BUS 315

Reaction Paper 2: 5 Ethics Challenges that will Intensify as the Pandemic Wanes

Joei Gomez

June 4, 2022

Edited after assignment submission on June 5, 2022 

When most people hear the word “audit,” they likely have feelings of anxiety and fear. For the normal tax-paying person, being audited by the IRS is not fun and they will either file their taxes the best they can or have someone else do it for them. Tax services such as TurboTax even offer an extra service for customers, where they will help if the customer for whatever reason gets audited. As for companies, auditing is especially important for financial, lawful, and ethical reasons. Especially now, as the world advances in technology post-Covid, business and information are becoming more reliant on technology, and with technology comes ethical responsibilities. Without ethics, a company can suffer lawfully and financially. However, employees like accountants who have their own code of ethics, must in particular consistently practice ethical behaviors and overcome challenges.

When I worked for Central Pacific Bank (CPB) in the IT department, I had no idea how important auditing was and how the company utilized a third party to audit their systems to ensure compliance. During my time there, my job included auditing our employee user accounts for different digital systems, the auditing company would then audit the systems. It was my job to clean up any issues before inspection, and their job was to review and notify us of changes needed to make sure we are compliant with any security policies and laws.

The article mentions five ethical challenges for accountants. My experience involved cyber security and advancing tech; the article lists “Risks Regarding Rapid Digitalization” as the third ethical challenge for accountants and in hand comes the fifth challenge “Predisposition to Focus on the Past.”

A couple of years after I left Central Pacific Bank, Covid happened, and they quickly transitioned to remote work with many employees. My former supervisors have shared with me how things have changed for better and worse. Before Covid, I was astonished by the IT policies and infrastructure. I cannot share in detail due to security, but I have to say they had an impressive modern infrastructure that I did not see in other companies I worked for. The article mentioned the need for accountants to adapt to changing technology, and CPB did an exceptionally good job with onboarding employees, offering additional training, and providing 24/7 support. With that said, the largest threat to IT is endpoints, devices utilized by users. On-premise endpoints are easier to secure, but endpoints such as laptops used at home are a bit harder to secure, even worse if an employee chooses to use their laptop at a coffee shop or public space where their tech could be stolen or viewed by nosey people around them. Exposing sensitive data becomes a higher risk and the person doing their work will have to consider when convenience becomes an ethical liability. In addition, taking advantage of new tech is not just modernization for modernization’s sake, accountants have an ethical responsibility to utilize tools that will make them more efficient and their work more fruitful for their companies and clients.

Covid has made a significant impact on how we view the workplace, and accountants have a role that can be done remotely. Despite Covid waning, companies must now consider the potential of another threat that forces isolation, as well as changing costs, and security implications of expanding their office network outside the sphere of their physical properties. With accountants and other employees working physically isolated from each other, the article references employees, specifically newer employees losing on the in-person experience of comradery and learning that many traditionally have gotten in the office. The article mentions this issue under the “Rapid Digitalization” challenge, but this also relates to the fourth challenge, “Burnout and Mental Health of Teams and Talent.”

With accountants possibly being miles away from each other, they have an ethical responsibility to still be accountable for one another. Working from home is very convenient; however, Covid was not a vacation. People were forced to work from home and not interact socially. Covid caused many people to feel fatigued, anxious, and emotionally cut off from people they once closely worked with. Accountants and other remote workers not only need to be mindful of their mental health but must put more effort into maintaining virtual relationships with their coworkers. With Covid mostly under control, people are preferring to work remotely, but with stability returning, people can also socialize again. This gives opportunities for remote workers to build or rebuild relationships in person. With those that may now have larger distances between them, socializing regularly may be difficult, but some type of arrangement is still possible. As the article mentioned, strong organizational culture is imperative, and employees must understand that they may need to be more assertive in maintaining connections and ensuring those who may be suffering from mental health have the support they need. People have an ethical and moral responsibility in supporting each other.

The article talks about mindfulness. Mindfulness is important as this era changes. Covid brought a huge shock globally, regardless of recovery, the world has changed. Technology is much needed now and technology brings up the question of ethics. The textbook has mentioned examples where actions were taken by companies that were ethically questionable, but not illegal. Companies and stakeholders have a duty to constantly review and maintain policies to safeguard not only resources and assets but also ethics. Policies need to be regularly updated, and employees and managers need to be regularly trained. With more people working remotely, they must be able to independently stay ethical and adapt to a continually changing world.