rsity of New Jersey Rutgers Accounting Web (RAW) site:The Scenario:You work for an Accounting Firm and you are auditing company X. During the audit you receive insider information that the company is in severe financial problem. Your father then calls you and tells you that he has invested his entire retirement fund into company X. The Question:Do you tell your father about the company's situation or not?Upon first looking at this issue, my gut instinct was to say, "Of course I would tell him. Do I really want to see my father end up in financial ruin with no retirement funds?" It's hard to believe that anyone would honestly want to see that happen to a family member.Although instinct is often an excellent guide as to what is acceptable behavior, I feel that this situation calls for deeper thought and insight. For this, I shall call upon Aristotle. What would Aristotle do in this situation? Would Aristotle's Virtue Theory support my moral system and decision making strategies in this situation? If I were to embrace an inflexible Aristotelian analysis of this issue, would I be forced to change my evaluation of the issue at hand? To answer these questions, I must look towards my decision making process and whether or not Aristotle would agree. The first question that arose when I was presented with this issue was directed towards an end or consequence. "Who would benefit the most or whose happiness should take more precedence in this situation?" Should I think first of my father and the possible loss of his retirement funds? Should I think first of myself and the code of ethics that I have been submitted to as an accountant? Or should I think first of Company X that could lose the much needed revenue from clients such as my father? The validity of such inquiries cannot be refuted. However, Aristotle might say that I need only ask myself one question: “Will my actions make me virtuous?” The making of a virtuous...
