Accountancy 'becoming more ethical'

The UK's accountants are beginning to impose higher ethical standards on their work and that of others, it has been claimed.

Richard Aitken-Davies, vice president of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), said that a new module recently added to the organisation's training courses is helping to improve trainee accountants' understanding of the ethical importance of their work.

Speaking to the Derbyshire Evening Telegraph, Mr Aitken-Davies described how teaching ethical standards in accountancy is beginning to have a "far-reaching, positive impact" on financial services, not just in the UK but around the world.

He explained: "Accountants and finance directors can come under huge pressure to produce figures that show that a company is performing better than it is.

"Teaching our students about ethics is intended to give them the knowledge and means to resist that kind of pressure."

ACCA was originally formed in 1904 as the London Association of Accountants and now has members in 170 different countries.