Accounting as Applied Ethics: Teaching a Discipline

Abstract

In this article it is argued that there are notable parallels between all of the different strands within ethics on the one hand, and accountancy on the other that, in teaching, can be drawn upon to enhance students’ understanding of the latter. Accountancy, part of economics, draws on utilitarian ethics, but not solely so. Accounting, in addition, draws on deontological and communitarian strands in ethics. The article suggests that the teaching of accounting – especially to non-economists – would benefit substantially from highlighting and developing these parallels.

Keywords: Accounting, Communitarian Ethics, Deontology, Ethics, Teaching Accounting, Utilitarianism