Revolutionizing Ethics Education in Accounting: Expanding Beyond the Basics | Accounting ARC

“The difficulty isn’t identifying the ethical decision; it’s making the right choice with difficult implications."
Accounting ARC
With Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny Shimamoto
Center for Accounting Transformation

Accounting ethics training needs a major reboot, according to the latest episode of Accounting ARC. While traditional ethics training often feels like a check-the-box activity, hosts Liz Mason, CPA; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, CGMA; and Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, argue that the profession must move toward a more engaging and comprehensive approach.

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“Ethics education in accounting has become stale,” says Patrick, CEO and founder of VERIFYiQ and vice president of Client Success at The B3 Method Institute, reflecting on his 80+ hours of ethics training over his 22-year career. “The right decisions are usually obvious, but it’s the process of making them that’s difficult. Unfortunately, none of my training has equipped me to handle that challenge.” 

One of the key issues raised in the episode is the formulaic nature of traditional ethics education. Mason, founder and CEO of High Rock Accounting, highlights that many presentations simply focus on independence and professional standards without delving into the philosophical underpinnings of ethics. “We’re not addressing the ‘why’ behind ethical decisions,” Mason emphasizes. “We need to be talking about ethical frameworks, values, and the cultural contexts that shape them.” 

The hosts also discuss how ethics training often overlooks the complexities of real-world situations. “Most ethical dilemmas aren’t about identifying what’s right or wrong—they’re about the difficulty of making the right choice,” says Byron. “The implications of those choices are what make them hard.”