I do not want to continue being lazy and just “get by.”

Lastly, I want to develop the value of love in my life. If there has been anything that I have learned in my life, it is that love is essential. Love is what makes me wake up in the morning. It is so refreshing to be in love with not only your family, friends, and significant other, but also love for your job. Currently, I take love lightly. However, as I age, I want to value my personal and relationships more.

There are many steps I can take to become the person I want to become. I want to become a “better me.” Some steps I plan to take is to sit for and pass the CPA exam. I realize this is an extremely challenging task. However, it is vital if I want to get out of my comfort zone and cease my laziness. I also am planning on taking on more tasks at work. I will make sure these tasks are more difficult so I have to get out of my comfort zone. I want to develop courage. Also, to develop a greater appreciation for love, I will put greater efforts to spend time with those I love most. I understand work and my career is important, but my significant other, friends and family also deserve my time as well. Sitting and passing my CPA, asking for more challenging tasks ay work, and allocating time to those who I hold close to my heart will contribute to me becoming “the best me.”

People are imperfect sinful creatures full of flaws, and I am no exception. This is why I decided to develop the virtue of courage. Joining the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization will help my development immensely by placing pressure on me to help this adolescent female and meeting new people. In addition, it will make me a more outgoing and healthy person overall.

There are countless factors that contribute to a person’s success in his/her career and life. However, due to the endless scandals and fraud, such as those that occurred at Enron and Tyco, that has transpired, there has been a focus and strong movement toward better ethics of public accountants. This has been evident due to the many regulations and organizations that have been created to assist in the promotion of the importance of ethics in the accounting industry. For example, the Sarbanes Oxley Act, or SOX, was created in 2002, and it essentially was an act to shelter investors from harm by increasing the dependability and accuracy of corporate disclosures. SOX later went on to create the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCABO, which was created by the United States Congress to watch over public companies audits in the benefit of investors to put together helpful, accurate, and free of bias audit reports. Also, after being a little over half way through with my Ethics for Accountants class, I have learned ethics is essential to our practice. If we are not ethical and only act in the interest of ourselves instead of the public, then the financials would not be accurate and thus, investors would not make the best investment decision. Then this can lead to financial chaos and collapse of the stock market due to some unethical acts of accountants. Therefore, I believe ethics should be one of the most important values valued in our profession.

As mentioned earlier, I believe ethics should be one of the most significant values in our profession. Therefore, I have made a list of principles of conduct that I feel is imperative to my success in my accounting career and life. I have named this list “Suggested Principles of Conduct for MY Successful Accounting Career/Life.”

Integrity:
My first suggested principle is to act with integrity. Integrity is extremely significant principle that accountants should hold dear. Acting with integrity is defined by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, or the AICPA, Section 110 as “A professional accountant should be straightforward and honest in all professional and business relationships.” In other words, it means that as an accountant, we should be candid and direct about our work; we should conduct ourselves with good faith and sincerity. For example, if my bonus were to be based on the company’s earnings, and I have an opportunity to change some amounts in the financials to ensure I receive a respectable bonus, I should not change the company’s financials. It is dishonest, and although it would benefit myself, it would simultaneously hurt our investors and the public. It would also damage my company’s public image. It is understandable if an accountant makes an innocent error, but intentional actions made to deceive others are simply unacceptable.

Objectivity:
The second suggested principle is the concept of objectivity. Objectivity should also be held in high regards by accountants. It is the focus of AICPA Section 120. AICPA Section 120 defines acting with objectivity means that “A professional accountant should not allow bias, conflict of interest or undue influence of others to override professional or business judgments.” When in the work place, you are going to be working and communicating with countless amounts of people with their own set of unique interests and concerns. The company, as an entity, also has her own concern, and at the same time, you also have some concerns that need to be met. However, while at work, you should perform your responsibilities without any conflicts of interest. For example, an accountant should not attempt to manipulate the company’s financials for your own personal benefit. Accountants, especially public accountants, are obligated to not to compromise their qualified and trained judgment due to existence of bias or conflicts of interest.

Events that may involve conflicts of interests are highly advised to be avoided. For example, there are certain regulations that prohibit the partner of an audit engagement need not be affiliated with any upper management of the client company that is being audited. The infamous case of when Enron filed for bankruptcy is a classic example of why objectivity is an important principle for accountants. Enron’s auditors, Arthur Anderson, were too close with Enron. There were too many personal conflicts of interests; the investors and public interests were not in mind. They frequently shared office birthdays, shared permanent office space together, and even went on vacations together. From the outsider, one can see that situation was a ticking time bomb. However, endless lessons have been learned from the Enron case, and we can only do better. It displays how invaluable objectivity is in the accounting profession.

Professional Competence:
I believe professional competence should also be another imperative principle of public accountants. Without a strong knowledge and foundation of accounting, one is unable to accurately and effectively perform their job. This is one reason why even with a Bachelors degree in accounting, one must receive their CPA license to officially be certified as a public accountant. Universities’ degree of difficulty may not be consistent across the state, but the CPA exam puts everyone on the same level and really tests your competence as a professional accountant. Professional competence is also addressed by the AICPA in Section 130. AICPA Section 130 states professional competence “obligates professional accountants to “to maintain professional knowledge and skill at the level required to ensure that clients or employers receive competent professional service and to act diligently in accordance with applicable technical and professional standards when providing professional services.” I feel that as an accountant, you should have a certain level of judgment in the application of your understanding and performance of accounting services.

I believe for myself to achieve professional competence, I must study harder in class. I am currently in my first semester of my Masters of Accountancy degree, and I must take advantage of this opportunity to further my professional competence. I must be up to date with any changes and/or new accounting regulations that will be passed in the future. Also, when I do start working full time, I will make sure I receive proper training, so I can effectively deliver services for my client and/or employer.

Professional Behavior:
Finally, I believe professional behavior is essential to the accounting profession as well. Even if you possess professional competence and integrity, without professional behavior, no one will want to work with you. You will anger your group members and your clients. No one will be happy with your behavior. Therefore it is vital to behave professionally while in the office. We must obey federal laws and steer clear of any actions or behavior that may harm the reputation of our profession as a whole. Exaggerating qualifications and services that can be offered is highly frowned upon. The AICPA also addresses professional competence. It is addressed in Section 150 of the AICPA Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. In summary, this section states that professional accountants are obligated to be in compliance with relevant regulations and laws. Also, as mentioned earlier, they should stay away from events or people that may discredit the accounting profession.

There are many people who I know that embody my ethical standards. As mentioned earlier, my mom is my ethical role model. She is the kindest, most honest, and caring people I know. Sometimes it is hard for me to digest how she manages to consistently put others’ needs in front of her own. Perhaps after I have children of my own, I will discover how she does this. She does things for people and expects nothing in return. Currently, when I do a favor for someone, I do not say anything but I am wanting something in return for my time and service. Her lying and cheating is a rare occurrence. Hopefully, as I continue to look up to my mom, I can hope to become and obtain a fraction of her ethical standards.

Upon being a certified public accountant, we undertake certain obligations. We have professional responsibilities to follow certain state system laws and follow strict professional ethics rules. These will ensure the public that there will be no fraud, conflicts of interest, and incompetence in our profession. We also have an obligation to serve the public as when we give an opinion or help create a company’s financials. I will value integrity and professional competence in my approach to professionalism. Dishonesty will not be practiced by myself even if it will benefit me.

There are many important characteristics of our accounting profession. One of the most important characteristic is that we get to put together the financials. The public and the company trust us to compose transparent and accurate financials to be used to endless purposes. I have determined these characteristics with the highest standard. I believe accountants are unique believe some people may perceive us as not important people because we are not part of the company’s operations. However, we are important. We affect the financials that the public will see and utilize to make informed decisions.

Currently I am just twenty-two years of age. I have a lot of aging and maturing to do, but I have already planned out how I see myself doing as a person and a professional in the next five, ten, and twenty years. In five years, I will be 27 years old. That is a scary thought. By then, I hope to be happily married and starting my family. Professionally, I see myself in a senior staff position. In ten years, I will be 32 years old. By then, I hope to still be happily married with beautiful, happy, successful children. I hope to be established in my career. Finally, I also pictured myself twenty years from now. I will be 42 years old. That is an even more scary thought. By then I hope to still be happily married and ready to see my kids graduate high school and enter college. Professionally, I hope to be in a senior position and possibly a mentor to first year staff.

Being only a couple years away from entering the accounting profession, I am glad I have realized the importance of ethics not only on the job but in life. I feel responsible as an accountant to take my job seriously and act with integrity in mind.

References

“Be a Big Sister – help a Little go a long way.” Big Brothers Big Sisters. 11 Oct. 2012 < http://www.bbbstx.org/site/c.4nIHIOOhG7IQE/b.6770619/k.62F5/Be_a_Big_Sister_8212help_a_Little_go_a_long_way.htm>

“Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.” Ethics Standards Baord for Accountants. 2006. 6 Nov. 2012. < http://ethics.iit.edu/codes/code-of-ethics-for-professi-1.pdf>

“Sarbanes-Oxley Act” Wikipedia. 7 Nov. 2012 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbanes% E2%80%93Oxley_Act>