Is the accounting field and/or industry very crooked?

Question

I hear from a lot of people that it is shady...I also hear that's why many people quit. Well, either that or it's hard work, who knows?

I just remember this priest from my Catholic school days who used to be an accountant. His boss asked him to do crooked things and he said he quit and joined the order.

Whatever, lol! If it's that bad!

Answer 1

Some companies have ethnical standards and some don't. Every business needs an accountant and I really don't know how they can do bad things. Unless they are force to make up some numbers to overstate their profits and earnings, then the only person we can blame is the person who made that order. Accountants primary duties is to calculate numbers and put in data.

Answer 2

Remember that where there is the potential for abuse, there is also the incentive to develop ways to detect and expose abuse. So for every crooked accountant or bookkeeper, there is a law enforcement officer or private auditor attempting to uncover their crooked ways. Accounting, specifically, is one of the two things the FBI looks for, for example; and the IRS. If you can stand to work for the government, those are "honest" jobs. Or if not, then for an auditing firm, or for a bank in their auditing department. It is as honest as you decide it must be.

Obviously, you have to be prepared to say "no, that is unethical," if asked to do something crooked. But you know, that's in any field, really. And if you are fired for not being willing to be crooked, you can sue for wrongful termination.

Answer 3

No, because most accountants are afraid of going to jail. What is "crooked" is the tax laws and all the loopholes that exist for companies and rich people. The difference between a $50,000 a year accountant and a $1 million a year accountant is his/her knowledge of these loopholes so people or companies can legally pay less or no taxes.

Answer 4

No. It isn't. My husband is in the accounting field, and I can tell you neither he, or the firms he's worked for fit into that category. There are just as many crooked individuals involved in that field, as there are in all other fields. But to say the accounting field as a whole is crooked is false.

Answer 5

There are "crooked" people everywhere, however, the Accounting field has very high standards and polices itself very well. Most people who invest the time and energy to become accountants are dedicated to the profession and are disappointed when "crooks" are discovered in the ranks.

Answer 6

Depends on the company. I have worked for several companies in the accounting field. The best and worst were small businesses. The better jobs were small businesses that were in the black. The companies you have to watch are the small companies in the red all the time. Most public companies are good because of the SOX laws.

Answer 7

Absolutely! I am a former CPA. Basically I was told 2+2=5....This is how companies inflate their earnings to bilk unknowing investors. I actually was led into practicing mini Enron-type accounting. Its commonly called 'cooking the books'. Of course this doesn't mean that there aren't any honest accounting jobs available.

Answer 8

I would say this industry (accounting) is no different than most industries. Most people have ethics and are accountable for their actions. It is simply the "bad apple" syndrome. It only takes a few bad apples to stench up the entire batch. Take a look at this forum, for example.

Answer 9

As in any field there are honest and dis-honest people.

Accountants are self governed by an accountancy society and they have strict rules that they have to follow or risk losing their accreditation.

There are also criminal laws against fraud and breach of trust.

If an accountant is dis-honest he/she may end up in jail.

Answer 10

no its not crooked. there are a lot of rules regarding business operations but it is a safe sector to work in