Ethical Standards

Week One Short Essay

Accountant B has the appropriate thought process concerning CBU's incorrect inventory numbers. There should be concern in regards to the potential bad decisions that were made throughout the year. This was not a small error. The accountants along with other departments should have developed more timely and effective system controls regarding the inventory.

Diverse opinions are going to occur among employees on a regular basis. Accountant A was happy that the error was caught prior to being reported while not being concerned that someone else located the error not himself or herself. It is good the auditor's located the inventory number difference yet it is not up to the auditor's to find all of the errors. Accountants are in place for a reason, to check and double check. This sounds like a person who may not be as detail-oriented in regards to errors within the system. While Accountant B reviews the auditor's find as a big concern for the company to research and resolve for future procedures. This would indicate a more conscientious accountant who wants the information to be correct when it leaves his or her hands. Learning experiences, mentors and life itself creates the level of acceptance people have in regards to their work and potential errors.

CBU should set up additional training on the utilization of the new system in order to be more efficient for all departments while being able to maintain the proper inventory numbers. Also since the system was installed within the current year being evaluated more checks and balances should have been performed during the first year to be certain it was working properly. The accountants should perform standard physical inventory counts on a regular basis (i.e. on a quarterly basis) to maintain better control on inventory errors. Other departments need to be held accountable for assisting the inventory controls being established with the new computer system, to reduce errors in the future. Cross-functional workflow processes will aid in setting up these types of inventory controls for the company. The company will be more productive and have fewer errors when all departments work together as a whole.