United States regulators and lawmakers were very concerned that the
economy would suffer if investors lost confi dence in corporate accounting
because of unethical fi nancial reporting. In response, Congress passed
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX, or Sarbox). Its intent is to reduce
unethical corporate behavior and decrease the likelihood of future
corporate scandals. As a result of SOX, top management must now
certify the accuracy of fi nancial information. In addition, penalties for
fraudulent fi nancial activity are much more severe. Also, SOX increased
the independence of the outside auditors who review the accuracy of
corporate fi nancial statements and increased the oversight role of
boards of directors.
The standards of conduct by which one’s actions are judged as right
or wrong, honest or dishonest, fair or not fair, are ethics. Effective
financial reporting depends on sound ethical behavior. To sensitize you to ethical
situations in business and to give you practice at solving ethical dilemmas, we address ethics in a number of ways in this book: